Creating digital communications

Online forms allow people to self-serve, for example, apply for benefits, let us know they are moving house, or order a new bin.

These can range from short, simple forms to complex forms that ask for lots of information, including the upload of evidence. Sometimes a form can seem straightforward to the person filling it in but it may be complex in the background - this could be because it integrates straight into a back-office system or because it has branching which is where if you answer a question one way it can jump through the next few questions without you seeing them.

We no longer create PDF versions of forms. All forms must be created online where possible.

How to request a new online form

First of all, please discuss any new online form requirements with your Resource Information Co-ordinator. If the form is suitable to be made online, you will be asked for the following information.

Intranet or web content

Do you have or need intranet or web content to go along with the form? Forms should be linked to a content page so that people can read more information before they fill the form in. There could be instructions, information on eligibility criteria, when to apply, and when to expect a response for example.

Privacy statement

All online forms need a privacy statement to let people know what we do with the personal information they provide. This is checked and approved by Legal Services.

See the privacy statements for Bulk uplift requests, Comments and complaints, and housing repairs for examples.

You will be asked to create a privacy statement for any new forms requested.

Form title and questions

• Title of form - this needs to be meaningful. Avoid beginning the form title with 'Apply', 'Report', or 'Request'.
• Question set - what information do you need to ask to complete the service? Are any fields mandatory? Do any of your questions have a drop-down list of values to choose from?
• Branching - consider if your form has any branching questions. For example, you could ask 'Have you received this service before?'. If Yes, you could then ask 'Please enter your service reference number', if No, you could skip to the next question.
• Does your form need people to attach evidence, such as bank statements, or proof of address? 
• What email address will the form submission go to? We recommend this is a generic email box that is checked often.
• Is there a deadline for making the form live on the website or intranet?

User acceptance testing (UAT) of forms

All new forms are created in our development environment. This is a copy of the council's public-facing website or intranet, but can only be accessed internally. Forms can be tested here before they are created on the live website or intranet.

You will be asked who will be responsible for testing the form and signing it off. This can be more than one person. Testing must be completed by the service before a form can be moved to the live website or intranet.

Live user acceptance testing (UAT) of forms

Once a form has an approved privacy statement, and the service has tested and approved the form for going live, the web development team will create the form on the live website or intranet.

The form will need to be tested again to make sure all form fields are present and the form works as expected. Also check that the form is being submitted to the correct email address and is being received by the back office.

Your Resource Information Co-ordinator can prepare the web or intranet content and add the link to the form once this has been tested.

Form reporting

We can set up data extract reports for forms. This is emailed in a spreadsheet format and contains all the form data submitted. Extracts can be scheduled daily, weekly, or monthly, and sent to more than one email address.