Web3Forms - Interview with Developer Surjith
A web form is a necessary tool in today's internet
As a web developer, I have used many web forms in my day. I have used PHP forms with my CPanel hosting through Green Geeks. I have used Jotforms, Google Forms, Wufoo, and others.
But getting forms to work properly is a pain.
I came across this simple solution to form handling on Lucian’s website. He is a web template developer and uses Web3Forms:
Here is how easy it is to implement:
It really does work as expected, and you can get a live form on your website in a couple of minutes. So if you develop your own websites with HTML, JavaScript, and CSS you have found a great, cost-effective solution to your form problems.
“Contact Us” to “Subscribe Here” to “Leave a Comment“ forms, are available for free at https://web3forms.com/
Here are some examples:
And here is the pricing. The FREE tier should be enough for most:
Interview with Surjith - the Developer
Q: Thanks for answering a few questions about your product. I was impressed by the ease of implementation. Did simplicity play a big role in your need to develop the product?
Every website can use a form nowadays. It can be a lead-generator, survey, or even a basic contact form. As a developer, I struggled myself to set up a simple contact form for websites I do for clients. I used the classic PHP method but it had many flaws like Spam, Deliverability, Server issues, etc. So I wanted to try a different option. Then I tried many options available in the market but they didn’t feel quite well for my purpose and style. Then I decided to work on my own API-based contact form solution.
Q: What is/was the biggest obstacle to overcome with a new form product?
As I was the first user of my product, I wanted it to be simple, and perfect and can be used by anybody similar to me. Since there were a lot of competitors out there offering a similar solution, my product had to stand out! So I completely made the application without the need to Signup and Log in. Users can directly create an access key and create their custom form within minutes. Also, I made this app completely serverless which helped me to offer a better free plan and affordable pro plans.
Q: What is your background? Coding languages? Do you have any partners?
I’m a Web Designer and Front-end Developer. I started my journey in Photoshop & Dreamweaver when the magic of the web happened. Then learned further concepts like Javascript, React, etc. For the backend, I have also hired a developer to help with some complex logic, etc.
Q: When did you launch, and how is it going so far?
The beta was launched in 2019 and then it moved forward slowly. I didn’t do a Product hunt launch yet. But we are focusing on the product right now. Currently, Web3Forms has around 2000 registered users.
Q: What has been your biggest challenge so far?
Marketing & SEO are big challenges for me. I got initial traction from Twitter.
Q: How are you marketing Web3Forms?
I’m now focusing on SEO. Playing the long-term game, Planning to add more articles & free resources like contact form templates, etc.
Q: How do you monetize this?
Web3Forms has a Pro plan which brings revenue. We have a starter plan, a pro plan, and an agency plan. Pricing starts from $4/mo. However, the free plan is quite generous for most users.
Q: What is your long-term growth plan? Add on products like polls, quizzes, surveys, and intuitive forms based on AI?
My next plan is to add a simple form builder and an embeddable contact form widget. We’ll see about other innovations shortly.
Q: What is your long-term plan with this application?
I have wanted to grow this product and make forms easier & affordable for everyone. This is something I would love to work on for a long time to come.
Q: Is this your full-time job?
I’m selling website templates and UI components on my website at web3templates.com And I enjoy making custom websites for clients as well.
Q: Are you looking for any Partners? Investment? Developers? Workers? New Projects?
Currently, I’m not looking for partners or investors. But as a front-end developer, I might need help from Node/backend developers.
Q: Thank you for taking the time with these questions! It’s interesting to look at the day-to-day life of Indie Developers. What is your contact info if people would like to get in touch?
I can be reached on Twitter @surjithctly or mail@surjithctly.in
Thank you. I wish you good luck and success with your business!
Thanks to all subscribers. Peace.
Have you tried the “Sample” newsletter? I’ve had a bunch of subscribers from there.
Interesting link for the webforms. I'll definitely check that out. I had the hardest time trying to setup a form on my website. I setup a separate subdomain to try to get writing clients in the Real Estate industry and I had to end up putting the form on a separate page. I was using PHP which I'm not too familiar with. Being a former web developer, you would think I would have no trouble doing it, but I've been out of the loop in that kind of position for a long time. This looks like a game changer for me.
I saw you mention "The Sample". I started using that 5 articles ago. The first article took off with a ton of forwards and opens. It is the most viewed article on my Substack. The two most recent articles have 0 forwards. So I don't understand why.