Forms, Surveys & Quizzes

Use existing contact fields instead of creating new ones

Before creating a new form field, search for an existing one — JourneyCARE includes hundreds of standard fields, and your organization may already have custom fields created over time. Reusing an existing field keeps every form that collects the same information writing to one place, so your automations, reports, smart lists, and communications stay consistent.

Search existing fields first

When adding a field to a form, begin by searching for the field you need. For example, instead of immediately creating a field called Organization, Company Name, or Employer, search to see if your organization already has one. Many organizations accidentally create several versions of the same information over the years.

Reuse existing fields whenever possible

If an existing field already stores the information you need, use it. Common examples include First Name, Last Name, Email, Phone, Address, Company, Membership Number, and License Number. Using the same field everywhere ensures all of your forms update the same information, and because submissions write back to the contact record, the same field feeds your automations, reports, smart lists, and communications.

Create a new field only when needed

Create a new field only when the information has never been collected before, no existing field accurately represents the data, and the information will be useful later for reporting, automation, filtering, or personalization. Ask yourself: "Will I ever want to search, report, automate, or personalize using this information?" If the answer is no, you may not need a new field.

What duplicate fields do to your data

Duplicate fields split your data and break the workflows that depend on it.

  • Information gets split. One form updates Company Name while another updates Organization, and company information ends up in two places.

  • Automations stop working. A workflow may watch one field while another form updates a different version, so the automation never runs because it's looking at the wrong field.

  • Reports become inaccurate. When data is stored across multiple fields, no single field contains all of the information and reports come back incomplete.

  • Staff become confused. When multiple similar fields exist, staff don't know which one to use — and every new form makes the problem worse.

Best practices

Before creating any new field, search existing fields first, look for similar names, and ask another administrator if you're unsure. Reuse existing fields whenever possible, create new fields only when absolutely necessary, and use clear, consistent naming conventions. A few extra seconds of searching can prevent years of duplicate data.

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