Fillin Forge gives you three different ways to create a form, depending on how much control you want and how quickly you need to get started. Whether you prefer building from a blank canvas, starting with a template, or letting AI do the heavy lifting, the end result is a fully customizable form that you own and can edit at any time.
Choosing the right creation method saves you time. A blank form gives you total control when you have a specific layout in mind. A template gives you a professional starting point when you want speed. AI generation suits you when you can describe what you need in plain English.
1. From Scratch
This is the best option when you have a specific layout in mind or need something that no template covers.
Real-world example: You are building a callback request form for your dental practice. You want just four fields — patient name, phone number, preferred callback time, and a brief description of the issue.- Go to Fillin Forge > New Form from the left sidebar.
- Give your form a descriptive title (for example, “Callback Request — Main Office”). The title is for your own reference in the dashboard and does not appear on the public form.
- On the left panel, you will see all available field types organized into groups. Find the Name field and drag it into the center area.
- Drag a Phone field below the Name field.
- Drag a Time field and set its label to “Preferred Callback Time.”
- Drag a Textarea field and set its label to “Brief Description of Your Concern.”
- Click on each field to open its settings in the right panel. Toggle Required on for the Name and Phone fields, since you cannot call someone back without those.
- Click Save Form at the top right corner of the builder.
| When to build from scratch | When to use a different method |
|---|---|
| You have an exact layout in mind | You want to start quickly and customize later |
| Your form is very simple (2-4 fields) | Your form is complex with many fields |
| You need an unusual combination of fields | A template already covers your use case |
| You are experimenting or learning the builder | You know exactly what you want and can describe it in words |
> Tip: Start with the most important fields and add more later. A form with 3-4 fields will always get more submissions than one with 15 fields. You can always come back and edit.
2. From a Template
Templates give you a ready-made form to start from. Fillin Forge includes 168 pre-built templates organized into 27 categories, covering everything from simple contact forms to complex medical intake questionnaires.
Real-world example: You are the office manager at an accounting firm and need a new client intake form. Instead of researching what fields accountants typically ask for, you browse the templates and find one to start from.- Go to Fillin Forge > New Form.
- Scroll down to Or start from a template and click a category card. For a client intake form, the Contact and Applications categories are good places to start.
- In the window that opens, look through the templates of the category, or type a keyword into the search box to filter them.
- Click a template. Its fields load into the builder, fully editable. Nothing is saved yet.
- Customize anything you want. For example, change “Company Name” to “Business Name” if that fits your language better, or remove the “How did you hear about us?” field if you do not need it.
- Add any missing fields. Perhaps you need a file upload for tax documents — just drag one in.
- Click Save Form.
> Good to know: Templates are starting points, not locked designs. After you apply a template, the form is fully editable. You own it and can change every detail. Future plugin updates will not alter forms you have already created from a template.
3. With AI (PRO)
The AI generator is perfect when you know what your form should do but do not want to build it field by field. Just describe what you need in plain English, and AI creates the form from your description.
Real-world example: You run a catering company and need an event inquiry form. Instead of thinking through every field, you type a description and let AI handle it.- Go to Fillin Forge > New Form.
- At the top of the builder, you will see the AI generation block with a text area.
- Type a description of the form you want. Be as specific as you can:
- Click Generate. AI processes your description and builds the form.
- Review the result. AI chose the right field types (dropdowns for single selections, checkboxes for multiple selections), wrote clear labels, and set appropriate validation.
- If something is not quite right, you can either manually adjust individual fields in the builder or type a refined description and click Generate again.
- Click Save Form when you are satisfied.
| AI prompt quality | Example | Result quality |
|---|---|---|
| Vague | “order form” | Basic but may miss details |
| Good | “order form for a bakery” | Includes common bakery fields |
| Excellent | “order form for a bakery with cake flavor, size (6-inch, 8-inch, 10-inch), frosting type, custom message on the cake, quantity, pickup date, name, email, and phone” | Close to what you listed; review it before you publish |
> Tip: The more detail you provide in your description, the better the result. Mention specific field types when you care (“dropdown with options A, B, C”), validation requirements (“required email”), and the form’s purpose (“feedback survey for restaurant customers”) so AI has full context.
> Good to know: AI output is normalized to the current Fillin Forge field palette before it reaches the builder. For example, “file” becomes File Upload, “paragraph” becomes a static HTML Block, and unsupported legacy field names are corrected or skipped instead of creating broken inputs.
> Good to know: Without PRO, the AI generation block is not available. You can still create any form using the drag-and-drop builder or templates.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Do not agonize over choosing a method. You can switch at any time — start with AI, then tweak manually, or start from a template and add fields from scratch.
- Do not forget to save. The builder does not auto-save, so always click Save Form before leaving.
- Do not create multiple forms for the same purpose. One well-built form on multiple pages is better than five slightly different versions.
[Screenshot: The New Form screen showing all three creation options — blank canvas, template category cards, and AI generation text area]
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