ActBlue user roles and permissions dictate what users can do on our platform. If the tools or features in this article are unavailable to you, speak to your entity Admin first about updating your permissions.

Your default contribution form

Contribution forms are the pages supporters make donations on. Once you have an ActBlue account, you should customize your default contribution form so you can add it to your website, emails, and social media. Your default contribution form is in the Contribution Forms tab of your Dashboard toolbar. The default form is at the top, highlighted in gray.

A Screenshot of the Dashboard menu. A red arrow is pointing to the Contribution Forms tab.

A Screenshot of a sample list of contribution forms that will appear listed on your Contribution Forms page. The first form, the default form, is highlighted in light grey. There is a black pop-hovering over the default form which reads: Your Default Contribution Form.

We recommend you edit your default contribution form before creating a new one. Your default document provides a good base for customization, and it’s the form that shows up in the ActBlue directory when people click “Donate.”

Getting around the form editor

On the Contribution Forms page, click “Edit” to the right of your contribution form.

A Screenshot of two action buttons displayed to the right of your form title on the Contribution Form page. The first reads Duplicate and the second reads Edit. There is a red square around the Edit button, highlighting it.

Your contribution form and form editor will open. In the top right corner, you can select how you'd like to view your form: as yourself, a first-time donor, a returning donor, or an ActBlue Express user. Please note that you must toggle to "Donate as myself" to donate on your own form.

A Screenshot of the Previewing As options on a contribution form. There is a dropdown which reads ActBlue Express, indicating the form is being preview as an ActBlue Express user. To the right of this dropdown is a non-activated toggle. If clicked, the toggle will allow you to Donate to the form as yourself.

When editing your form, a small reset button will appear next to the field you edited. Click that button to undo that specific change.

A Screenshot of the Recurring Settings tab in the Form Editor. The tab displays a dropdown in which you can choosing the frequency of recurring donations made through this form. The current selected option displaying is Monthly, Unlimited. Above the dropdown there is a clickable option to reset your choice labeled Reset with a small orange arrow. This Reset option is highlighted with a red square.

An orange dot will appear next to sections where you have made edits to help you keep track of your work. Click "Publish" at the top of the page to instantly make your changes live; the orange dots will disappear.

A Screenshot of the Form Editor menu with orange dots reading Edited displaying to the right of sections which were recently edited. There is a red arrow pointing to the green Publish button which is displayed at the top of the menu.

Learn more about navigating the form editor.

Customizing your contribution form

Use the following tabs within the form editor to customize your contribution form. Tabs that are not listed (“A/B Testing” and “Tracking”) are advanced features for tracking and analyzing your form. Click the links below to read a more in-depth support site article about that feature.

Title, ask, and URL: Customize the text on your form and edit your form's URL.

Do: Write a custom title and ask. Use this section to explain your cause and why you need support.
Do: Add an image by clicking the picture icon and uploading a file.
Don't: Change the URL of your default form unless absolutely necessary.

A Screenshot of the Form Editor with the Title, Ask, and URL tab clicked, displaying its options. At the top of the tab, you're given the option to write in a URL slug for the form. Beneath that, you're given the option to enter a Title for the form. Lastly, you're given the option to enter a Donation Ask for the form. The Donation Ask section is displaying a blank text box with several options to bold, italicize, underline, and re-align your text as well as add images. There are two red arrows pointing from the Title and Donation Ask sections to the live preview pane show on the right side of the screen, indicating which will display where.

In this tab, you can also add videos or livestreams, making it easy to host a virtual event and raise money at the same time. Learn more about videos and livestreams.

Preset donation amounts: Set donation buttons to any amount you want—separate amounts with a comma.
Form customization: Switch the ActBlue-provided text on your form to Spanish. Custom inputs, one of our advanced features, also lives in this tab.
Goal tracker: Set a goal, and a live tracker on your form will display progress in real time.
Branding: Customize the look and feel of your form by adding your logo and colors. We used these tools to brand the form shown below. You can also create reusable brandings that you can apply to multiple forms.

A Screenshot of an example Sunshine Movement contribution form that is highly customized. There is a red arrow pointing to the customization, or Branding, at the top of the form as well as a similarly customized Donate button in the middle of the form.

Recurring settings: Ask donors to turn their one-time contribution into a recurring one with Pop-up recurring and Smart Recurring. Smart Options is on by default and suggests multiple monthly donation amounts smaller than the one-time donation the supporter just gave, plus an option to set their own amount. In this tab, you can customize the pop-up text, write a custom recurring ask, and set up a recurring incentive.
Remarketing: Automatically email to anyone who started donating but didn’t finish. Use this tab to customize that email.
Post-donation upsells: Choose what type of upsell you want donors to see after giving: recurring or Smart Boost.
Thanks and receipt: Customize the text at the top of email receipts and the thank you page that donors land on after contributing.
Social share: Add an image and text here to edit how your form looks when shared on social media. Keep image vetting and consent best practices in mind. You can also create reusable and default social share settings.
Recipients: Fundraise for multiple groups on a single contribution form by listing recipients in this tab. Doing so makes your form a Tandem form.
Entry Mode: Enable Entry Mode to create an alternate version of your contribution form that does not store user data in the browser. We recommend this feature if you use one device to collect donations, like at in-person events.

Creating a new contribution form

After you’ve customized and started using your default contribution form, you can create additional forms. Click “Create form” at the top of the Dashboard toolbar and begin customizing your form. If you want to sell tickets for an event, select “Event form.” If you’re selling merchandise, click “Merchandise form.” Click “Contribution form” to continue with a standard contribution page.

If you are an admin for a 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) or a federal campaign, you have the option to create an embed form.

Next, fill in the basic information about your contribution form using the tabs listed above.

A Screenshot of the multiple options that display when you click the Create Form button. From left to right the options include: contribution form, embed form, event form, and merchandise form. Each is a clickable button.

The form title is the most prominent text that donors see on the form. You can always change this text in the “Title, ask, and URL” tab. The contribution form below is titled “Join the small-dollar donor movement!”

A Screenshot of an example contribution form. Its title, which reads Join the Small Dollar Donor Movement!, is highlighted with a red square.

In the “form link” box, type a simple but memorable word related to the content of the form. This word will complete the unique web address for your form, which donors will see in the URL.

A Screenshot of the address bar of a sample contribution form. The customizable URL slug, october-rec, is highlighted with a red square.

The word you put in this box will also be the name of the contribution form in your Dashboard.

A Screenshot of the hyperlinked contribution form as it would appear on the Contribution Forms page of the Dashboard. The form appears under its URL slug name, october-rec, which is highlighted with a red square.

Write the donation ask for your contribution form in the “Donation ask” field, and explain why you are asking for support. There is a circle around the ask on the contribution form below.

A Screenshot of a sample contribution form with the Donation Ask highlighted with a red square.

Click “Next step” to add a saved branding or a new header image to your form.

Customize your form’s style by selecting a saved branding or stick to the default branding if you have one. If you don’t want to use a saved branding, select “Create a new branding,” type in a name for your new branding, and upload a header image.
You can also choose to “Make this branding public” so that supporters can use it to fundraise on your behalf. Click “Next step.”

A Screenshot of the Brandings creation page. The Create a New Branding option is checked.

Customize the text at the top of email receipts and the page donors land on after contributing.

These are great opportunities to share important information regarding your cause or campaign. Here are some ideas for utilizing these fields:

A reminder of when Election Day is
A link to your website or social media
A list of other ways to get involved or a volunteer sign-up page

A Screenshot showing the third step in the Form Creation Wizard: Post-Donation Settings. There are two sample text boxes displayed one on top of the other. The first is for customizable Email Receipt text and the other is for customizable Thanks Page text.

Lastly, click “Publish form.”

From here, you can copy the link to your form and navigate to the form editor if there are any further changes you would like to make.

A Screenshot showing the confirmation screen that appears following successful form creation. It reads: Success, your form was published! There is a red arrow pointing to the blue Edit Your Form button under the title text.

The amount of support that the ActBlue Customer Service Team can provide is dependent on the permissions that you have. Check with your entity Admin about your assigned role.

If you have any questions, please contact our support team using the email address you use to access your ActBlue account.

Creating & Customizing Contribution Forms

In this article:

Your default contribution form

Getting around the form editor

Customizing your contribution form

Creating a new contribution form

Comments

In this article:

Your default contribution form

Getting around the form editor

Customizing your contribution form

Creating a new contribution form

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