Joel,
Thanks for your reply!
Yes, they could be actual Submit buttons, with new progressive pages loaded.
This is what I will end up doing if I can't arrange a one-page AJAX setup. Part
of the trouble is that the people filling out the forms are from all
backgrounds, but most either started with or are gaining the expectation of a
web site to act like an app that doesn't use the old traditional
fill-out-and-submit structure. By animating the opening and collapsing of
sections they have a much better feel where they are in the interview process,
are much less inclined to misuse a back-button, and can feel like they can walk
away and return later with more information, or corrections, without feeling
lost.
It's actually very much for ME because I spend so much time asking questions by
email that are already on the form pages ...that people get overwhelmed with
and give up on. I really think there would be a better success rate getting
these filled out if they had the feel that I'm describing.
I actually have searched a lot for such things but because so much jargon is
involved that I don't know whether what I've found is even close to what I
need! And then, for the same reason, when I start to try, I don't know what I'm
being asked for. Reminds me of what some of our donors might feel.
Troy
Hi Troy
If you haven’t already, you might try searching for “web form builder”
(or “html5 form builder”, etc.). Some of the results will be for hosted
solutions (submissions go through their servers), but there should be
some that will just help you create more “modern-looking” forms and then
let you copy the generated html (w/ or w/o css &/or javascript).
On a separate note, if you’re looking for something (per your original
email) "with intermediate portions of data saved and acted on”, why is
it important that it be "all without reloading the page”? If you’re
envisioning some kind of “Next” buttons in your interface, could they
each just be actual Submit buttons, creating or editing records
throughout the process?
Best, -Joel
