In today's digital landscape, web forms serve as vital tools for collecting data across various applications. They streamline processes, making data collection efficient and convenient. For PHP developers, finding a form builder that seamlessly integrates with their PHP backend is crucial, especially when dealing with sensitive information. Data privacy and legal compliance necessitate solutions that offer full control over data handling.
When selecting a form builder that works well with PHP backends, developers have several options to consider. While custom development and SaaS form builders are popular, they come with drawbacks. Custom solutions can be costly and time-consuming to develop, while SaaS offerings may limit customization.
Another viable approach is to use a client-side form builder that integrates smoothly with PHP backends. This allows developers to tailor the form builder to their specific needs and seamlessly integrate it with their backend systems, ensuring complete control over data flow.
Let's elaborate on the top PHP form builder in 2024.
What is a Form Builder
A PHP form builder is a tool that lets users create and customize web forms without coding, using a drag-and-drop interface. These tools provide benefits like ease of use for non-technical users, customization options to match branding, integration with other software, and secure data protection.
PHP form builders are a great choice for building forms for various purposes, including surveys, contact forms, registration forms, and more. They offer a range of features to enhance the form-building process, such as pre-built templates, form validation, and data management capabilities.
When choosing a PHP form builder, consider factors such as the number of forms you need to create, the complexity of the forms, and the level of customization you require.
There are many free and paid PHP form builder software options, each with its own set of features and benefits. Below are some popular PHP form builders available in the market currently.
Best PHP Form Builder Software in 2024
1. SurveyJS
SurveyJS is a client-side form builder that simplifies the creation of dynamic and responsive forms for web applications. It gives you full control over your data and brings enormous flexibility to modify the functionality and appearance of the form builder and the forms you create with it.
It integrates smoothly with your PHP backend to build a full-cycle survey management system. Your users will be able to create, edit, conduct and collect data from surveys. They can gather responses and utilize data visualization tools to analyze the collected data, extracting valuable insights with ease.
You can create dynamic forms using SurveyJS PHP form builder. With its intuitive drag-and-drop interface, you can design the form according to your specific requirements. JSON schemas that describe the form layout, content, and style are generated automatically. The generated JSON output can be stored in any preferred database, including MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, or any other.
Send a GET request to fetch the form by its GUIDs and run it in your application using the SurveyJS Form Library. This library dynamically generates the corresponding HTML elements and renders them on a web page.
Upon form submission by a user, a POST request is sent to your PHP backend, containing the form data in JSON format. The backend receives and processes the submitted data, performing any necessary validation.
The backend then returns an HTTP response to the user's browser, the response can be an HTML content or a page redirect. The SurveyJS Form Library receives the response and processes it, performing actions where needed.
SurveyJS PHP Backend Integration Guide
This guide demonstrates the integration of SurveyJS Form Builder with a PHP backend. It is a sample React application with an integrated form builder component. Its PHP backend stores form data in a PostgreSQL database. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you'll discover how effortless it is to integrate SurveyJS Form builder with your PHP backend.
1. Install composer and git on your machine if you haven't already done so.
2. Run the following commands in your terminal.
git clone https://github.com/surveyjs/surveyjs-php.git
cd surveyjs-php
composer install
Make sure you have PHP 8.0 or a later version installed.
3. Next start the local PHP server by running the command below in your terminal.
composer start
4. Navigate to the following URL: http://localhost:8000/, and you should see the page below.
Then, create a new survey by clicking on the Add Survey button.
5. Next, click on edit in the newly created survey.
6. In the Designer tab, click on the Add Question button.
SurveyJS supports a wide range of input elements from radio buttons to an image picker.
SurveyJS generates a JSON that describes your form structure and saves it automatically to your database.
7. Input any question of choice and a title.
8. Navigate to the JSON Editor tab.
Here you will see that JSON schemas have been generated automatically for your survey! This is the power of SurveyJS.
9. Next, click on My Surveys in the Navbar and select Run on your newly created survey.
SurveyJS Form Library sends a GET request to fetch the form definition(JSON Schemas) saved in your database.
10. Before clicking the Complete button, open your browser's developer tools and observe the payload.
When the Complete button is clicked, your data is sent to the backend in JSON format via a POST request.
The backend then returns a response in the format below.
{
"id": "1",
"data": [
{
"question1": "It\u0027s responsive"
}
]
}
11. You can view your responses by clicking on the results tab.
You can try out this demo online for free.
SurveyJS offers 200+ demos with code examples to assist you in achieving any task.
2. Formr
Formr is a powerful PHP form builder designed to easily create and validate forms with minimal effort. The library provides built-in support for Bootstrap and Bulma, making it easy to create beautiful and responsive forms. Additionally, it includes built-in support for reCAPTCHA v3, ensuring the security of your forms. It also supports object-oriented programming, allowing you to include multiple forms on a page. Furthermore, it allows you to upload images and resize them with ease.
However, it falls short in a few areas. Notably, Formr lacks client-side support and compatibility with modern front-end frameworks. Additionally, it is exclusive to PHP, rendering it unsuitable for projects not built in PHP.
3. PHP Form Builder
PHP Form Builder is a robust form-building library written in PHP. It simplifies the creation of complex forms, offering support for popular frameworks like Bootstrap and TailwindCSS. Users can leverage its intuitive drag-and-drop interface to design forms with ease. Additionally, PHP Form Builder provides comprehensive validation for user input, ensuring the accuracy and integrity of the data collected. Security is also a priority, with built-in protection against cross-site scripting (XSS) and cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks.
Its limitations include a basic user interface and support only for PHP, making it incompatible with modern front-end frameworks.
4. Zigaform
Zigaform is a user-friendly form builder designed for users with minimal coding experience. It features a drag-and-drop interface that simplifies form creation and an advanced grid system for content placement in columns. Additionally, Zigaform supports integration with third-party providers such as Zapier through add-ons, allowing for seamless integration of forms and powerful automation capabilities.
However, one of Zigaform's limitations lies in its basic user interface, which lacks the visual sophistication of alternative form builders like SurveyJS.
5. FormTools
FormTools is a PHP/MySQL script that empowers users to manage forms and data seamlessly on their websites. It offers unlimited account creation, ensuring scalability for various use cases. It also features a localization capability, supporting over 50 languages. Moreover, it provides data visualization capabilities, allowing users to gain valuable insights from their collected information.
However, it's important to note that FormTools is a PHP script intended for use with HTML websites and may not be compatible with contemporary front-end frameworks such as Vue.js. Moreover, similar to other scripts, FormTools might be vulnerable to SQL injection attacks.
Why SurveyJS Excels as a PHP Form Builder
SurveyJS offers limitless customization options, allowing you to incorporate any desired input fields or features into your forms. SurveyJS features an intuitive drag-and-drop interface that caters to users with varying technical skills, making form creation and styling a breeze. The Theme Editor offers a user-friendly experience, enabling you to set all CSS variables your form utilizes through a panel of UI controls, simplifying theme customization.
SurveyJS offers seamless integration with PHP and other backend options. Form data is sent to your backend in JSON format. SurveyJS automates the creation of JSON schemas in the background. You create forms using the no-code interface, and the JSON definitions will be generated for you.
The form builder provides a user-friendly graphical user interface (GUI) for setting up conditional rules. These rules define the form flow for different respondents based on their answers. Any changes made to the form are immediately visible in the Preview tab, which supports multiple devices, ensuring that forms adapt and appear visually appealing across different screens.
SurveyJS is built with data security in mind. It allows you to create a self-hosted form management system, retaining all sensitive data on your servers!
If you're looking for the best PHP form builder, look no further! Experience the capabilities of the SurveyJS Form Builder yourself by trying out its free full-featured demo.
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