Formstack helps people build custom forms without needing to code. But when it came to customizing how form data looked after export—like in PDFs—users needed advanced technical skills and third-party tools.
Key Takeaway
The Advanced PDF Exports feature made it much easier to customize documents after data collection. This update made Formstack more enterprise-ready, improved customer satisfaction, and was the first feature launched with our new design system.
Deliverables
Competitive Analysis
User Research & Testing
Stakeholder Interviews
Survey Design
Product Requirements
UX Microcopy
Final Design
What Users Wanted
More Control: Choose which fields to show, and add branding like logos
Modern Look: Clean, scannable PDFs with proper spacing and layout
Better Integration: All form fields available via API, with 1:1 parity
User Feedback
Positive Reactions: 3 users emailed us excited about how much easier their workflows became
Time Saved: One customer cut a 10-step process down to 3
Mixed Reactions on Pricing: Some users were disappointed they couldn’t access features on lower-tier plans
Impact
Research from this project helped shape Formstack’s strategy for enterprise customers
It also supported the acquisition of WebMerge and the launch of Formstack Documents
Users had been turning to WebMerge for two things we couldn’t yet offer:
Blank PDF versions of forms for print use
PDF exports that matched digital form styling exactly