Registration form – create digital registrations online
A registration form is a digital form where participants fill in their details to sign up for an event, a course or an activity. The answers are collected automatically in a participant list, so you avoid manual emails and Excel lists. Here we go through which fields the form should have, how to connect confirmations and reminders to it, when a real registration form beats Google Forms, and how to create your own in Paloma in a few minutes. The free account includes up to 80 participants per event.
What is a registration form?
A registration form is a digital form where participants fill in their details to sign up for an activity, an event or a course. The form automatically collects the information in a participant list, which makes it easy to keep track of who is coming.
The form is often part of a larger page where the participant also sees times, the venue and the program. How that page is built is described in our guide on the page around the form. Together they make up a complete digital registration process.
Create a registration form online – in a few minutes
In Paloma you create forms with drag-and-drop and choose which fields you want to use. You need neither coding skills nor a designer to get started.
Common fields in a registration form: name and email, phone number, choices and options, free text, number of participants, dietary requirements or comments.
The form works right away on both phones and computers, which matters since most people sign up on their phones today, often right after clicking a link in an invitation or an email send.
Registration forms for events
At events, the form is often the most important part of the registration. All participants are gathered in one place, while you get full control over who is coming.
If you want to create both the form and the participant list in the same system, you use Paloma's event platform, which handles the whole flow from invitation to follow-up. For larger corporate events, the form is combined with a dedicated event page and a digital invitation, so that you get a clear chain from invitation to confirmed registration.
Participant list – a full overview
Everyone who signs up through the form ends up in a participant list automatically. There you see everyone registered in real time, export the list to Excel, send reminders straight from the list and follow up after the event. If you want to work in a more structured way with lists and follow-up, there is our guide on participant management.
Automatic confirmations and sends
When someone submits the form, the system can automatically send a confirmation by email. On top of that you can schedule confirmation emails right at registration, reminders in the days before the event and follow-up afterward. The sends can be connected to newsletters and sends or fully automated with marketing automation. For many events this is crucial for reducing no-shows and giving the participants the right information at the right time.
SMS reminders to registered participants
Besides email, you can send text messages to the participants. Text messages are opened considerably more often than email and work especially well for reminders shortly before the event. By combining the registration form with an automatic SMS reminder the day before, you noticeably reduce the number of no-shows.
Digital forms that work on all devices
Paloma's forms are mobile-friendly from the start and work just as well on a phone as on a computer. The participant never has to zoom, scroll sideways or look for the button.
How to create a registration form
This is what the flow looks like in Paloma, from account to first registration. It normally takes under ten minutes.
Create a free account
No card details. The free account includes up to 80 participants per event, 250 emails a month and 5 SMS, so you can test the whole flow before you pay anything.
Create the event and choose fields
Enter the name, date and venue. Add the fields you need with drag-and-drop: name and email are required, the rest is up to you. The fewer the fields, the more registrations.
Set up the confirmation and reminder
The confirmation email goes out automatically at registration. Add an SMS reminder the day before; it is the single best way to get people to come.
Publish and share the link
You get a ready-made link to put in the invitation, the newsletter or on social media. If you like, you can embed the form on your own website.
Follow the registrations in real time
The participant list fills up right away. Export to Excel, check in the participants with the app on the day of the event and send a thank-you afterward from the same list.
Registration form or Google Forms?
Many compare Paloma with free tools such as Google Forms or Microsoft Forms. For simpler surveys they work well, but when you organize events or handle participants on a larger scale, the difference is clear.
With a dedicated registration form from Paloma you get: a professional design that matches your brand, automatic confirmation emails and reminders, integrated participant management and payment with Swish, card or invoice, GDPR-compliant storage on Swedish servers, and the option to add SMS and automated flows.
Google Forms is enough if: you only need to collect answers once, do not need reminders or payment, and can handle the participant list by hand in a spreadsheet. That is why many companies, associations and organizations choose a specialized platform once the registrations become business-critical.
Common uses for registration forms
Events and conferences: collect registrations for corporate events, trade fairs and networking meetups.
Courses and workshops: handle participant registrations with a limited number of places.
Association activities: registrations for the association's activities, camps and trips, or for the annual meeting through the notice.
Sports registrations: register participants for competitions, training camps and tournaments.
School activities: parent meetings, field trips and end-of-term celebrations.
Webinars: registrations for digital seminars and training, see the guide on how to plan a webinar.
Customer events: breakfast meetings, product launches and VIP meetups.
Frequently asked questions about registration forms
What does it cost to create a registration form?
It is free to get started with Paloma. The free account includes up to 80 participants per event and one active event at a time. You pay only when you need more participants, several events at the same time or want to sell tickets and take payment.
Do I need a website to use a registration form?
No. You get a ready-made link to the form that you can share directly by email, SMS or social media. If you want to embed the form on an existing website, that works too.
Can you take payment through the registration form?
Yes. In Paloma's event platform you sell tickets and take payment right in the registration, with Swish, card or invoice. The participant pays in the same flow as the registration.
Is the registration form GDPR-compliant?
Yes. Paloma stores data on Swedish servers and supports correct handling of personal data and consent. You can safely use the form even for sensitive registrations.
What is the difference between a registration form and a registration page?
A registration form is the form itself, where the participant fills in their details. A registration page is the whole page where the form is presented together with information about the event, for example the program, venue and speakers.
When is a registration form for events the best fit?
When you want to collect registrations for events, webinars, training, customer meetings or other activities where you need a clear participant list. It works just as well for 20 as for 2,000 participants.
Which fields should a registration form contain?
Name and email as required fields. For some events you need a phone number, the number of participants, dietary requirements or a free-text field. Limit the fields to the necessary ones: the shorter the form, the more registrations.
Can I use the registration form together with a digital invitation?
Yes. Many send a digital invitation by email where the link goes straight to the form, so that the invitation and the registration become a single flow.
Can I send SMS reminders to those who have signed up?
Yes. With Paloma's SMS feature you send automatic reminders to all registered participants, for example the day before. It is one of the most effective ways to reduce the number of no-shows.
How do I keep better track of the participants after the form has been submitted?
When the form is connected to a participant list, it becomes easy to follow up registrations, send reminders and segment the list so that different groups get different information. On the day of the event you check in the participants with the app.
Is it easy to create a registration form for free?
Yes. You create an account in under a minute, create the event and adjust the fields with drag-and-drop. No technical knowledge is needed and you can publish the form right away.
Create your registration form for free
The form, participant list, confirmations and SMS reminders in the same tool. The free account includes up to 80 participants per event, so you can run your first event completely free of charge.
Create a free accountThis guide is about registration forms: fields, confirmations, reminders and the difference from simple form tools. If you want to build the whole flow around the event, there are guides on participant management, digital invitations, corporate events and how to plan a webinar among our guides, as well as the comparison of event tools if you are choosing a system.