Learn how to create a Volunteer Form in this step-by-step guide.

Instructions

To create a volunteer form, you must first access the Form Builder. To do so:

1. Select Forms & Pages in the navigation menu, and then select Forms on the drop-down menu.

Forms and Pages menu option with a red box around the Forms option.

On the Forms page:

2. Select the New Form drop-down menu, and then select Volunteer.

This will open the New volunteer Form pop-up.

3. Enter a name for the form in the Name this form field. Please note: The form name file is the only required field on this pop-up. The remaining fields will all appear again later in the Form Builder. You may make selections here on the pop-up or you can bypass the remaining questions and continue on to the Form Builder. Once you have made your selections, select Create Your Form.

You are now in the Form Builder. The main menu for the Form Builder is located on the left side of the page. Each icon links to a specific section in the Form Builder. This guide will cover each of these menu icon items, but it will not cover these items in order from top to bottom. This guide will begin with the Theme Editor (the third icon from the top).

Please note: At any time while you build your form, you may select Preview in the upper right corner of the screen (as seen below) to view a preview version of your form.

Theme Editor

1. Select the Theme Editor icon in the left menu (the third icon from the top).

In the Theme Editor, you will adjust the look of your volunteer form. You may select a ready-made system theme on the System Themes tab or select a custom theme you created on the My Themes tab. In the example below, a custom theme has been selected on the My Themes tab. (If you wish to create your own custom theme, refer to the Creating a Custom Web Theme guide for a detailed explanation of the process.

2. Select your theme, as applicable for your form.

Let’s move on to the Page Editor.

Page Editor

1. Select the Page Editor icon in the left menu (the first icon at the top).

In the Page Editor, you will enter the written message content on the volunteer form first page.

To add this written content:

2. Enter a page title in the Title field and enter the applicable text in the Describe Your Cause field.

If you notice the text is difficult to read, to make the text readable:

3. Select the applicable overlay in the Overlay drop-down menu, per the image below. If your background image is dark, select Light to make the text legible. If the background image is light, select Dark.

Make other adjustments, as needed:

4. If desired, adjust the Form Alignment.

5. If desired, in the Media section of the Page Editor, you may add an image or video under the Describe Your Cause text.

Next, let’s move to the Form Editor.

Form Editor

1. Select the Form Editor icon in the left menu (the second icon from the top).

This page contains two columns. The items in the right column are the items that will appear on the volunteer form, as seen in the image below. The items in the left column are additional form fields you may add to the volunteer form. Notice there are page breaks in the right column. These breaks divide the volunteer form content into separate pages rather than having one long form.

2. Adjust the items you wish to appear on the form, as follows:

To add a new item to the volunteer form, drag and drop the selected item from the left column into the right column. You may then drag the item up and down, as needed, in the right column to place the item in the desired location on the form.

If you created a custom field to include on your volunteer form, locate the custom field in the left column and drag and drop the item to your desired location in the right column.

If you wish to remove an item from the right column, click on the item and select the Trash Can icon, as seen below.
If you wish to edit any item in the right column, click on the item to make any needed adjustments, including marking the item as a required field on the volunteer form, as seen below. You may edit any item in the right column, as needed.

Next, let’s move to the Exit Page.

Exit Page

1. Select the Exit Page icon in the left menu (the fourth icon from the top).

In this area, you may edit the Exit Page. The Exit Page, as seen in the example below, is the message a new member will see immediately after completing the form.

2. Adjust the Exit Page items as follows:

Select whether you wish to use the Standard Exit Page (as appears in the image above) or your own custom exit page. If you wish to use a custom exit page, you must enter the page's URL.
If using the Standard Exit Page, in the Title and Text areas, you may adjust the message that appears on the exit tile.

If using the Standard Exit Page, in the Buttons drop-down area, you may add buttons to the exit tile, such as a Home button that links to your website's Home page.

Exit Page with a red box around the Buttons fields.

If using the Standard Exit Page, in the Social Media Links drop-down area, select the toggle to the "On" position to include social media links on the exit tile. (The URL links connected to these social media icons are configured in the Footer Content portion of the volunteer form's theme. See the Footer Section of the Creating a Custom Web Theme guide for more information.)

Next, let’s look at the Sharing page.

Sharing

1. Select the Sharing icon in the left menu (the fifth icon from the top).

2. Adjust the Sharing options as follows:

QR Code generates a downloadable QR code you may use on printed materials. This code links directly to the form.
Pop-Up Form Button displays a pop-up button anywhere on your website. When a user selects this button, the form will open in a pop-up window.

Finally, let’s move to the Settings page.

Settings

1. Select the Settings icon in the left menu (the last icon in the list).

2. Adjust the Settings options as follows:

In the General Information drop-down section:

You may adjust your form's URL, if needed, in the Form URL field (this is not recommended).
In the volunteer Levels drop-down field, you may specify this form to apply to only a specific volunteer level. For this example, let’s use the default of All.
You may turn on the reCAPTCHA option to filter out suspicious traffic activity by selecting the toggle to the "On" position.

In the Opportunity Selection drop-down section:

Select which Opportunities should be available for this form. Limit this form to specific Opportunities by making selections from the drop-down menu. You can also choose to select the Category checkbox to select all Opportunities within a specific category.