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MARKETING · CONTACT FORM TEMPLATE

Waitlist Signup Form (Pre-Launch Lead Capture)

Pre-launch waitlists let you capture demand before the product ships. The multi-step form qualifies the use case so launch-day conversions skew toward the highest-intent signups.

1,000/mo free·no card·works on any host
form.htmlhtml27 lines
01<form action="https://splitforms.com/api/submit" method="POST">
02 <input type="hidden" name="access_key" value="YOUR_ACCESS_KEY">
03 <input type="hidden" name="subject" value="New waitlist signup">
04
05 <label for="email">Email *</label>
06 <input id="email" type="email" name="email" placeholder="you@example.com" required>
07 <label for="name">Name</label>
08 <input id="name" type="text" name="name" placeholder="Optional">
09 <label for="referral">How did you hear about us?</label>
10 <select id="referral" name="referral">
11 <option value="">Choose…</option>
12 <option>Twitter</option>
13 <option>Friend</option>
14 <option>Search</option>
15 <option>Newsletter</option>
16 <option>Other</option>
17 </select>
18
19 <!-- honeypot — bots fill every field -->
20 <input type="checkbox" name="botcheck" style="display:none" tabindex="-1" autocomplete="off">
21
22 <button type="submit">Send</button>
23</form>
24
25<p style="margin-top:12px;font-size:11px;color:#888;text-align:right">
26 Powered by <a href="https://splitforms.com" style="color:#888;text-decoration:none" target="_blank" rel="noopener">splitforms</a>
27</p>
1,000
submissions / mo, free
3
fields, ready to ship
5
code outputs
60s
from copy to inbox
Waitlist Signup Form (Pre-Launch Lead Capture) — example splitforms template with submissions inbox
§ 01Why it mattersthe qualifying-fields argument

Waitlists are the cheapest growth tool a pre-launch product has — Superhuman, Notion, and Linear all built sizable waitlists before paid launch. The form captures email plus a question or two on use case ('what would you use this for?', 'what tools do you use today?') so the launch sequence segments by intent. Multi-step flow boosts completion vs a single form — the prospect commits in step 1 and answers the qualifying questions in step 2-3 with momentum. Push waitlist signups to a dedicated ESP audience (Loops, ConvertKit, Beehiiv) so launch-day emails segment by use case and target the highest-intent signups first.

Multi-step (Typeform-style) · webhooks into Loops / ConvertKit / Beehiiv.
✦ at a glance
  • Waitlist · 3 fields
  • HTML, JS, React, PHP, cURL outputs
  • One POST endpoint, no SDK
  • Honeypot + classifier, no CAPTCHA
§ 02Live previewinteractive · sandboxed · no key required

See exactly what your visitors see — and you’ll receive.

Left: the rendered form, fully interactive in a sandboxed iframe. Right: the email and dashboard view that lands the moment a visitor submits.

preview · waitlist-formlocalhost:3000
✦ what you’ll see in your inbox

Every submission becomes an email plus a dashboard row. The fields below are the exact payload your form will send. Reply-to is wired to the visitor’s email so hitting reply goes back to them.

dashboard · new submission14ms · 200 OK
SUBJECT · New waitlist signup
Email
maya@studio71.co
Name
Maya Iyer
How did you hear about us?
Twitter

Iframe is sandboxed — submit doesn’t actually fire. Get your access key to wire it up live.

§ 03Three steps3 steps · ~60 seconds

Generate, embed, receive.

Three actions stand between you and your first lead. None of them require a backend, a database, or a CAPTCHA library.

STEP 01GENERATE

Step 1: capture email

Single email field — keep step 1 frictionless. Loss-rate from email-only is near-zero; once the email is in, momentum carries through later qualifying questions.

Create your form
key=sk_live_••••••••
STEP 02EMBED

Step 2-3: qualify use case

One or two questions on use case ('what problem brings you here?', 'what tools do you use today?'). Optional but most users complete because they're invested by step 2.

snippethtml
<form action="https://splitforms.com/api/submit" method="POST">
  …
</form>
STEP 03RECEIVE

Push to ESP segment

Webhook to Loops / ConvertKit / Beehiiv / Mailchimp into a 'waitlist' audience. Launch-day emails segment by use case so the highest-intent signups get the first invite waves.

inbox · 1 newjust now
FROM contact@yoursite.com
New waitlist signup
Maya Iyer maya@studio71.co
Loved your last open house in Hayes — looking for similar with parking. Pre-approved through Wells Fargo.
§ 04Copy & ship5 languages · same endpoint

Five outputs. One backend.

HTML by default. Click open the language you ship in — every variant POSTs to the same /api/submit endpoint.

01HTMLform.html27 lines
<form action="https://splitforms.com/api/submit" method="POST">
  <input type="hidden" name="access_key" value="YOUR_ACCESS_KEY">
  <input type="hidden" name="subject" value="New waitlist signup">

  <label for="email">Email *</label>
  <input id="email" type="email" name="email" placeholder="you@example.com" required>
  <label for="name">Name</label>
  <input id="name" type="text" name="name" placeholder="Optional">
  <label for="referral">How did you hear about us?</label>
  <select id="referral" name="referral">
    <option value="">Choose…</option>
    <option>Twitter</option>
    <option>Friend</option>
    <option>Search</option>
    <option>Newsletter</option>
    <option>Other</option>
  </select>

  <!-- honeypot — bots fill every field -->
  <input type="checkbox" name="botcheck" style="display:none" tabindex="-1" autocomplete="off">

  <button type="submit">Send</button>
</form>

<p style="margin-top:12px;font-size:11px;color:#888;text-align:right">
  Powered by <a href="https://splitforms.com" style="color:#888;text-decoration:none" target="_blank" rel="noopener">splitforms</a>
</p>
02JavaScriptform.js43 lines
<form id="lf-form">
  <label for="email">Email *</label>
  <input id="email" type="email" name="email" placeholder="you@example.com" required>
  <label for="name">Name</label>
  <input id="name" type="text" name="name" placeholder="Optional">
  <label for="referral">How did you hear about us?</label>
  <select id="referral" name="referral">
    <option value="">Choose…</option>
    <option>Twitter</option>
    <option>Friend</option>
    <option>Search</option>
    <option>Newsletter</option>
    <option>Other</option>
  </select>
  <button type="submit">Send</button>
</form>

<p style="margin-top:12px;font-size:11px;color:#888;text-align:right">
  Powered by <a href="https://splitforms.com" style="color:#888;text-decoration:none" target="_blank" rel="noopener">splitforms</a>
</p>

<script>
  document.getElementById('lf-form').addEventListener('submit', async (e) => {
    e.preventDefault();
    const data = new FormData(e.target);
    data.set('access_key', 'YOUR_ACCESS_KEY');
    data.set('subject', 'New waitlist signup');

    const res = await fetch('https://splitforms.com/api/submit', {
      method: 'POST',
      body: data,
      headers: { Accept: 'application/json' },
    });

    const json = await res.json();
    if (json.success) {
      e.target.reset();
      alert('Sent!');
    } else {
      alert('Error: ' + (json.message || 'Try again'));
    }
  });
</script>
03React / Next.jsForm.tsx58 lines
'use client';

import { useState, type FormEvent } from 'react';

export default function WaitlistForm() {
  const [status, setStatus] = useState<'idle' | 'sending' | 'sent' | 'error'>('idle');

  async function onSubmit(e: FormEvent<HTMLFormElement>) {
    e.preventDefault();
    setStatus('sending');

    const data = new FormData(e.currentTarget);
    data.set('access_key', 'YOUR_ACCESS_KEY');
    data.set('subject', 'New waitlist signup');

    const res = await fetch('https://splitforms.com/api/submit', {
      method: 'POST',
      body: data,
      headers: { Accept: 'application/json' },
    });

    const json = await res.json();
    setStatus(json.success ? 'sent' : 'error');
    if (json.success) e.currentTarget.reset();
  }

  if (status === 'sent') return <p>Thanks — we&rsquo;ll be in touch.</p>;

  return (
    <>
    <form onSubmit={onSubmit}>
      <label htmlFor="email">Email *</label>
      <input id="email" type="email" name="email" placeholder="you@example.com" required />
      <label htmlFor="name">Name</label>
      <input id="name" type="text" name="name" placeholder="Optional" />
      <label htmlFor="referral">How did you hear about us?</label>
      <select id="referral" name="referral">
        <option value="">Choose…</option>
        <option>Twitter</option>
        <option>Friend</option>
        <option>Search</option>
        <option>Newsletter</option>
        <option>Other</option>
      </select>

      <button type="submit" disabled={status === 'sending'}>
        {status === 'sending' ? 'Sending…' : 'Send'}
      </button>

      {status === 'error' && <p>Something went wrong. Try again.</p>}
    </form>

      <p style={{ marginTop: 12, fontSize: 11, color: '#888', textAlign: 'right' }}>
        Powered by <a href="https://splitforms.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener" style={{ color: '#888', textDecoration: 'none' }}>splitforms</a>
      </p>
    </>
  );
}
04PHPsubmit.php28 lines
<?php
// Drop into a PHP page. Receives a form POST and proxies it to splitforms.com.
// Useful when you want to add server-side validation or rate limiting.

if ($_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] === 'POST') {
    $allowed = ['email', 'name', 'referral'];
    $payload = ['access_key' => 'YOUR_ACCESS_KEY'];
    $payload['subject'] = 'New waitlist signup';

    foreach ($allowed as $f) {
        if (isset($_POST[$f])) $payload[$f] = $_POST[$f];
    }

    $ch = curl_init('https://splitforms.com/api/submit');
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POST, true);
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, http_build_query($payload));
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, ['Accept: application/json']);
    $response = curl_exec($ch);
    $status   = curl_getinfo($ch, CURLINFO_HTTP_CODE);
    curl_close($ch);

    header('Content-Type: application/json');
    http_response_code($status);
    echo $response;
    exit;
}
?>
05cURLtest.sh7 lines
curl -X POST https://splitforms.com/api/submit \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  -d "access_key=YOUR_ACCESS_KEY" \
  -d "subject=New waitlist signup" \
  -d "email=jane@example.com" \
  -d "name=Jane Builder" \
  -d "referral=Twitter" 

Replace YOUR_ACCESS_KEY with the key from your dashboard. That’s the only edit.

§ 06FAQ4 answered

Things people ask before they ship.

Direct answers, no marketing fluff. Missing one? Email hello@splitforms.com.

01Should I show waitlist position / numbers?
Showing 'you're #347 in line' on the confirmation creates social proof but invites comparison. Showing total waitlist size ('join 2,500 people on the waitlist') without per-person position is the safer middle. Refer-a-friend mechanics that move people up the list (Robinhood-style) drive viral growth but require more eng work.
02How do I trigger launch invites in waves?
Tag waitlist signups by use case in the ESP audience (Loops, ConvertKit). Launch-day, segment by tag and send invite waves over 48-72 hours. Highest-intent / closest-fit goes first; broadest casts go last. Spreads server load and lets you triage onboarding support.
03Can I integrate with Loops / ConvertKit / Beehiiv?
Yes — webhook the JSON. Loops has direct webhook support and is purpose-built for product transactional + waitlist email. ConvertKit and Beehiiv accept via API or Zapier. All three handle the launch-sequence segmentation cleanly.
04What about referral mechanics for waitlists?
Tools like Viral Loops, KickoffLabs, and Sparkloop add referral mechanics on top of a waitlist — each signup gets a unique referral link that moves them up the queue when friends sign up. Boosts viral coefficient noticeably; adds complexity. Worth it for high-stakes launches; overkill for early-stage.
✻ ✻ ✻

Ship your waitlist signup form (pre-launch lead capture) in 60 seconds.

1,000 free submissions per month. No credit card. Copy the snippet, paste your access key, watch leads land in your inbox.

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v0.1 · founders pricing locked in · early access open