How to Build Your Own Netlify Forms
Replace Netlify Forms with a custom build. Serverless form handling without extra API calls or additional JavaScript
Build Difficulty: 5/5
Build a working replacement in a weekend with AI tools
Estimated Timeline
Based on 17 features at Weekend Project difficulty, expect about One weekend with AI-assisted development.
Recommended Tech Stack
Full-stack React framework with API routes and server components
PostgreSQL database, auth, and real-time subscriptions
Utility-first styling for rapid UI development
Key Features to Replicate
Top features across 8 categories. See all 17 features
Core Functionality(6 features)
Submit static HTML forms using AJAX with the fetch API, with URL-encoded form data
Accept file uploads with form submissions using input type='file' and multipart/form-data encoding
Add forms to your site using standard HTML with data-netlify or netlify attributes
Support for forms rendered client-side with JavaScript frameworks and can be submitted over AJAX
Support for multiple forms on a single site with different name attributes
+1 more in this category
Security(3 features)
Additional security configuration for forms accepting file uploads with personally identifiable information (PII)
Integration with reCAPTCHA 2 for form security with hidden div element support
Integration with Very Good Security for forms accepting file uploads containing personally identifiable information
Automation(2 features)
Build system automatically parses HTML at deploy time to detect forms that require submission handling
Automatically injects hidden input with form-name matching the form's name attribute during build
Customization(2 features)
Substitute alerts instead of redirecting to success pages when using AJAX submission
Replace default success page with custom page by adding action attribute to form tag
API(1 features)
API endpoints available for accessing form submissions programmatically
Configuration(1 features)
Ability to enable or disable form detection for sites to optimize deploy times
Framework Integration(1 features)
Support for Next.js 13.5 and above, and Server Side Rendering frameworks with HTML form criteria requirements
Management(1 features)
Built-in admin panel interface to view and manage form submissions
Cost Calculator
Pricing data not available for Netlify Forms. Check their website for current pricing.