---
title: "Setup: Create And Edit A Lead Form"
description: "Create a lead form in Exterio: choose contact only or contact plus project, add shown and hidden fields, set who gets leads, and publish by link or embed."
---
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3. [Lead Form](https://www.getexterio.com/help/settings?hsLang=en#lead-form)
October 27, 2026
# Setup: Create And Edit A Lead Form
## A lead form is a branded web form that turns website visitors into contacts in Exterio, and, if you choose, into projects too. You can put it on your website, share it as a link, or connect it to other tools.
When would I use this?
- You want “Get a free estimate” requests from your website to land in Exterio automatically.
- You’re running a storm damage or seasonal campaign and want its own landing page.
- You want a QR code or link on yard signs and truck wraps that goes to a form.
- You want a tablet at a home show where visitors can sign up.
### Before you start
- **Only users with Feature Settings access can create and edit lead forms.** By default, that’s Admins and Managers.
- **Set up your branding first.** Every lead form uses your account logo and primary color. See “Setup: Company Information.”
- **Set up your contact types, statuses and sources.** A form can fill these in on every submission. See “Setup: Contact Types and Statuses” and “Setup: Contact Lead Sources.”
- **Changes save automatically.** You’ll see **All changes saved** as you work. There’s no Save button.
### How do I open Lead Forms in Exterio?
Go to **Settings** \> **Feature Settings** \> **Lead Form**.
The **Lead Forms** page lists every form with its link, what it creates, its number of fields and submissions, and whether it’s published. The form marked with a star is your default form.
### How do I create a lead form?
Click **New form**, give it a name, and click **Create form**.
1. Click **New form**.
2. Enter a **Form name**, like “Storm Damage Landing.” The name also sets the form’s link.
3. Click **Create form**.
Exterio opens the new form so you can set it up.
### Should my form create a contact only, or a contact and a project?
Choose under **What This Form Creates**.
| **Option** | **What a submission creates** | **Best for** |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Contact only** | A new contact (or updates a matching one) | Newsletter sign-ups, general inquiries, home show sign-up sheets |
| **Contact + Project** | A contact and a project together, ready for your sales team | Estimate requests, where you want the job in your pipeline right away |
With **Contact + Project**, the form gets a **Project Fields** section, like **Work Types** and **Project Address**, so the visitor can tell you about the job.
### How do I add fields to the form?
Under **Form Fields**, open **Contact Fields** or **Project Fields**, click **Add field**, and pick the fields you want.
You can use your Exterio fields (like **Phone**, **Email** and **Address**) and your own custom fields. First Name and Last Name are always on the form. A lead needs a name and a way to reach them.
Each field on the form is set to **Shown** or **Hidden**:
| **Setting** | **What it does** | **Example** |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Shown** | Asks the visitor the question | Phone, Email, Address, Work Types |
| **Hidden** | Fills in a value on every submission without showing it to the visitor | Contact Type = Lead, Contact Source = Website, Contact Status = New |
To change a shown field, click the pencil. You can:
- Rename the question in **Label shown to visitor**, like “Best number to reach you?”
- Add a hint in **Help text**.
- Make the field **Required**.
- Rename the answer choices on a dropdown. The value saved in Exterio stays the same.
- **Header Text**, the headline at the top of the form, like “Get Your Free Estimate”
- **Thank You Message**, what visitors see after they submit
- **Reset Delay (seconds)**, how long the thank you message shows before the form resets for the next person. This is useful for a tablet at a home show.
- **Duplicate** makes a copy with a new name. It’s a quick way to start a campaign form from one you already like.
- **Make default** makes this the form served by your main lead form link.
- **Archive** takes the form out of your list. A form that has never had a submission can be deleted instead.
To take a field off the form, choose **Remove from this form**. Drag fields to change their order.
### Who gets the leads from my form?
Set **Contact Owner** (and, for Contact + Project forms, **Salesperson**) as hidden fields on the form. You can point them at one person, or at a rotation set up under **Lead Assignment Rules** on the Lead Forms page.
These fields can only be hidden, because showing them would list your team members to anyone who opens the form.
### What happens when someone fills out the form twice?
Exterio matches returning visitors by email address, and you decide what happens under **When a Known Contact Submits Again**.
| **Setting** | **Choices** |
| --- | --- |
| **Contact fields** | **Keep existing values**, **Fill only empty fields**, or **Overwrite with newest** |
| **Projects** | **Create a new project** or **Don’t create a project** |
Every submission is recorded on the contact’s timeline, whatever you choose, including any values that were replaced.
### How do I change the header, thank you message and other content?
Scroll to **Content** and edit:
The **Consent Disclosure** is provided by Exterio and can’t be edited. It includes the wording required for texting and email consent, and links to your company’s privacy policy and terms of service.
### How do I publish my form?
Click **Published** at the top of the form, then share it using the **Direct Link** or **JavaScript Embed**.
| **Option** | **How to use it** |
| --- | --- |
| **Direct Link** | Copy the link and share it anywhere: your website menu, emails, social media, or a QR code |
| **JavaScript Embed** | Copy the snippet and send it to whoever manages your website. They paste it into the page where the form should appear |
Click **Draft** to take a form offline.
To use the embed, add your website’s domain under **Allowed Domains** in **API Key & Custom Integration**.
### How do I see what my form has received?
Click **View submissions** under **Form Fields**. You can search submissions by name, email and date.
### How do I change a form’s name or link?
Edit **Form name** under **Direct Link**. To change the link, edit **Link** and click **Update link**.
Changing the link breaks it everywhere the old link is already published, like your website, emails or printed QR codes.
### How do I duplicate, archive or set a default form?
On the Lead Forms page, click the three-dot menu on the form:
### Tips and gotchas
- **Always include Email.** Exterio recognizes returning visitors by email. Without it, every submission creates a new contact and your resubmission settings don’t apply.
- **Set the source as a hidden field.** Add **Contact Source** as hidden and set it to the right source for each form, like “Website” or “Yard Sign.” Then your reports show which forms bring in work.
- **Keep the form short.** Name, phone, email, address and what they need is plenty. Every extra question is a reason for someone to give up.
- **Use one form per campaign.** A separate form for your storm campaign or home show makes it easy to see exactly where each lead came from.
- **Test it before you share it.** Open the link, submit a test entry, and check that the contact (and project) shows up in Exterio the way you expect.
- **Think twice before changing a published link.** Anywhere the old link is printed or posted stops working.
- [Overview](https://www.getexterio.com/help/overview?hsLang=en)
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- [Settings](https://www.getexterio.com/help/settings?hsLang=en#main-content)
- [General](https://www.getexterio.com/help/settings?hsLang=en#general)
- [Estimating](https://www.getexterio.com/help/settings?hsLang=en#estimating)
- [Communication](https://www.getexterio.com/help/settings?hsLang=en#communication)
- [Contacts](https://www.getexterio.com/help/settings?hsLang=en#contacts)
- [Projects](https://www.getexterio.com/help/settings?hsLang=en#projects)
- [Lead Form](https://www.getexterio.com/help/settings?hsLang=en#lead-form)
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