Validation ensures that data collected in forms and structures is correct, usable, and consistent. It helps prevent invalid inputs from being stored in the system and allows you to enforce business rules on top of basic field constraints.
Apart from the basic validation enforced by field type (e.g. numbers cannot contain letters, emails must follow the name@domain.com format), you can use additional validation methods ranging from simple rules to advanced external services.
Types of Validation
Basic Validation
Some field types already enforces a minimal level of validation:
- Number – only digits are allowed, leading zeros are removed.
- Phone – must be entered as a valid number with prefix.
- Email – must contain a valid email pattern.
- Date – must follow a valid date format.
You can configure these in the Field settings.
Regex Validation
You can configure regex validation rules to enforce custom patterns (e.g. birth ID, license plate). You can describe the intended rule to AI to generate the regex, and then test it on multiple values using a tool such as regex101.com.
External Validation through Connection Creator
You can use the Connection Creator to call an external service for validation. Typical examples include:
- Checking whether a phone number or email actually exists
- Verifying a company ID against an official database
- Bank account to validate bank account numbers against banking standards.
- Birth ID check to validate personal IDs against checksum algorithms or national registries.
- Domain check to validate that a domain exists, has active DNS records, or belongs to a specific organization.
Many other validation scenarios can be implemented this way.
What to Watch Out For
⚠️ Validation through an external service can break the entire system if it is set up incorrectly, preventing the form from being submitted and the lead from being created
Validation is always a trade-off between data quality and conversion rate. Stricter validation improves data accuracy, but it can also frustrate users filling out the form and cause them to abandon it before submission.
Regex validation
If a mask or regex validation fails, the user will be prompted to correct the input before submission. Always ensure that the validation rules are accurate so the form remains submittable. For regex, prefer simpler expressions over overly complex ones, as complicated patterns can lead to unexpected behavior.
External Validation Risks
Always configure timeouts and fallback responses to ensure that temporary service issues do not prevent leads from being collected.
- External services outage – if the validation service is unavailable, the form cannot be submitted until a valid response is received.
- To avoid this, configure a fallback response in case of outage (e.g. for status codes 4xx or 5xx), allowing the lead to be submitted even without successful validation.
- Timeouts – if an external service takes too long to respond, users will be stuck waiting with a loading spinner until the request finishes. This creates a poor user experience and increases the risk of abandonment. The default timeout is 40 seconds, but for validation purposes it is recommended to set a shorter limit.
👉 Always balance validation strictness with usability. For mission-critical checks, use external validation, but configure fallbacks and reasonable timeouts to prevent the system from breaking.