Obtain form entries on exported sites

To gather form entries utilizing the incorporated form element, an active site subscription is necessary. If you intend to export your site and continue using the built-in form element on that site, adjustments to your form settings will be required to link to a third-party form service for collecting form entries.

Alternatively, you have the option to incorporate forms produced or designed with third-party services instead of employing the native form element.

In this guide

In this informative article, we present the steps to utilize the original Webflow form element to obtain entries after exporting your site. Once you have selected the third-party form service for integration with your preferred Webflow forms, you will:

1. Locate and duplicate the form action URL
2. Insert the form action URL in your form settings
3. Export your site’s code

Locate and duplicate the form action URL

Most form providers allow you to merge forms created within their dashboard with existing forms on other websites — effectively establishing a connection between user input on your site and the form provider’s database. For instance, you can connect MailChimp with Webflow forms to dispatch signup form emails to MailChimp.

In the majority of cases, your form provider will furnish a personalized POST URL that you will be instructed to paste as the “action” attribute. The following two items are essential:

1. Submission protocol (often POST)
2. POST URL (sometimes referred to as the “action URL” or “action attribute”)

Insert the form action URL in your form settings

Once you acquire the form action URL, embed it within the “action” field in your form element’s settings in the Designer. Confirm that the method aligns with the form provider’s requirements (POST or GET).

Export your site’s code

After implementing these modifications and releasing your site, your form will commence transmitting data to your designated form provider. Subsequently, you can export the website code and upload it to your hosting service. This will enable you to obtain entries through the form provider.

If you’re interested in understanding the impact of these adjustments on your form’s underlying code, you are essentially altering the action and method attributes within your form HTML.