Dubsado form design tips & tricks from the a Certified Dubsado Specialist

I charge hundreds to create bespoke Dubsado Forms—this is how I do it.

Dubsado DELIVERS in that arena of an easy booking experience and overall client journey.

But one feature that definitely doesn’t get enough attention? The amount of customization No Dubs branding anywhere, no matter what plan you’re on. Complete freedom with forms. Seriously, there is nothing else out there that allows you to create a beautiful form like this— period.

The only problem? Those amazing forms we build come with a pretty steep learning curve. They don’t work like web builders or any graphic design app out there. Many of my peers turn to use code, and I’ve seen entire sections built out in Canva… no no no…. I’ve tried doing both of that and it’s just not necessary.

There are 3️⃣ things I know for sure:

1. You can create BEAUTIFUL forms that match your branding without touching a single bit of code or paying for an extra subscription.

2. They’ll also look amazing on mobile with little to no extra effort.

3. Prepare to WOW your new clients— you’re going to look so professional.

I’ve built dozens of custom forms in Dubsado & I’m pulling back the curtain to show you how 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼

Ready to see the form we’re going to recreate?

I’ve broken it down into 3 images to accommodate the size of it.

But first, let’s go over some best practices

1. I’m a big fan of containers within containers.

2. Make sure the container width and content with sliders on the container menu has actual numbers. If you’re not sure about widths, this is where I start: For background containers, I go full width with the content 75%. The next container inside that has a container width of 100% and content width of 90%. Everything else inside that— 100% for both, but change the padding on all sides to 5px. (this is just to ensure you can see each container).

3. If you’d like an image on one side with copy on the other, it’s best to use a container with multiple columns. Anytime I tweak the padding or margins to slide things around, it always ends up wonky. Don’t try to get fancy here.

4. To add a container BELOW the container you’re working on, hit the + on the green bar. To add a container (or any element) INSIDE a container, hit the + in the middle - not the green bar.

5. When you have one container how you like, duplicate it. This is especially helpful for headers and package styling.

6. Use text and image boxes as placeholders while you create the form itself, and then fill in the content when the bones are good.

7. Check your work by making each form a public proposal (slide it over to the proposal column on the forms section and then toggle the button in the settings that says ‘make a new project’. Copy the link to open in a new window, text to yourself and check various screens on the Responsively app. Make sure to put it back where it belongs when you’re done.

Ready to build a Dubsado Form like the pros? Let’s go.

How to Style the Header

This header is taken straight from one of the templates in my shop. I love the black box around the name and the name of the form hovering over it. This is NOT done in Canva. It’s straight up done with containers and margins.

Check out the 2 examples below and I’ll show you how to create both of those effects. (and check out my shop if you want me to send you that template!

This header is made up of 3 containers.

Background container is full width with an image(100% container width and 75% content width). The image has a white layer over it with 50% transparency.

Hit the + in the middle of the container and add another one inside it.

I have 2 examples here. The 1st image has 1 column with a text box inside. The 2nd has 2 columns, an image (logo) with a transparent background on the left and nothing on the right. Container AND content width are both 100%.

The black box is a container UNDER the white one. The container width is 60% and the content width is 100%. The padding for top and bottom is 30px. The top margin is -100.

Play with the padding to suit your image/logo and content.

This is also made up of 3 containers, but instead of the 2 inside containers on top of each other, they are all inside like nesting dolls.

Background container is full width with an image(100% container width and 75% content width). The image has a white layer over it with 50% transparency.

Hit the + in the middle of the container and add another one inside it. Make this one with a black background and 100% container width and content width

Hit the + in the middle of the container and add another one inside it. Make this one with a WHITE background, 100% container width and content width, but give it 1px padding on all sides.

Add a text box inside to add your copy. (here there is a smart field for the clients name - it’s empty when not assigned to a project)

Dissecting the second header:

Here you can see how the containers are laid out. I scooted the white container in so you can see how it lays on top of the black container. When done right (and all container sliders to 100%), you’ll have a nice thin black line around the white box that looks really nice.

Unfortunately, we cannot round corners at this time!

How to Layer a Welcome Message

How to Style Packages in Dubsado

I’m not sure it’s common knowledge how much you can style your package selections.

This example is 2 containers with 2 columns each. Look at the graphic above to see how this will show on mobile.

Sometimes you see people switch the image and text for every other item, and that looks nice on desktop, but the images will be in a weird order on mobile. I suggest leaving images on one side and text on the other.

This is a closer look into the actual package element.

The content inside the right column is 3 elements stacked on top of each other:

1. A text box with the name of the package

2. Then the package element (double tap to change the font, alignment, and select button). Use the package smart fields to decide what is shown. I prefer only the select button and the price with no tax.

3. Whatever descriptive text you want to include.

Right below the packages, I would have a section for add-on’s (if this makes sense for your business).

You can do this by adding 3 containers inside a 3-column container. This is below a 1 column container that holds a text box (the section heading), and all of this is inside a background container.

EXTRA TIPS: The background container in this case is white, but you could have an image or a different color. You can choose if this background container will be the same background for everything inside of it by pressing RESET on the inside containers, or change the background color for each container within.

Yes, this is terribly ugly. But it demonstrates what you can do in the background of each container box. This example has SIX containers.

The purple is a full-width container with a container element inside. Container width is 100% and content width is 75%. Padding is 50px on top and on bottom.

The leafy blue under the header is a container with an image background and a blue overlay with 30% opacity. Top and bottom padding is 25px.

The green columns are actually ONE container with 3 containers inside of it. See the thin green line above the yellow box? That’s because each of those 3 columns is INSIDE that container (see the picture above), and the only container I changed the color to was the middle one.

Last thing on packages - I recommend stacking the elements in this order: text box with name, select button, price and then any text (the text is usually what’s included and is optional.

This picture is an example of why I like to stack the package elements a certain way. I *don’t like it in this order shown because the select button won’t line up in a nice row if the text box of deliverables is not the same length. It looks messy on desktop. (also, keep the 3 containers the same color as the container they’re inside for this same reason-- like above.

This would also look nice and always line up well if you create a solid box image with all of the info you want for each package and then just add the select button above or below it in that container.

I hope the above images helped show how to build this part of the form. Here’s what it looks like for your client without the crazy colors.

Large Text Block with Background

This testimonial section has a border above and below it. The borders are each within their own containers - so 3 containers total in this image.

The top and bottom containers are full width with the divider element inside - 1px and change the color to your choosing.

The middle container is full width with an image background, colored overlay at 50% opacity (tweak to your liking). The container is 100% wide and the content is 75% wide.

The only thing in the middle is a text box. There are no sliders to mess with bc it’s no in another box (this time 😉)

How to Style a Timeline

I love how simple this timeline looks. This could be done horizontally, but I wanted to add a little more interest by doing it vertical.

See the image below with a breakdown of how to create this.

Notice how these containers are layered.

The background is a container that’s 100% wide and the content is 75% wide. I added a color to the background and did not put any other colors on the other containers, so the background shows through.

You have 3 containers stacked on top of each other, with the bottom 2 holding 2 columns each. Each of those 3 are 100% wide and the content is 90% wide.

The column on the left has another container with 3 columns and a text box in the middle that’s center-aligned. You can also use a small image here if it works for your design.

How to Style the FAQ Section

How it looks…

(see the entire form at the top to view this section as a whole)

…how it’s styled.

• Full width background image with the container width 100% and the content 75% wide

• The white container is 100% wide and the content is 90% wide to give nice borders. Top and bottom padding is 25px. Top and bottom margins are 50px.

• One ‘question’ container was created and duplicated once it was just right. In this case, each box has a text box with H3 and body copy, and a divider below the text box. Each of these inside containers has 25 px padding on top and bottom.

How to Add Questions

Go back to the graphic HERE to look again at the proper order to lay out your short answer fields for clients to fill out.

I highly suggest doing a container box for each line.

If you track with the rest of this document, keep one background container that’s 100% wide and the content is 75% wide.

Add a container inside of it that’s 100% wide and the content is 90% wide. Make the top and bottom padding px.

Create container rows that will all stack inside that second container. Each one will be 100% wide and the content will be 100% wide as well. Make each of these 2 or 3 columns for your questions.

NEXT STEPS

How it looks to your client…

The numbers are graphics I created in Canva, which is totally optional. You could also keep it simple with a text box. Just center-align it, make it a fun color or even use emoji’s in place!

Here are a few fun ways to write the numbers: |01| 01 [1]

… how it’s done

The background container/image is the same image I used earlier in the form. 100%/75% again, 50px padding on top and bottom.

The 2 containers within that that are layered on top of each other. Both are 100% wide with 90% content width.

The container on top has 1 column with a center aligned text box as the heading.

The container on bottom has 3 columns. Each column holds a container with 1 column (100%/100% and 5px padding all the way around). And inside there you have an image stacked on top of a text box. This should probably go without saying, but make sure the images are the same size or it won’t line up right.

Simple Yet Beautiful Footer

Finally, to end the document, I have created this canvas, which is similar to the headers.

2 containers nestled inside each other. Same story as above. The first is a container that’s 100%/75%, 100 px on top and bottom, with an image as a background with an overlay.

The second is a container inside it that’s 100%/90% with a text box and a solid color as a background for that. You could also change the opacity of the solid color here to let some of the image shine through!

Whew!

This was a LOT. Creating beautiful forms in Dubsado is no small feat. If you use any of these tips, I would LOVE to see what you create!

Quick question— How far into your Dubsado setup are you? I put together a free Dubsado Setup Guide to help you get your account set up correctly from the get-go. If this post is a little too advanced, check this out first (specifically the section on FORMS), then come back to it. Click HERE.

Last thing— How much time would it save you if I dropped a template of this exact form into your Dubsado account? Check out the templates available in my SHOP.

Did you know Dubsado is free for your first 3 clients? Use the code paradise for 30% off your first year or month when your trial is over!

Are you a web designer? Or any project-based provider and can’t quite figure out your processes? Check this out 👇🏼👇🏼

Did you know Dubsado is free for your first the 3 clients?

Use the code PARADISE for 30% off your first year or month when your trial is over!