Forms methods - ucsf-ckm/ucsf-library-ux-and-web-documentation GitHub Wiki
Overview
We have a few different types of forms on the main library website.
- help center form (Zendesk)
- general contact form (Zendesk)
- single area contact forms (WPForms)
- single area subscribe to newsletters form (Elementor form)
- general subscribe to newsletters form (Elementor form)
Help Center widget
- There is a Help widget on every page. When the user does not find an answer right away, it offers a general contact form with 5 choices for I need help with.
- Zendesk generates the form, and form submissions open a ticket in Zendesk.
Help Center pages
- There is also a Contact us link on every page of the Help Center (part of Zendesk, not part of main library site) that opens the same general contact form with 5 choices for I need help with.
- Zendesk generates the form, and form submissions open a ticket in Zendesk.
General contact form
- There is a Send a Message link in the footer that opens the same general contact form with 5 choices for I need help with.
- Zendesk generates the form, and form submissions open a ticket in Zendesk.
Single area contact form
- When a user is already on a page in a specific area, the Contact us link provides a more focused form (fields vary)
- We create these forms using the plugin WPForms Plus and insert individual forms into our pages with the Elementor Pro widget: WPForms
- Form submissions usually notify a Zendesk email address that opens a ticket for a specific Zendesk group. In a few exceptions, notifications were just sent to an @ucsf.edu address, but that no longer works after campus increased email security in 2023.
Placing an existing form into a webpage via the Elementor Pro widget for WPForms
Example of a WPForms form embedded in a page
Example of notifications and other settings for each WPForms form
example of necessary Zendesk steps
We need a form that will submit a Zendesk ticket to the group UC Library Search Support.
- Set up a new group in Zendesk: UC Library Search
- Create a new address in Zendesk [email protected] and use triggers to that assign any tickets to group UC Library Search
- Create a form on the library website using WPForms that submits to [email protected]
Single area subscribe to newsletters form
Individual mailing lists on expert pages use an Elementor form which connects to Campaign Monitor by way of the MailOptin plugin.
- When a user is already on a page in a specific area, the news sign-up is also specific
- We create these using the forms widget in Elementor Pro along with integration of our Campaign Monitor account via MailOptin
- Form submissions add the email address to the specified Campaign Monitor list
Opt-in confirmation email
When someone subscribes, the form (Elementor form > Additional Options generates a success message: Thanks for subscribing! Check your email to confirm.
When the address hits Campaign Monitor (Campaign Monitor > Lists & Subscribers > Settings > Confirmed opt-in email), it sends out a confirmation email.
These interactions are controlled by these settings for each list (which become available after setting Subscription opt-in to Confirmed opt-in (confirmation required)
General subscribe to newsletters form
The same approach is used on https://www.library.ucsf.edu/news-updates/