How to Handle File Uploads with Form Submissions

Understand FormsList's approach

FormsList is optimized for text-based form submissions (name, email, message, etc.). For file uploads, the recommended pattern is to upload files to a storage service first, then include the file URL in your form submission.

Upload files to cloud storage

Use a service like Cloudinary, AWS S3, Google Cloud Storage, or Uploadcare for file hosting. These services provide simple upload widgets you can embed alongside your form.

<!-- Example: Cloudinary upload widget + FormsList form -->
<form action="https://formslist.com/f/YOUR_HASH" method="POST">
  <input name="name" type="text" required />
  <input name="email" type="email" required />
  
  <!-- File URL from upload widget -->
  <input name="resume_url" type="url" 
    placeholder="Upload your file, then paste URL here" />
  
  <button type="submit">Submit</button>
</form>

Use a URL field for simplicity

The simplest approach: add a URL field to your form where users paste a link to their file hosted on Google Drive, Dropbox, or similar. This works without any upload widget integration.

Use webhooks for advanced workflows

For automated file processing, set up a webhook integration. When a submission arrives with a file URL, your webhook endpoint can download the file, process it, and store it in your system.

Access file URLs in submissions

All submitted URLs appear in your FormsList dashboard alongside other form data. Export to CSV or JSON to batch-process file references.