Contact Collection Forms let your organization collect supporter details without requiring a donation. They are especially useful for website visitors who are interested in your cause but are not ready to give yet.
By giving these visitors an easy way to stay connected, you can continue sharing updates about your organization, campaigns, and impact. Over time, someone who first joined your contact list may become a donor, volunteer, member, or long-term supporter.
This guide gives you a quick overview of the available Contact Collection Form options and the advantages and tradeoffs of each one.
What can you collect?
You can customize each Contact Collection Form based on the information you want to collect by going to "Forms" on the left-hand rail after expanding the "Engage" section. Depending on your setup, this can include:
1. Name and email address
2. Phone number
3. Mailing address
4. Email and SMS consent
You can also create a dynamic List for contacts captured through the form and enable double opt-in for email subscriptions. With double opt-in enabled, supporters must confirm their email subscription before they are treated as active email subscribers.
You can customize the form content and appearance, including the form title and body, submission button text and color, and the message supporters see after submitting the form.
Choose how the form appears on your website
After you create a form, you can choose how visitors will see and open it. The best option depends on how visible you want the signup experience to be and how much you want it to interrupt the visitor’s browsing experience.
Embedded Form
An Embedded Form is placed directly within a page on your website. It stays visible wherever you add it, making it a good fit for newsletter pages, “Stay Connected” sections, program pages, or the bottom of a homepage.
Advantages: An Embedded Form feels like a natural part of your website. It does not interrupt visitors while they browse; it remains available wherever you place it, and it works well for dedicated signup or newsletter sections.
Things to consider: Visitors need to notice and reach the form on the page, so placement matters. A form that is far down the page may receive less attention than a pop-up.
Best for: Organizations that want a permanent signup option that fits naturally into the website experience.
Automatic Pop-up Form
An Automatic Pop-up Form appears over the webpage after a visitor has been on the page for a set amount of time. Because the visitor does not need to find or click anything first, this is the most noticeable Contact Collection option.
You can choose how long Donorbox waits before showing the pop-up and how long to wait before showing it again after a visitor closes it without subscribing.
Advantages: This is the most visible option and makes the signup opportunity difficult to miss. It can help capture interested visitors before they leave your website, and you can control how soon the form appears and when it can appear again after being closed.
Things to consider: Automatic pop-ups are more intrusive. Showing the form too quickly or too frequently can interrupt the visitor experience, so the timing controls should be used carefully.
Best for: Organizations that want to prioritize contact growth and make the signup opportunity highly visible.
Pop-up Button
The Pop-up Button is a less intrusive way to use a pop-up form. Instead of opening automatically, the form opens only when a visitor clicks the button.
This gives the visitor more control while still keeping the signup option easy to access. Donorbox lets you use a regular or sticky button and customize details such as the button label, size, color, and placement.
When a visitor clicks the button, the Contact Collection Form opens over the current page.
Advantages: The Pop-up Button keeps the form easy to access without automatically placing it in front of every visitor. Visitors decide when they want to open it, and the button can be customized to fit your website.
Things to consider: Visitors still need to notice and click the button. A less prominent button may generate fewer signups than an automatic pop-up.
Best for: Organizations that want a noticeable signup option without interrupting every website visitor. This button-triggered experience is a unique Contact Collection option in Donorbox.
Which option should I use?
There is no single form type that is best for every website.
Embedded Form: Use this when you want signup to feel like a natural part of the page.
Automatic Pop-up: Use this when visibility and contact growth are the priority.
Pop-up Button: Use this when you want the convenience of a pop-up with a less intrusive visitor experience.
You can choose the experience that best fits your website, your audience, and how prominently you want to invite visitors to stay connected.
Build the relationship before someone is ready to donate
A donation form is designed for someone ready to give today. A Contact Collection Form helps you stay connected with someone who may be ready to give later.
By collecting contact information from interested visitors, you can continue sharing your mission and impact after their first visit and build relationships that may lead to future support.
Next steps
Ready to create a form? See How to Create a New Contact Collection Form.