Creating an effective activity registration form is critical for municipalities and small towns. While tools like Google Forms provide a basic starting point, specialized platforms like Activity Messenger offer advanced features tailored to the unique needs of community programs.
In this article we’ll discuss:
Here is a quick step-by-step guide to creating an online registration form for activities and camps in your community:
While Google Forms is easy to use and free, it lacks advanced features such as integrated payments, digital waivers, and automated communications. Activity Messenger and other form-building tools offer more functionality to streamline the entire process.
Set up automated confirmation emails and start of session reminders to keep participants and participants informed.
Distribute the form via your municipality’s website, social media channels, and community newsletters to maximize reach.
What about collecting payments offline: Many small town communities don’t use online forms because of the transaction fees associated with online registrations. Activity Messenger allows you to streamline the process from form creation to automated billing, while still taking payments offline.
In order to create a functional and user-friendly online registration process, it is important to choose the right platform or registration tool.
Often small towns will use tools like Google Forms, which are free, but require a lot of work and time to collect payments, digital signatures, attendance tracking, and lack the communication tools to keep participants in the loop.
Here’s why it might make sense to consider a paid alternative.
| Feature | Activity Messenger | Google Forms |
|---|---|---|
| Customizable Registration Forms | ✅ | ✅ |
| Integrated Online Payments | ✅ | ❌ |
| Digital Waivers with E-Signature | ✅ | ❌ |
| Automated Email/SMS Reminders | ✅ | ❌ |
| Waitlist Management | ✅ | ❌ |
| Bilingual Form Support | ✅ | ✅ |
| Real-Time Analytics | ✅ | Limited |
| Designed for Community Programs | ✅ | ❌ |
| Attendance Tracking | ✅ | ✅ (Manual) |
| Replaces Mailchimp | ✅ | ❌ |
| Automated Tasks | ✅ | ❌ |
While Google Forms is suitable for basic data collection, Activity Messenger was created keep the simplicity found in google forms but integrate all the features of a Park & Recreation Management Software.
Beyond Activity Messenger and Google Forms, several other platforms cater to the needs of municipalities and small towns:
Collect more information: Data collection should not stop at registration. Most municipalities want to know what their residents like and don’t like about the activities and events they register for. That’s where automating an online survey at the end of a session can help you better serve your citizens.
For municipalities and small towns, adopting a specialized activity registration platform can significantly improve program management and participant satisfaction.
While Google Forms may be great for basic needs, platforms like Activity Messenger and Jotform offer a more robust solution tailored to community programs.
With features like integrated payments, bulk SMS, digital waivers, and automated communications, these tools will help you save time and make the registration process much easier for residents.
Learn more about Activity Messenger by scheduling a demo with one of our experts.
