An online form is probably self-explanatory for most people. A form in general form, or as we still know it from the past and some dusty offices, requests structured data. The contents can then be entered in predefined data fields, which are often limited in length. Thus, the form is supposed to simplify the query of information, its transmission, and further processing. What is known from the paper form was transferred to the digital world of the Internet and the online form was born.
Due to the many programming solutions, the online form naturally offers an immense number of advantages over the paper form. The saving of paper may be seen a little critically since this is offset by the CO2 consumption for providing the Internet infrastructure for the online form. But the big advantage is that no paper has to be exchanged at all, since the online form is constantly available via the Internet. The data entered can be transmitted digitally and can therefore be processed directly, for example in databases or certain algorithms. On the other hand, there is often tedious typing from the paper form and administration of the forms in folders, archives, and documentation centers. An online form can be distributed to several recipients or processors simultaneously. The paper form must be copied for this or a running day must be inserted.
Another advantage is that you can control the data entry. For example, you can define mandatory fields that must be filled in. Or you can check the correctness of the data input, for example, whether the data entered in the e-mail or phone number field really has the form of an e-mail or phone number. Furthermore, length restrictions of a form field are possible to limit the number of characters entered.