What Are Hosted Forms?

Hosted Forms let you create fully customisable contact forms that can be embedded directly on any website. When a visitor submits the form, a new conversation is automatically created in your Bugalou inbox — complete with a ticket number, the visitor's contact data, and all filled-in fields — so your team can immediately reply.

Getting Started

In your Bugalou dashboard, go to Channels in the left sidebar and find the "Hosted Forms" card in the Channel Catalog. Click "Manage" to open the Forms overview page.

Creating a New Form

1. On the Forms overview page, click "New Form" (top right)
2. Give the form a name — used internally to identify the form
3. Click "Create" to open the Form Builder

The Form Builder

The Form Builder has two panels:

• Left panel — configure form settings and fields
• Right panel — live preview of how the form will appear on your website

General Settings

Setting	Description
Form Name	Internal name shown in the forms list
Title	Heading displayed on the form (visible to visitors)
Description	Optional sub-text below the title
Submit Button Text	Label on the submit button (e.g. "Send", "Submit")
Success Message	Confirmation text shown after a successful submission
Active	Toggle to enable or disable the form — inactive forms reject submissions

Form Fields

Every form can have any number of custom fields. For each field you define:

• Label — text shown above the input (e.g. "Name", "Email address", "Message")
• Type — text, email, phone, textarea, select, checkbox
• Required — whether the field must be filled before submitting
• Placeholder — hint text inside the input (optional)

Use the "Add Field" button to add new fields and the trash icon to remove them. Fields appear in the live preview as you build.

Assign to Team (optional)

You can automatically assign all conversations from this form to a specific team. Select a team from the "Assign to Team" dropdown. Leave empty to leave conversations unassigned.

Embedding the Form on Your Website

Once your form is saved, click "Get Embed Code" (or open the form settings) to get the two-part embed snippet:

Step 1 — Add the container div where you want the form to appear

<div data-bgl-form="FORM_ID"></div>

Place this element exactly where you want the form to render on your page — inside a section, a contact page, or a support portal.

Step 2 — Add the script tag once per page (before </body>)

<script src="https://app.bugalou.com/api/forms/embed/FORM_ID"></script>

The script automatically finds the div and renders the complete form inline — no iframes, no extra configuration.

Full Example

<!-- Place this where you want the form -->
<div data-bgl-form="cuid123abc"></div>

<!-- Add this before </body> -->
<script src="https://app.bugalou.com/api/forms/embed/cuid123abc"></script>

What Happens on Submission

When a visitor submits your form:

1. A Contact is automatically created (or matched by email) in Bugalou
2. A new Conversation is created with a unique ticket number
3. A formatted Message appears in your inbox showing all form fields in a clean table
4. If configured, the conversation is assigned to your team
5. If you have a "Form Submitted" automation, it fires automatically — e.g. to send a confirmation email

Replying to Form Submissions

Open the conversation in your inbox and type your reply in the compose field. Bugalou automatically sends the reply to the email address the visitor entered in the form. If no email account is explicitly linked, Bugalou uses your first active connected email account.

Automation: "Form Submitted" Trigger

Hosted Forms support the "Form Submitted" automation trigger. Use it to automatically send a confirmation email as soon as someone submits your form. See the All Trigger Types article for details.

Example automation

1. Trigger: Form Submitted
2. Action: Send Email — compose a confirmation email using variables like {{name}}, {{email}}, and {{formName}}

Use the "Formulier Bevestiging" template in Automation Templates to get started quickly.

Managing Your Forms

On the Forms overview page you can:

• Edit any form — click the form name or the edit icon
• Activate / Deactivate a form — toggle on the overview card
• Delete a form — click the trash icon (this is permanent)
• View submissions — see a log of all submissions per form

Tips

• Always include an Email field so Bugalou can match the visitor to a contact and allow replies
• Use the Success Message to set expectations — e.g. "We'll get back to you within 24 hours"
• Combine with the Assign to Team setting so the right people see the form submissions immediately
• Test your form before publishing by submitting it and checking your inbox