This chapter hour demonstrates how to create HTML forms, which allow readers of your Web pages to enter specific information and send it back to you via e-mail. You can also set up a script or program to process form data. (Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) or server software vendor can help you do this.) You will learn how to make an order form add up its own totals automatically in Hour 18: Web Page Scripting for Non-Programmers.
(View HTML tags covered in Hour 7.)
My Guest Book(Figures 7.1 - 7.4)
All parts of a form must fall between the <FORM> and </FORM> tags. In the <FORM ACTION> attribute, you can either put an e-mail address or the address of a form-processing script where the form data should be sent. To ask the user for a specific piece of information within a form, use the <INPUT> tag. This Web site "guest book" demonstrates every type of HTML form input.
Free Electronic Junk Mail!(Figures 7.5 - 7.6)
Forms don't need to be complex to be effective, though they might need to be a little less blunt. The <INPUT> tag on this page uses a custom graphical submit button. (More on creating and placing graphics in Hour 8 and Hour 9.)
A complete order form that you can copy and modify to sell your own products over the Internet. Use File | Save As.. in your Web browser to copy this form to your hard drive, then use your favorite text editor to add your company name and products.
A pretty (and possibly profitable) form which combines HTML form input with graphics and layout techniques from upcoming lessons. Please don't forget your Visa Platinum Card number when you fill it out, okay?
"Instead of sending form data directly to an e-mail address, it's usually sent to a special forms-processing program (called a script) on the Web server computer itself. To do this, you'll probably need help from the person or company who runs your Web server. They'll need to either write a program for you, or set up a prewritten form-processing program to work on the Web server computer. The most common thing that such a script would do is reformat the form data to make it easier for you to read before forwarding it to your e-mail address."
Instant Order Form
Get Me Rich Quick