Keeping my finger on the pulse of the nation, one thing I have noticed recently is the number of people who no longer own a printer… after all, why would you need to print anything out? Like a baptism application form, for example… What is the point of having the forms online if people can’t then send them to you?
The advantages of an electronic version are legion: no misreading of badly written forms, the ability to print them off and/or save them as pdfs so you have a record that can’t be lost, a copy in the mail archive (in Gmail, I never delete messages, except spam and adverts) and an easy solution for people to complete in their own homes.
So, the solution is an online form in itself…
As our website is (like so many others) in WordPress, I have sought out a free, flexible plugin which does what I need. I am using Contact Form 7 which I found to be a doddle to configure.
Below are the two key scripts you need, one for the form itself and the other for the email you get sent:
Form: <p>Your Name*<br /> [text* your-name </p> <p>Your Email*<br /> [email* your-email </p> <hr> <p>Church*<br /> [checkbox* church exclusive "S. Mary the Virgin, Bickleigh" "S. Edward, Shaugh Prior" "S. Anne, Glenholt" "S. Cecilia, Woolwell"</p> <p>Preferred Date of Baptism*<br /> [date* date-baptism</p> <p>Preferred Time of Baptism* (select from the following)<br /> [select* time-baptism include_blank "In the main service at Mass" "2pm" "4pm" "Other (enter in comments below)"</p> <hr> <p>Child's Date of Birth*<br /> [date* child-dob</p> <p>Child's Full Name*<br /> [text* child-christian-name placeholder "christian" [text* child-surname placeholder "surname"</p> <p>Father's Name*<br /> [text* father-christian-name placeholder "christian" [text* father-surname placeholder "surname"</p> <p>has Dad been<br /> [checkbox dad-baptised-confirmed "Baptised?" "Confirmed?"</p> <p>Father's Occupation*<br /> [text* father-occupation</p> <p>Mother's Name*<br /> [text* mother-christian-name placeholder "christian" [text* mother-surname placeholder "surname"</p> <p>has Mum been<br /> [checkbox mum-baptised-confirmed "Baptised?" "Confirmed?"</p> <p>Mother's Occupation*<br /> [text* mother-occupation</p> <p>Your address*<br /> [textarea* address</p> <p>Phone number*<br /> [tel* phone</p> <hr> <p>Godparent 1<br /> [text Godparent-1</p> <p>has Godparent 1 been<br /> [checkbox godparent1-baptised-confirmed "Baptised?" "Confirmed?"</p> <p>Godparent 2<br /> [text Godparent-2</p> <p>has Godparent 2 been<br /> [checkbox godparent2-baptised-confirmed "Baptised?" "Confirmed?"</p> <p>Godparent 3<br /> [text Godparent-3</p> <p>has Godparent 3 been<br /> [checkbox godparent3-baptised-confirmed "Baptised?" "Confirmed?"</p> <p>Godparent 4<br /> [text Godparent-4</p> <p>has Godparent 4 been<br /> [checkbox godparent4-baptised-confirmed "Baptised?" "Confirmed?"</p> <hr> <p>Comment / Notes<br /> [textarea comment <p>[recaptcha id:verify</p> <p>[submit "Submit Baptism Form"</p>
The mail template: From: [your-name <[your-email> Subject: Roborough Team Ministry Baptism Application Form Baptism Details: Church: [church Date: [date-baptism Time: [time-baptism Child Name: [child-christian-name [child-surname Child DOB: [child-dob Father: [father-christian-name [father-surname [dad-baptised-confirmed Occupation: [father-occupation Mother: [mother-christian-name [mother-surname [mum-baptised-confirmed Occupation: [mother-occupation Contact Details: [address Phone: [phone eMail: [your-email Godparent 1: [Godparent-1 [godparent1-baptised-confirmed Godparent 1: [Godparent-2 [godparent2-baptised-confirmed Godparent 1: [Godparent-3 [godparent3-baptised-confirmed Godparent 1: [Godparent-4 [godparent4-baptised-confirmed Additional Comments: [comment -- This e-mail was sent from a contact form on Roborough Team Ministry (http://www.roborough.org.uk)
The email comes through like this:
Obviously, you need to configure it for your own needs, but the design and layout is quite self-explanatory. Have fun!
Now to think about Marriage forms…
Less relevant to baptism bookings, but the Flamingo plugin is jolly useful in other situations, taking Contact Form 7 submissions and storing them in the WordPress database, ready to be exported to CSV when needed. (Congregational surveys? Submissions from organisations for the Annual Report? That sort of thing.)