Is there anyone who'd be willing to help me design a reusable web form, on a one-to-one basis?

Here is what I need:

• I need it to work on a Linux server that supports PHP (and Ruby on Rails if that's of any help).
• I want it to integrate with a date (calendar) javascript I've downloaded from elsewhere.
• CAPTCHA validation ( good looking colorful background, unlike the scores of the fugly ones circulating on the web; character string not hard for the end-user to decipher).
• Validation for some fields (email address; URL; date not blank, etc.)
• Cool layout, with some fields arranged horizontally.
• It has to work flawlessly on Safari 2.x - 3.x (no quirks, whatsoever) for both mac and Windows, Firefox 1.5 - 2.x for both mac and Windows, and the last 2 versions of IE for Windows.
• My web design app of choice can handle freeform HTML coding, as well as embedded CSS formatting and Javascript code, so I plan on using that feature.
• Quite possibly, using Uni-Form, though not absolutely necessary. The end result is more important, not the tool. Hopefully, Uni-Form is the answer.

My goal is:

• To build a good-looking contact form for a website of mine

• To have all necessary code and step by step instructions on how to build/upload this workable form so that it is reusable across several other websites of mine in the future.

• To gain a basic understanding of the process in order to be able to make slight modifications of that form myself, unassisted, later on.

The best way to do it would be with real-time “hand-holding” via a one-to-one chat over Skype or iChat, 2-3 short sessions. It shouldn't take too long. I am not a programmer, nor am I as technically astute as a developer, but I can understand basic scripting steps and can follow clear instructions. I just don't have the patience to figure it all out by myself.
:)

For compensation, I can offer 5 days lodging for vacation in a Greek island, for the months of May, June, September or October, within the next 3 years. Please contact me for more details.

Regards,

Andreas

Dear Dragan,

First, let me thank you for your contribution to the community.

I'd like to comment that most solutions on the subject of forms, including yours, I'm afraid, are way over the head of most users. And I mean, way, way over.

What is needed in my opinion is not ”code“, “code” and more “code” but a comprehensive desktop application that handles everything in a WYSIWYG fashion. Everything!

Thus far, the various solutions are either:

1) stand-alone scripts that do one thing and one thing only, i.e., a calendar javascript

2) scripts that handle submitting forms, such as Forms2Go, but they cannot be used to design the form itself!

3) form design scripts/apps, that cannot handle submitting, validating, etc.

4) web-based apps that supposedly help design forms, most of which are terrible abominations in terms of aesthetics, not to mention extremely limited functionality.

Your uni-form solution is probably useful to developers, but not useful to someone like me, at all. For example, you wrote:

> feel free to do:
> svn export https://sprawsm.svn.beanstalkapp.com/uni-form/

Well, I have absolutely no clue what this means, whatsoever. Where/how do I do this? What is it supposed to do anyway? What is its purpose?

Your fine website is full of similar info, which I am sure is very useful to some people. Unfortunately, this group of people does not include me, or the majority of web users.

Again, what we need is a cross-platform app (that's mac AND Windows, not Windows-only) to handle everything, so that the user does not have to learn CSS, HTML, or anything like that.

Alternatively, this app could be available as a plug-in or snippet for say, Rapidweaver, my web design app of choice, to add this functionality to the otherwise abysmal support Rapidweaver has for forms.

Regards,

Andreas

OMG, that's so far off the mark! I would NEVER, EVER go Microsoft! Never in a million years, not even if Hell freezes over! Why do such a thing to myself? That'd be masochism!

RapidWeaver, a mac-only app, allows someone without any knowledge of HTML or CSS to create beautiful, CSS-compliant web sites in minutes, with point and click, drag-and drop. There is nothing on any platform that comes even close. It is also extensible via plug-ins and snippets, and that's what has been missing in the Contact Forms area. The RapidWeaver Contact Forms are just too simple to be useful.

Of course I have an idea of HTML and CSS, but unfortunately, an idea is not enough to design a useful contact form. I am also keenly aware that standards and accessibility matter a lot. I am a strong advocate of standards and accessibility, but fail to see the relevance of these two issues in what I am asking here.

I think what I am asking is very workable—it's not too much to ask. It does, however, require some development effort. It is just that nobody has yet to come up with something like that.

If you were to check out RapidWeaver, you'll see that it supports one-click publishing. In doing so, it uploads all necessary code for the site to function, including CSS files and all required libraries in the appropriate folders on the server. A Linux server that supports PHP and Javascript (is there such a server that doesn't?) is all that's required for a Contact Form to work. I do not care about Microsoft-only, proprietary platforms such as .asp. In fact, if standards and accessibility matter, one should steer clear of anything Microsoft, the company that consistently shuns industry standards in order to force its own, proprietary ones, down users' throats.

So, what's needed is code in the form of a cross-platform desktop app, that allows the user to design a beautiful form with point-and-click simplicity (not by writing HTML and CSS code by hand— the app should do this automatically) including layout design flexibility (columns and/or tables, fonts, colors, spacing, graphics, etc.), supporting all types of fields including calendar-based date input via client-side javascript, field validation, field hints, CAPTCHA security, submittable to multiple email addresses, etc.

Such a cross-platform app should be available as an extension for DreamWeaver, a plug-in for RapidWeaver, and as an add-on for all major WYSIWYG web design apps. That's it. There is no need for getting all worked up about “uniform standards” and the like. Unix/Linux servers, all of which handle PHP and Javascript *are* the uniform standard, and it's all that's needed. Now, if someone wants to also support Microsoft's proprietary formats as well, more power to them.

Here are the specs of what I need in greater detail:

• I need a contact form to work on a Linux server that supports PHP (and Ruby on Rails if that makes any difference).

• I want it to integrate with a javascript-based calendar I've downloaded from elsewhere, to aid the user in filling out date fields.

• CAPTCHA validation ( good looking colorful background, unlike the scores of the fugly ones circulating on the web; character string should *not* be hard for the end-user to decipher).

• Validation for some fields (email address; URL; date not blank, not prior to today's date, etc.) Validation for URLs should check for proper formatting of say, email address. As an option, it could force the user to retype the email address on a separate field for validation.

• Error reporting to the user for each field, and flagging the field in question, as opposed to a general message that something went wrong.

• The submitted form data need to be sent by email to 2 (at least) different email addresses.

• Flexible layout to allow for placement of field labels either over or to the left of the fields themselves.

• Check boxes and radio buttons should be laid out horizontally or vertically, or in groups of 2 or 3, not just in a linear fashion.

• Option for placement of explanatory comments/tips/instructions to the user following or preceding each field.

• Option to send user to a thank you page or an entirely different link.

• Option to send the form data as completed and properly formatted to the user.

• Clear indication that the form was properly completed and submitted.

• Comments liberally scattered throughout the code in order for me to understand what each section and field/parameter does or functions.

• Lines of code as delivered should be color-coded to highlight options, variables, field labels, etc.

• Cool, CSS-based layout, capable of inheriting the CSS formatting of whichever theme I might be using in my WISIWYG web design application.

• It has to work flawlessly on Safari 2.x - 3.x (no quirks, whatsoever) for both mac and Windows, Firefox 1.5 - 2.x for both mac and Windows, and the last 2 versions of IE for Windows, as a minimum.

• Quite possibly, this form could be designed using the Uni-Form standards, though not absolutely necessary. The end result is more important, not the tool. Hopefully, Uni-Form is the answer: http://sprawsm.com/uni-form/

My goal is:

• To have a reusable, *good-looking* contact form built for my websites.

• To have all necessary code and step by step instructions on how to build/upload this workable form so that it is reusable across several other websites of mine in the future.

• To gain a basic understanding of the process in order to be able to make slight modifications of that form myself, unassisted, later on.

If there is a need for further explanations or support, the best way to do it would be with real-time “hand-holding” via a one-to-one chat over Skype or iChat, 2-3 short sessions. It shouldn't take too long. I am not a programmer, nor am I as technically astute as a developer, but I can understand basic scripting steps and can follow clear instructions. I just don't have the patience to figure it all out by myself.