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Forms and questionnaires

Use forms to collect new inquiries, questionnaires to ask existing clients for details, and audience signup forms to build a mailing list.

Go to Settings → Forms to manage all three. Use New form on the Forms tab for inquiries or audience signups, or New questionnaire on the Questionnaires tab for a client questionnaire.

Choose what to build

A form is either a project inquiry or an audience signup. In the form builder, open Settings and choose a Form purpose to decide what happens when someone submits it. Questionnaires are built separately on the Questionnaires tab.

Project inquiry

Use this for contact pages, quote requests, and session inquiries. Each submission adds or updates the contact and creates a project.

Every inquiry project needs a service. You can either:

  • Choose one service in the form settings.
  • Add a Service type field from Project fields so the person completing the form chooses the service.

When the form uses one fixed service, you can also assign a package.

To email each new inquiry automatically, choose a reply in the service’s settings. See reply to inquiries.

Audience signup

Use this for newsletters, launch announcements, and mini-session interest lists. Each submission adds or updates the contact and adds them to the audience list you choose, without creating a project.

Under Audience, choose an Audience list. Only active interest lists can accept signups.

To greet new subscribers, choose a General message template under Welcome email. It goes once to each person who joins the list through the form, from your marketing sender, with your email footer and an unsubscribe link. Someone who submits the form again while still on the list doesn’t get it again. It uses one email from your monthly marketing email allowance. If the allowance is used up, you’ve already sent as much marketing email as your account can send today, or marketing email isn’t set up in Settings → Account → Marketing, the welcome isn’t sent.

Questionnaire

Send a questionnaire to the contact on a project or booking. Their answers stay with that project or booking, without creating another project or joining an audience.

Use them for timelines, locations, family names, wardrobe preferences, vendor details, or other information you need after someone has booked.

Build the form

Open a form or questionnaire to enter the builder. Draft changes save while you work.

Add content blocks to explain the form:

  • Heading.
  • Text with basic formatting.
  • Image with an optional caption.
  • Image & text for a side-by-side section.

Add fields to collect answers:

  • Contact fields and Project fields save answers to the matching contact or project details, where available.
  • Text field asks for a short or long answer.
  • Dropdown offers a list of options.
  • Choices offers single or multiple text or image choices.

Select a block to edit its label, supporting text, options, or required setting. Drag blocks to reorder them.

Arrange fields and add logic

Under Layout, add Two columns to place two fields side by side. Drag fields into the row or choose a field in either column. Columns stack on narrow screens. Deleting the row keeps its fields.

Use Logic to show or hide blocks based on earlier answers. Hidden fields do not need an answer, and any answers in them are left out of the submission. Test each path to make sure the questions make sense.

Set up what clients see

Open Settings in the builder to manage:

  • The name you use to find the form in LYGHTBOX.
  • The form purpose and its service, package, or audience list.
  • The title, description, and submit-button text clients see.
  • A thank-you message or a webpage to open after submission.
  • The form’s appearance.

Complete the required settings, then select Publish. Later edits stay private until you select Publish changes. Use Discard changes to return to the last published version.

Publish questionnaire templates before sending them to known clients. They are not shared as general public forms.

Share or embed a form

After a form is published, open Share in the builder, or the form’s menu in the Forms list, and choose:

  • View form to open the published form.
  • Copy link to copy its public link.
  • Copy embed code to add the form to your website.

Embedding lets people complete the form on your website. Test it on a phone and a desktop before publishing your website changes.

Send and review questionnaires

On a project, open Questionnaire in the sidebar. On a mini-session booking, open the booking’s details. Choose a questionnaire, then select Send questionnaire. The contact needs an email address to receive the secure link.

Questionnaires attached to a package or a mini-session booking page can also send on their own, after booking or a set number of days before the session. See Services and pricing and Booking Pages.

Each questionnaire shows whether it is waiting to send, sent, answered, or could not be delivered. You can copy its link from there.

If the client has not completed a sent questionnaire, select Resend questionnaire and confirm to email the same link again. Their questionnaire and any saved answers stay unchanged. If delivery fails, select Retry sending.

While an email is still sending, LYGHTBOX does not send another. If it cannot confirm delivery, copy the link and share it directly.

You cannot send a new copy of the same questionnaire while the client still has one to complete. After they submit it, you can send another copy; LYGHTBOX asks you to confirm.

Read submitted answers from the same project or booking. Publishing template changes can also change a questionnaire the client has not completed yet. Finish your edits before sending when possible.

By default, LYGHTBOX reminds the client 3 and 7 days after a questionnaire is sent, until it is completed. To change or turn off these reminders, go to Settings → Reminders and edit Questionnaire reminders.

Manage audience lists

Use Audience lists to manage the lists used by signup forms and campaigns. Give each list a clear purpose, such as “Newsletter,” “Fall Mini Sessions,” or “Brand Photography Updates.”

Lists group people who signed up or who you want to include in a campaign, and keep a history of membership. Tags are labels you add to organize contacts.

Before publishing

Complete one realistic test submission and confirm the result:

  1. Check that contact details appear in the expected fields.
  2. For inquiry forms, confirm the project uses the intended service and package.
  3. For audience signups, confirm the person was added to the right audience list.
  4. Try each path through the questions and every required field.
  5. Check the thank-you message or webpage shown after submission.