Returning Visitors Skip the Email Field

What's new

As of today's release (v1.21.0), a student who gives their email on one Meridian form doesn't have to type it again on the next one. The second form hides its email field and fills it in for them, so a follow-up form like Apply can be a single button. The submission still reaches ACS with the email address, the same as any other lead.

It's off by default. You turn it on per form in the page builder, and it has to be on for both forms (the one where the student types their email and the one that reuses it).

What the student sees

Here it is on the Johns Hopkins Biomedical Engineering pages.

  1. The student fills out the request-for-information form on the landing page, including their email.
Two researchers in white lab coats examine an orange liquid in a glass bottle in a laboratory
  1. On the next page, the standard ACS Apply form shows only its Apply button. There's no email box to fill in.
Student in white lab coat and gloves uses a pipette while working at a laboratory bench.
  1. The student clicks Apply. Meridian fills in the email they gave in step 1, and the submission shows up in the ACS form results with that address.

Marketing platform results screen showing student journey apply form submissions with highlighted hidden email field

If Meridian doesn't have an email for the student (they landed straight on the second page, or more than 15 minutes have gone by), the email field just shows like normal. No one is ever blocked from submitting.

Why use it

Every field we ask a student to fill in twice is a chance for them to leave. The student already told us who they are, so the next step can be one click.

How to set it up

Setup is two checkboxes in the page builder, one on each form. Nothing changes in ACS.

Before you start, check that:

  • Both pages are in the same Meridian project and on the same website.
  • Each form has exactly one email field. A form with two (say, a student email and a parent email) won't reuse anything.
  • The second form's email field has no default or prefilled value and no show/hide rule pointing at it.

Steps:

  1. Open the first page (where the student types their email) in the page builder.
  2. Click the form. This works for a Form block and for a form inside a Hero.
  3. In the settings panel on the right, tick Reuse an email the visitor already entered.
  4. Open the second page (for example, the thank-you page with the Apply form), click that form, and tick the same box.
  5. Leave Let the visitor change the email unticked unless you have a reason to turn it on (see below).
  6. Push both pages through the usual workflow. The setting is part of the page, so it reaches each stage the same way any other edit does.
  7. Test it (steps at the bottom).

The most common miss will be ticking the box on only the second form. The first form is what saves the email, so it needs the box too.

Things to know

  • 15-minute window. The email is kept for 15 minutes from when the student typed it. Reusing it doesn't reset the clock.
  • Same browser, same site, same project. A student who switches devices or browsers, or moves to a page in a different project, sees the email field again.
  • Email only. Name and other fields are not carried over (yet ;).
  • Cookie choices count. If a student turns off functional cookies in the cookie banner, the field shows. On a project that asks students to opt in to cookies, they have to accept first.
  • Not on age-gated pages. A form with an age question, or any page in a project with the age gate on, never reuses an email. This keeps us from storing an email that might belong to a minor.
  • The "change email" option has a privacy cost. Ticking Let the visitor change the email adds an "Edit email address" link. When the student clicks it, their email appears in the field, where tags and scripts on the page (including the partner's tags) can read it. Leave it off unless students really need it. It also doesn't work on multi-step forms.
  • Test-mode forms always show the field. If a form is in test mode, the email field stays visible with a note explaining what live visitors will see, so you can still try the form.

How to test it

  1. Open the first page in a private or incognito window, so you start with no saved email.
  2. Submit the form with a test email address.
  3. Within 15 minutes, go to the page with the second form. The email field should be gone.
  4. Submit the second form, then check that form's results in ACS. Your test email should be on the new row.
  5. Open the second page directly in a new private window. The email field should show, since there's nothing to reuse.

Need help?

This is new, so don't worry if it doesn't click right away. Reach out to me or anyone on the Digital Experience team and we'll set up your first pair of forms with you, or walk through it on a quick call.