Why isn't my Act-On Form loading correctly?

A form that won't load — a blank space or an error where your visitors expect to see it — costs you the signups it exists to capture. There are several common causes, from certificate and network issues to a stray blank dropdown option, and each has a specific fix.

Troubleshooting

Missing or Expired Custom Marketing Domain SSL Certificate

A custom marketing domain allows you to use your company name instead of an Act-On address in URLs for Act-On assets, such as Forms and Landing Pages. When using the default Act-On address, your assets are secured using Act-On's SSL certificate. However, when you switch to a custom marketing domain, you must add and maintain a separate, up-to-date SSL certificate. Otherwise, your Form may fail to load.

Solution: Act-On can add and maintain an SSL certificate for your custom marketing domain through Let's Encrypt, or you can purchase your own. Find more instructions on adding an SSL certificate in the How to Add a Custom Marketing Domain with an SSL Certificate article.

Company Network is Blocking Your Custom Marketing Domain

Occasionally, a company's internal network can block traffic to and from your custom marketing domain.

Solution: To confirm that this is happening, try accessing your Act-On Forms using an alternative network (such as your cellular data plan). If your Forms load as expected, your IT team should create an internal CNAME that points to your default marketing domain. See more information on custom marketing domains in the How to Add a Custom Marketing Domain with an SSL Certificate article.

Web Browser or Extension is Blocking the Form from loading

It is very common for a web browser to have privacy settings or extensions that disallow third-party scripts. Depending on the setting, this could include an Act-On Form.

Solutions:

For you to view the Form, you should update your browser settings. The information on this page will help with loading Act-On Forms: Recommended Browser Preferences

For your web visitors to be alerted when a Form cannot load, you can use our feature Ad Blocker Detection. This will prompt your users to update their local browser settings to load your Form. For full instructions, see: Enable Ad Blocker Detection for Act-On Forms

Your CMS Changed the Form's Embed Code

You may embed your Act-On Forms on pages built and managed by a content management system (CMS), such as WordPress or Drupal. When embedding Forms on external CMS pages, you might find that your Act-On Form's code has been unexpectedly altered or encoded. Your CMS may also introduce an unintended line break in your Form's code.

Solution: Review the Form code used to embed your Act-On Form in your CMS. Make sure it matches the Form code in the Embed tab of Act-On's Forms Composer. Fix any Form code that has been altered and remove line breaks introduced when embedding your Form into your CMS.

An External Domain Has Not Been Set

Forms embedded in external pages with undeclared domains will not render on those pages. The Form will not load, or Form visitors will see an error message that reads:

Your Form is not configured to work with this external domain.

Solution: To resolve this error, add your external page's domain to the External Domains section of the Form in Act-On's Forms Composer. You can also set it as a default domain for your account. Learn more about using external domains for your Act-On Forms in the Allow Act-On Forms on External Domains article.

Your Combo Field Contains Empty Labels and Values

The Act-On Forms Composer allows you to add a dropdown, radio button, or checkbox combo field to your Form in the Design tab. Accidentally including a set of blank or empty Labels and Values to your dropdown combo field can cause your Form to fail when loading.

Solution: Go to the Design tab of the Forms Composer and confirm that all combo field sets contain values. Remove any empty or blank Label and Value sets before saving your Form. Once you've removed these fields, refresh the page where your Form is embedded.