How to Create an HTML Form That Sends You an Email

The server then passes the data to the script specified in the action URL — myform-processor.php in this case. Using this data, the backend script can create a database of form submissions, direct the user to another page (e.g. payment), and send an email.

There are other scripting languages you can use in the backend programming, like Ruby, Perl, or ASP for Windows. However, PHP is the most popular and is used by almost all web hosting service providers.

If you need to make a complete form, follow the steps below.

1. Use PHP to create a page.

When you’re creating a webpage, instead of using the “.html” extension, type “.php” instead. This is similar to what happens when you save an image as “jpg” versus “png”.

By doing this, the server will know to host the PHP you write. Instead of saving the empty HTML page as such, save it as something like this: “subscriberform.php”. After your page is created and saved, you’ll then be able to create the form.

2. Make the form using code.

In this step, you’ll write the code to create the form.

If you’re not sure how to create forms in HTML, check out HTML Dog’s resource for a primer on the basics.

The following code is what’s needed for a basic form:

Because this is similar to the HTML-only write-up, these lines will also create a name for the form and an area for subscribers to type a custom message and send it to you.

An important difference is the “action=contact.php” part. This portion of code is what will make the page send the form when submitted. Recall that in the first example, that wasn’t an option.

3. Make forms send email.

After you create the form and add all the proper fixings depending on your design preferences, it’s time to create the email portion.

For this, you’re going to scroll to the beginning of the page (the very beginning, even before defining the HTML Doctype). To enable sending data in the email, we have to add code that will process the data. Copy this code or create something similar:

  
 
if($_POST["message"]) {
 
mail("your@email.address", "Here is the subject line",
 
$_POST["insert your message here"]. "From: an@email.address");
 
}
 
?>
 

Recall that everything inside the first and last lines will tell the webpage to make these functions perform as PHP. This code also checks to see if a subscriber uses the form. From there, it checks to see if the form was sent.

Further breaking it down, “mail” sends the completed form as an email to “your@email.address,” and the subject line is what follows. In the next line, you can write copy of the email message inside the quotes, to be sent from whichever email address you choose.

To sum up the process to create HTML email forms:

Once the form is submitted, the page sends the data to itself. If the data has been successfully sent, the page sends it as an email. The browser then loads the page’s HTML — the form included.

With that, you have the basic code you need to create the form.

Note that this is just one way to do this — alternatively, you can also create a form using a CRM like HubSpot.

If you’re a HubSpot customer, keep reading to learn how to use HubSpot’s tool to create an HTML form that sends you an email.

Using HubSpot

HubSpot Forms is part of the Marketing Hub, and doesn’t require any previous technical knowledge.

If you want to learn how to receive an email after a form submission, take a look at our Knowledge Base article.

When you’re using HubSpot Forms, you can build custom forms that connect to your contacts list. You can also customize those forms and trigger automatic emails based on the completion of your forms. Note that the latter requires a premium upgrade. Click here for more information about HubSpot’s forms.

HTML forms are a fairly simple process and an excellent way to connect with subscribers. Having these on your site gives customers an easy way to contact your company or sign-up for emails.

Forms that send an email back to you keeps information in your inbox for reference and ease. Remember that these aren’t your only options for building forms. If you want a list of tools that help build forms, check out our post here.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in December 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Originally published Jun 23, 2020 4:00:00 AM, updated June 24 2020