Form Confirmations
Advanced Training Module 4: Forms
After a visitor submits a form, it’s important to let them know what happened next. Form confirmations provide immediate feedback to users, reassuring them that their submission was received successfully and helping guide any next steps.
A confirmation can be as simple as a thank-you message, or it can redirect visitors to another page containing additional information, resources, or instructions.
A good confirmation improves the user experience and reduces uncertainty after submission.
Why Confirmations Matter
Imagine completing a form and never receiving any indication that it was submitted successfully.
You might wonder:
- Was my submission received?
- Should I submit the form again?
- What happens next?
Confirmations help answer these questions and provide reassurance that the process was successful.
They can also be used to:
- Explain next steps
- Provide follow-up instructions
- Link to additional resources
- Redirect users to relevant content
Accessing Confirmations
To manage form confirmations:
- Open your form.
- Select Settings.
- Click Confirmations.
- Edit the default confirmation or create a new one.
Each form can have one or more confirmation rules depending on your requirements.
Confirmation Types
Gravity Forms supports several types of confirmations.
Text Confirmation
This is the most common option.
After submitting the form, visitors remain on the same page and see a confirmation message.
Example: Thank you for your submission. Your request has been received and a member of our team will follow up shortly.
Text confirmations are ideal for:
- Contact forms
- Feedback forms
- General inquiries
Page Confirmation
Instead of displaying a message, visitors are redirected to another page on your website.
Examples include:
- Thank You pages
- Registration confirmation pages
- Next-step instructions
- Resource pages
This approach is useful when the confirmation needs more content than a simple message can provide.
Redirect Confirmation
Visitors are redirected to a specific URL.
Examples include:
- External registration systems
- Survey tools
- Third-party resources
- Event platforms
Use this option when visitors need to continue a process somewhere outside of your website.
Writing Effective Confirmation Messages
A good confirmation message should answer three questions:
Was the submission successful?
Example: Thank you. Your registration has been received.
What happens next?
Example: A confirmation email will be sent shortly.
Is there anything else the user should do?
Example: Please review the event details below and add the date to your calendar.
Providing clear next steps helps reduce uncertainty.
Example Confirmation Messages
Contact Form
Thank you for contacting us. Your message has been received and we will respond as soon as possible.
Event Registration
Thank you for registering. A confirmation email containing event details will be sent to you shortly.
Feedback Form
Thank you for your feedback. Your comments help us improve our services.
Using Thank You Pages
For more complex workflows, a dedicated confirmation page can be beneficial.
A Thank You page might include:
- Additional instructions
- Important dates
- Downloadable resources
- Related links
- Contact information
This approach often creates a more complete user experience than a simple message.
Best Practices
Confirm Successful Submission
Always clearly indicate that the form was submitted successfully.
Explain What Happens Next
Tell users whether they should expect:
- A confirmation email
- A follow-up call
- Registration approval
- Additional instructions
Keep Messages Friendly and Clear
Use straightforward language and avoid technical jargon.
Match the Purpose of the Form
A registration form may need different confirmation information than a contact form.
Test Confirmations
Always submit a test entry and verify that the correct confirmation appears.
Common Uses
Confirmations are frequently used to:
- Thank users for their submission
- Provide next steps
- Direct visitors to additional resources
- Confirm event registration
- Guide users through a multi-step process
They are often the final step in a successful form experience.
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Hello and welcome to cutheme Mastery Training, Module 5. In this video, we will go over Form Confirmations.
Confirmations are messages that are displayed to users once they complete a form. These messages confirm that the form has been completed and submitted, and can thank the user or give any other necessary information.
To get to Confirmations, make sure you’re on your form’s edit menu right here. Go to “Settings”, and click “Confirmations”.
You will be redirected to a new page, which lists all your form’s confirmations. Since this is a new form, the only confirmation right now is the default. You can edit a confirmation by clicking on it, or add a new one by clicking the “Add New” button.
You’ll be taken to a new menu by clicking on the button, allowing you to create your confirmation. You can give it a name, and choose the confirmation type. Text allows you to display a message upon completion. Page will redirect you to a different page on your site, and Redirect will take the user to a URL that you can copy and paste.
There is also an option for conditional formatting, which can change the message depending on the user’s entry on a specific section of the form. For more information on Conditional Formatting, please visit the Gravity Forms documentation site.
Try it Out!
- Open your form’s Confirmations settings.
- Edit the default confirmation.
- Create a custom thank-you message.
- Experiment with a Page or Redirect confirmation.
- Save your changes.
- Submit a test entry and verify that the confirmation behaves as expected.