For companies that send clients PDF forms to fill out, uploading those interactive pdf forms takes up a lot of storage and bandwidth, thus increasing costs. Interactive PDFs also won’t work in some PDF viewers, so forcing every client to install and use the same workable reader can be problematic. Some clients resort to printing them out, but for those without access to a printer, they may simply give up.
Why Online HTML Forms are So Much Better
Better User Experience
HTML forms are easier to use on any device because any web browser supports HTML. You wouldn’t need to bother your clients to install a specific PDF Viewer or scan a filled-in printout (unless they absolutely want to do so!). You can also fill out forms on any device in a browser with no additional software.
Lower Storage Cost
Storing and serving PDF files can be costly in the long run. PDFs are binary files and can increase in size due to embedded fonts, graphics, and form elements. In contrast, HTML forms are lightweight, and the submitted data is usually stored as small text files or sent directly into a database. This massively reduces the server’s load and your ongoing storage expenses.
Faster Data Processing
Completed PDF forms collected by your staff could be either scanned pictures of a physical version of the document, or a digitally filled out PDF file. The text contents are likely hard to copy and paste. Although you can argue that modern PDF viewers usually allow text selections directly from the file, it’s still done and examined by humans. With HTML forms, you can simply tell your clients to submit the forms to a URL, and your IT teams can directly extract data from that URL. The backend takes care of everything at a lightning speed, and data can automatically flow into your CRM, project management tools, marketing platforms, or internal databases. Everything’s connected.
Fastest Way to Replace PDF Forms with HTML Forms
At this point you may think: ok, cool, that sounds awesome. Instead of my clients, am I supposed to bother my IT teams to create all those different HTML forms from scratch now?
Lucky for you, we have created this amazing software called FormVu that can directly convert your fillable PDF forms into HTML forms. It’s a simple SDK that can be run from the command line, in Java as a dependency, or in Ruby / Python / PHP / NodeJS / Javascript / Java / cURL / C# as cloud API. You can deploy it with Docker or with an app server. You can read more here.
Once the software is up and running, you can batch convert many PDF forms into HTML forms very quickly. You can also customize the way forms are converted.
Conclusion
Online HTML forms are much better than PDF forms because it brings better user experience, lower storage cost, and faster data processing. Instead of creating HTML forms from scratch, you can use FormVu to convert existing PDF forms into HTML forms. Click here to try it out!