Gravity Forms

Styling Gravity Forms

Gravity includes many options for layout and conditional logic as well as customizable confirmations, notifications and redirects. Use the documentation and predefined CSS classes set by gravity to style the form fields. These classes are handy for when certain fields are required to be inline with other fields, or when long check lists need to be made more compact for a better user experience.

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Using CSS-Ready Class Names

Halves (2 Columns)

• gf_left_half
• gf_right_half

To align two fields side by side (2 equal columns) you can add these classes. The two fields have to be adjacent to each other in the Form Builder. The gf_left_half class has to be added to the first field and the gf_right_half class to the second field.

Thirds (3 Columns)

• gf_left_third
• gf_middle_third
• gf_right_third

To align three fields side by side (3 equal columns) you can add these classes. The three fields have to be adjacent to each other in the Form Builder. The gf_left_third class has to be added to the first field, the gf_middle_third class to the second field and the gf_right_third class to the third field. Click the link to read more on Using CSS Ready Classes.

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Putting Gravity on a Page

Instead of using the generic shortcode for placing a gravity form on a page in your site, it is recommended that you use the PowerPack or UABB gravity forms styler module. This module allows you to choose a form previously created in gravity and then style its visual appearance. You can make numerous changes to the form with multiple alteration options such as background, padding, color, alignment, font color, font size, width etc.

Click the link to read more on How to style Gravity Forms with PowerPack forms styler module.

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Form Restrictions

We do not want to put private or personal information on a website. We should never be asking the following information through an email form:

• Social Security Numbers or SSN#
• Bank Account information
• Credit Card Numbers or CC#
• Driver’s License Number or DL#
• Login Credentials

Our goal should always be to protect our customers and C2 (customers’ customers)

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Gravity Forms: Unexpected Use Cases

as of 2.4.5 (2/20/2019)

Create a Front-Facing Post Maker:

With the “Post” fields in Gravity Forms it is possible to create a fully developed post (Blog) page. Fields include the ability to: set a title, content, excerpt, tags, category and upload images (featured and otherwise). When Should We Use This? This is best utilized when a customer wants a registered user to be able to add content to their website, but don’t want them to have access to the dashboard. Examples:

• Add your own testimonial
• Submit your own recipe
• News outlet

What Are Its Limitations?

• You cannot create pages with this.
• A user will not have control over how the page is laid out (beyond the site’s existing theme).
• Once submitted it cannot be edited by the user, only the site owner.
• Cannot use Beaver Builder modules (NO: Galleries, accordions, tabs, slideshows, pop-ups, etc.).

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Calculations

In a situation where a customer needs to do some form of algorithmic calculation? We can do that. Click the link to read more on Using Calculations. When Should We Use This? In instances where the customer needs a quote developed this is a great way of getting a rough estimate for them. NOTE: It is my policy that ANY calculation done on behalf of the customer is done with their equation. Obviously, simple 1+1 stuff isn’t necessary. However, if they are wanting a Square Foot Calculator that converts to yards it is NOT our responsibility to do the math. What Are Its Limitations?  For anything more than basic algebra it can be complex, if not impossible. (i.e.: exponents, mathematical constants like Pi, etc.).

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Products

It’s possible to use Gravity Forms as an e-Commerce solution. However, that is beyond our scope of support. That said, it is possible to make a more streamlined “Quote” calculator  with the added benefit of it being setup for a future where the customer may wish to connect it to a payment gateway (such as PayPal, Stripe, etc.). Click the link to read more on Product field types. When Should We Use This? Similar to the Calculation features, Products can provide a means of attaching price and quantity to a Gravity Form field. Additionally, there is a “Shipping” field that works no different than the standard “Product” field. This is all tied up with a “Total” field that captures all costs across the form. NOTE: It is my policy that ANY calculation done on behalf of the customer is done with their equation. Obviously, simple 1+1 stuff isn’t necessary. However, if they are wanting a Square Foot Calculator that converts to yards it is NOT our responsibility to do the math. What Are Its Limitations?

• Currently we do not support connecting it to a payment gateway.
• There is no “Shopping Cart” view for a user. If the customer chose 20 products through the form there is no quick and easy way of viewing that at the end in the same way WooCommerce does.
• Shipping is generic. It cannot be connected to USPS, FedEx, etc and it will not automatically calculate distances.

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Pagination

When breaking up a form is important for usability look no further. When Should We Use This?  If a customer has a very long form and using conditional logic (if A is chosen, show/hide B) isn’t an option this is ideal. It allows for bite-sized chunks of questioning to be displayed in a way that should help to prevent confusion. What Are Its Limitations?

• Pagination is unique to the page it is displayed on. This would not allow you to have forms across separate pages that communicate with each other (that uses dynamic population and query strings).
• If a user accidentally refreshes the page the entries will be lost.

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Personal Data

Added in 2.4 Gravity Forms has integrated features that align with GDPR compliance. When Should We Use This?  Ideally this should be considered on every new build, although it is less important for U.S. customers at the moment. This will come into play when a customer is concerned about security for their user’s information. With this feature, it is possible to prevent storage of IP addresses, set how entries are stored and the ability to link information to the submitter’s email for integration with WordPress’s own efforts at GDPR compliance.

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Custom Subscription Form using GEM

We can now set up custom subscription forms through Gravity Forms and the Mad Mimi add on, provided the customer has GoDaddy Email Marketing (GEM) or Mad Mimi. Please follow the documentation here for set up: How to add a custom subscription form When Should We Use This?  If a customer has GEM or Mad Mimi, and they are requesting more than the standard subscription form fields of Name and Email. We can use this method to create a custom subscription form with fields for things like Address, Registration ID, and more. What Are Its Limitations? Customer MUST have GEM or Mad Mimi and provide the Email associated with the email marketing account and the API key BEFORE we can set up the custom form.