formembed

Formembed is a web technology and set of practices for embedding interactive forms from a remote source into a host webpage. It is designed to let organizations deploy, update, and analyze forms centrally while presenting them within different sites or applications.

In typical implementations, the form is rendered inside an isolated container such as an iframe. A host page loads a form definition by identifier through an embedding API, and the remote form renderer returns an interactive UI. Communication between host and embedded content usually uses postMessage to send submission data and status updates.

Form definitions may specify fields, validation rules, conditional logic, and styling tokens. Providers often offer customization through CSS variables or theme tokens, allowing the embedded form to visually integrate with the host site. Accessibility features, such as ARIA labeling and keyboard navigation, are encouraged.

Security and privacy considerations include origin verification, sandboxing of the embedded content, and consent for data collection. Implementations commonly rely on content security policy and strict sandbox attributes to limit capabilities of the embedded frame. Data handling policies and retention controls are typically defined by the form provider.

Formembed is widely used by marketing platforms, customer relationship management systems, and content management plugins to streamline form deployment across multiple sites. However, there is no universal formal standard, and different providers may implement their own APIs and schemas. Developers should assess latency, reliability, and privacy implications when integrating embedded forms.