Getting Started

Quick Start Guide

Get your form up and running in under 5 minutes

This guide will walk you through the process of setting up your first form with Static Forms. By the end, you'll have a working contact form that sends submissions directly to your email.

Prerequisites

A website or HTML file where you want to add a form
An email address to receive form submissions
5 minutes of your time

Sign Up for an Account

First, you need to create a free account at Static Forms. This will give you an API key that you'll use to identify your forms.

Visit the registration page
Enter your email address
Click the verification link sent to your email
Log in to your dashboard to find your API key

Your API key will look like this:

sf_abc123def456ghi789jkl012mno345

Create Your HTML Form

Create a basic HTML form or update your existing form. The most important parts are:

Set action to https://api.staticforms.dev/submit
Set method to POST
Include your API key as a hidden field

contact.html

Add Optional Features (Recommended)

Enhance your form with these optional but recommended features:

Success Redirect

Redirect users to a thank you page after submission:

HTML

Honeypot Spam Protection

Add a simple honeypot field to reduce spam (this field should be hidden with CSS):

HTML

Test Your Form

Open your HTML file in a browser and test the form:

Fill out all required fields
Click the submit button
Check your email inbox for the form submission
Check your dashboard to see the submission data

Success!

If you received an email with the form data, your form is working correctly! 🎉

Complete Example

Here's a complete, styled example you can copy and paste:

complete-example.html

Next Steps

Now that you have a working form, consider:

Adding spam protection with reCAPTCHA or ALTCHA
Setting up auto-responders to confirm receipt
Configuring webhooks to integrate with other services
Exploring framework-specific examples for React, Vue, etc.

Important

Don't forget to replace YOUR_API_KEY with your actual API key from the dashboard!

Introduction

Basic Setup