Wufoo is an internet based application that makes it very straightforward and trouble-free to create completely functional and stunning online web based forms. The website in itself takes care of every aspect while creating forms. It builds the required database and all the scripts which shall be needed to collect information from each and every user. Wufoo also has the facility to host all the forms which implies that it is really simple to collect information; one doesn’t need to know anything complex or even upload forms to the websites. So it is just a matter of few minutes that one requires to complete these forms. Wufoo not just makes it easy to create forms, but it also has some good reporting features. It makes online form building software much more amusing than earlier.

Company History

Let us look at a brief history of how Wufoo came into existence. The website Wufoo was launched in the month of July in 2006 by Kevin Hale and Ryan and Chris Campbell. The main rivals to Wufoo included WyaCracker and Form Assembly. The website Wufoo received financial assistance from two investors as well as YCombinator. Together they raised about $118,000 in funds. The team was not totally new to web application because they had earlier launched sites like Treehousemagazine.com and Particletree.com. The website Wufoo was launched under the Infinity Box Inc.

What makes them better ?

There are hundreds of such online form creator websites available over the internet but what are the main differentiating factors is discussed below. Many of the online form creator websites are not at all flexible in nature and majority of them create just one type of form only. However, Wufoo makes form creation fun, interesting and exciting, as it has amongst the most flexible systems available and can be utilized to create all kinds of forms starting from questionnaires to feedback forms. Variety in the type of forms differentiates Wufoo from the hundreds of websites enabling form creation.

Usage Difficulty

Let us look at the user friendliness and general overview on the user compatibility of the website. The application is quite simple to use and once you log in there is an option to create a new form. By clicking on it, you are brought on to a wizard. Then it is just a matter of simple clicking on the options displayed and adding requisite fields. It actually takes a few minutes to create the first form. One could also alter the settings to choose what must happen after the form is submitted, one can decide for instance, whether or not one wants email copy to the person filling the form. After the completion of the form one could save it and then find ways of adding it to the website. It is very user-friendly, simple to use and one doesn’t require any kind of technical information to use it.

How-to Get Started

To start using the website one has to register with Wufoo. The entire registration process just takes a few seconds; one just requires entering an email address and then selecting a username and password. One this is completed, an account will be created for you with Wufoo. Also there is no need to confirm the email address for this but an email notification is sent to the inbox. Cost factor is extremely important from both individual’s point of view as well as from the business point of view.

Let us see what is the cost involved in setting up a Wufoo account and using its services. The primary or basic account is free of cost and this is generally what every user would sign up for when they initially register an account. The free account allows 1 user and the ability to create 3 forms. The paid accounts begin at $9.945 monthly for 10 forms. And this goes right up to $199.95 monthly for an account that can have up to 60 users and an unrestricted number of forms. The website basically hopes that users start off with free account to give momentum to the site and gradually progress to upgrade the account. It is a known fact that creating online forms cannot always be simple as it has a tendency to get complex. Wufoo is perfect for everyone and can help create online forms regularly. It is very flexible and is used to create virtually any kind of form.

Final Thoughts

Overall, Wufoo is very user-friendly and easy way to create online forms of every variety. Finally let us look at some of the top reasons which justify the superiority of the website. Firstly, Wufoo is easy to use, this is because if a user has used a desktop earlier to build form, then they would surely know how difficult the process is. If the same person uses Wufoo then he would find a totally different experience while building forms. Secondly, Wufoo is very fast. Why does a person have to wait for weeks for someone else to build a database and scripts needed to collect simple info from one’s form? With Wufoo, a person can easily design and collect info within few minutes. Thirdly, Wufoo is secure. The website ensures safety of the data on Wufoo. The servers of the website are managed by Rackspace and also they offer plans with 128 bit SSL encryption. This allows one to serve and submit form submission through secure transfer protocol. Thus, making the experience of form building very exciting while saving time and reducing costs.

The buttons are created with the pure CSS and is optionally improved with the JavaScript. They fit into any text and comes with 3 states such as inactive, active and hover. Their compatibility is tested on the IE6 IE7 FF (PC/MAC) Safari SafariMobile Opera (PC/MAC).

In order to make attractive buttons with the CSS, they have the Sliding doors. Here, if you want the buttons to be uber-flexible then a background image is needed that expands along with the button’s text size. For this, the sliding doors technique is used where there are two complementing images that would create an illusion of a single stretching image.

Then we have the Styling the button. For this, CSS is needed to bring everything together. The IE does not return the buttons to its normal ordinary state whenever it is released. To have this, we have to include a JavaScript to the tag.

For rediscovering the button element, to create a consistent interface for the users is a tedious task for every application designer. Particularly building consistency on the web is very difficult as the visual rendering differences across the browsers and the operating systems are broadly different and arbitrary in what can and cannot be done. And a solution to all these problems will be to create the buttons all by ourselves. For this, we will have to open the Photoshop every time for creating a new button, which is also little tedious. To overcome all these problems, we have the element. It is more flexible and is meant for the designers.

But for this, some requirements are to be met. That is, they have to look like buttons and also look the same across the browsers. The markup needs to be flexible and easy to change for the uses in various situations. The icons and colours are to be used effectively to pass the information about the sort of interaction that will be taking place.

Using the styles that can be applicable for both the type of elements such as links and buttons would provide the required flexibility to keep the means of interaction look consistent and also appropriate whether it’s being done with the Ajax or just a standard submission.