# Build your form

Go from an empty canvas to a published form — the one thing every request and every public link needs.

## Build your form

A form is the design: the questions you ask and the way they look. Publishing it is what makes it usable — as a request sent to one person, or as a public link open to everyone. This page gets you to a published form.

<h2 id="quick-start">Publish in four steps</h2>
<p>The editor works like a document. Type where you want text, and press a key to add a question.</p>

Forms</strong> in the sidebar and click <strong>Form</strong>, top-left. Or go to <a href="https://app.formbase.so/try">app.formbase.so/try</a> to build one without an account.',
    },
    {
      title: 'Add questions',
      description:
        'Click in the editor and press <strong>/</strong> to open the block menu. Pick a question type, type the label, and hit Enter. Drag the handle on the left to reorder.',
    },
    {
      title: 'Preview',
      description: 'Click <strong>Preview</strong> in the toolbar to walk through the form exactly as the person answering it will.',
    },
    {
      title: 'Publish',
      description:
        'Click <strong>Publish</strong> (top-right). The form goes live, its field keys freeze, and a <strong>Share</strong> button appears in the toolbar — it is only there once a form is published.',
    },
  ]}
/>

> ℹ️ **Safe to experiment**
> <p>Edits autosave as a draft. Your live form keeps the last published version until you publish again.</p>

<h2 id="what-publishing-does">What publishing does</h2>
<p>Publishing is not only "make it visible". It fixes three things you will rely on later:</p>
<ul>
  <li>
    <strong>Field keys are frozen.</strong> Each question gets a stable name like <code>company_name</code> that automations address it by,
    and that name stays the same through every later edit. <a href="/requests/field-keys">Field keys →</a>
  </li>
  <li>
    <strong>A version is snapshotted.</strong> Anyone answering keeps the version they opened, even while you keep editing the draft. Every
    plan sees the publish history; reverting to an earlier version is Pro. <a href="/building-forms/version-history">Version history →</a>
  </li>
  <li>
    <strong>Both channels open.</strong> The Share sheet switches between a <strong>Public link</strong> channel and a{' '}
    <strong>Requests</strong> channel, and the form's first share link is created for you.
  </li>
</ul>

> ✅ **Other ways to start**
> <p>
>     <strong>Templates</strong> — open <strong>Templates</strong> in the sidebar for 19 ready-made forms in six categories.{' '}
>     <strong>AI</strong> — open AI chat (bottom-right) and describe what you need. See <a href="/ai/using-ai">Using AI</a>.
>   </p>

<h2 id="next-steps">Next steps</h2>
<div class="not-prose grid gap-3 sm:grid-cols-2">
  - [Send your first request](/getting-started/send-your-first-request) — Assign the form you just published to one person
  - [Tour the editor](/building-forms/understanding-the-editor) — Toolbar, block menu, theme, share, settings
  - [Question types](/building-forms/field-types) — Text, choice, file upload, payment, decision, and more
  - [Using AI](/ai/using-ai) — Generate a form from one prompt
</div>