SilentForms

Carrd

Connect a Carrd form to SilentForms with a custom form action, or embed a plain HTML form.

Carrd can send a form to any URL you choose, which is all SilentForms needs. You can build the form with Carrd's own Form element and its Send to URL option, or paste a plain HTML form into an Embed element. The first keeps Carrd's form styling and on-page messages; the second gives you full control over the markup.

Get an access key on the access key page first. It only routes submissions to your inbox, so it is safe in your published site.

Option 1: a Carrd form with Send to URL#

Carrd's documentation lists custom URL forms as requiring Pro Plus or higher. If your site is on a plan without it, use option 2.

Create the form#

  1. Click Add Element, then Form.
  2. Set Type to Custom, then Send to URL.
  3. Enter the endpoint as the URL:
https://silentforms.com/api/submit
  1. Set Method to AJAX and Format to JSON.

Why this combination: with AJAX the visitor stays on your page and Carrd shows its own success or failure behaviour. Carrd treats any 2xx response as success and anything else as failure. Sending JSON makes SilentForms answer with JSON and a real status code (for example 400 for an invalid email), so a failed submission shows up as a failure in Carrd rather than as a success.

Add the fields#

Click Fields and set up each field. The Submitted ID is the field name SilentForms receives, so set it explicitly:

LabelTypeSubmitted IDNotes
NameTextname
EmailEmailemailBecomes the Reply-To of the email you receive.
MessageText Areamessage
(any)HiddenaccessKeyDefault Value: your access key.
(any)HiddensubjectOptional. Default Value: the email subject, for example "New message from my Carrd site".

Carrd's Hidden type sends a predefined value, which is exactly what the access key needs. Fill in its Default Value with the key, for example YOUR_ACCESS_KEY_HERE.

Warning:Do not add a hidden field called botcheck, honeypot or _gotcha here. Carrd's hidden fields always send a value, and SilentForms treats any value in those fields as spam: the submission would look successful but never reach your inbox. Carrd has its own spam protection settings you can use instead.

Choose what happens next#

Back on the form, choose an On Success and an On Failure behaviour, so visitors see a clear result either way. These are Carrd settings and apply because the form uses AJAX. Publish the site.

Option 2: an HTML form in an Embed element#

Carrd lists the Embed element as requiring Pro Standard or higher. It inserts your HTML directly into the page, so a normal form post works.

  1. Click Add Element, then Embed.
  2. Set Type to Code and Style to Inline, so the form appears where the element sits.
  3. Paste this into Code:
<form class="sf-form" action="https://silentforms.com/api/submit" method="POST">
  <input type="hidden" name="accessKey" value="YOUR_ACCESS_KEY_HERE">
  <input type="hidden" name="redirect" value="https://example.carrd.co/#thanks">

  <label for="sf-name">Name</label>
  <input id="sf-name" type="text" name="name" required>

  <label for="sf-email">Email</label>
  <input id="sf-email" type="email" name="email" required>

  <label for="sf-message">Message</label>
  <textarea id="sf-message" name="message" rows="5" required></textarea>

  <input type="checkbox" name="botcheck" style="display: none;" tabindex="-1" autocomplete="off">
  <button type="submit">Send message</button>
</form>

<style>
  .sf-form { display: grid; gap: 0.5rem; max-width: 28rem; margin: 0 auto; text-align: left; }
  .sf-form input, .sf-form textarea { padding: 0.65rem 0.8rem; border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2); border-radius: 0.5rem; font: inherit; }
  .sf-form button { margin-top: 0.5rem; padding: 0.75rem; border: 0; border-radius: 0.5rem; background: #222; color: #fff; font: inherit; cursor: pointer; }
</style>

Here the honeypot is fine: it is an unchecked checkbox, which browsers do not send at all, so real visitors never trip it.

The redirect field sends the visitor back to your site after a successful submission. Carrd sites are one page split into sections, so a good target is a section you create for the purpose, such as one named thanks, linked as #thanks on your site's full URL. Leave the field out to show the SilentForms default thank-you page instead. More in Redirect after submit.

Test it#

Embeds do not output anything in the Carrd builder, so publish the site and submit the form from the live page. Check that the email arrives, that every field is in it, and that Reply goes to the address you entered. If a field is missing, its Submitted ID (option 1) or name (option 2) is empty or misspelled. For error messages, see Troubleshooting.

Next steps#