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Create a form or questionnaire for a store

Learn how to build forms for your Merchant Solutions store.

Article ID: SLN18746

Can users upload their own CGI scripts?

Due to concerns about security, we cannot allow users to upload their own CGI scripts to our servers to create interactive online forms. However, we do provide a standard CGI script (our pro-forma functionality) that forwards the contents of an HTML form to a set of specified email addresses.

To use this feature, create the HTML form on your site, use the form and input tags specified below, and set up an approved email recipients list using the Order System Settings page in Store Manager. To access the Order System Settings page, click the Order Emails link under Order Settings. Note: For Store v.1 stores, click the Email link under Order Settings.

Security updates to the pro-forma script require merchants to use a form tag, maintain a list of approved email recipients for form submissions, and host their confirmation (thankyou-URL) and continue (continue-URL) pages within their store domain.

If forms do not use the approved format for pro-forma functionality, you may not receive submissions of these forms.

What do I use for the opening FORM tag?

Pro-forma forms are available again. If a form is being used to gather email addresses for the Store Mailing List tool, email addresses are being gathered. However, the Mailing List tool is still undergoing updates and is not accessible.
 

Forms must submit to the new form submission URL:

<form method="post" action="http://[accountname].store.turbify.net/cgi-bin/pro-forma">

where [accountname] is your store ID.

All forms must use this form tag for each form sent to this script from your site. After updating the URL for form submissions, you must publish your site for the changes to take effect.

What input tags and values can I use?

Four additional built-in variables used by this CGI script can be included within your FORM tag:

<input type=hidden name="owner" value="me@myname.com">
<input type=hidden name="newnames-to" value="accountname">
<input type=hidden name="thankyou-url" value="http://merchantdomain.com">
<input type=hidden name="subject" value="email subject line">

The first line (owner) is required. This is the email address to which the form contents will be emailed. Owner email address values must also be specified in the Form Submissions section of your Order System Settings page (accessed via the Order Emails link for Merchant Solutions Starter merchants, or the Email link for Merchant Solutions Standard and Professional merchants). To learn how to set up the approved owner email list, please see How do I add and verify approved email recipients of form submissions?

The second line is also required, and adds the email address to your store's Mailing List feature (if you include a field in your form called email). This is a handy way to build a mailing list of your users. The third and fourth lines are optional. The third line directs merchants to a confirmation page. This URL must be a page within your store domain. The fourth line specifies a subject line for emails containing the form contents.

How do I add and verify approved email recipients of form submissions?

From Store Manager, access the Order Systems Settings page by clicking the Order Emails link (Merchant Solutions Starter merchants) or the Email link (Merchant Solutions Standard, Professional, and Store v.1 merchants), then:

  1. On the Order System Settings page, scroll to the bottom to locate the Form Submissions section.
    Picture of Store Form Submission area
  2. Enter your list of approved email addresses in the Email To field of this section.  If you are entering more than one email address, make sure to enter only one email address per line.

    Example:
    jmerchant555@yourstoredomain.com
    johndoe@yourstoredomain.com
    forms@yourstoredomain.com
  3. Click the Done button.

What are the new confirmation page and continue page requirements?

Security updates to the pro-forma script require that URLs used for these pages are hosted within a merchant's store domain.

For example, a merchant whose store domain is yourstoredomain.com must send shoppers to a confirmation page hosted at yourstoredomain.com. This merchant's thankyou-URL tag could look like this:

<input type=hidden name="thankyou-URL" value="http://yourstoredomain.com/thankyou.html">
 

Note: The domain specified in the URL must match your domain redirect settings. To check these settings, click the Domain Names link in the Site Settings column of Store Manager. Learn more.

Any thankyou-URL or continue-URL which does not direct shoppers to a page within the store domain will not function. Shoppers will instead be sent to the store's home page upon submitting their form, or continuing from the confirmation page.

I'm not receiving form submissions. What should I check?

If you have active forms on your site but are not receiving form submissions, please check for the following:

  • Confirm your form is submitting to the correct URL.
  • Check that your form submission URL is using the correct account name.
  • Ensure that any email address listed in your forms also appears in the Form Submissions Email To field on your Order System Settings page.
  • Ensure your shoppers are being directed to a confirmation page under your domain after submitting the form and after continuing from the confirmation page, and that the domain specified matches your domain redirect settings.

NOTE: If you are checking your business mail using a third party POP client, such as Outlook or Outlook Express, we would suggest adding storeorders@store.turbify.com to your address book. If you do not add storeorders@store.turbify.com to your address book, there is a chance that emails from this address will be routed to your spam folder.