What is the best way to collect information?
Simple, least costly: Create a form to be printed and filled out. Use a program such as Word, and save as a PDF so that it cannot be altered.
Go to the page where you will make the PDF available, enter some text, click Add Media above the formatting icons, upload the PDF or select it from the Media Library, link to media file (not attachment page), insert into post. Click into the highlighted/linked text, click the edit pencil, modify the Link Text if desired, and check the box to open in a new window/tab (this will allow people to close the PDF window without leaving your website).
More difficult/costly: Perhaps you want to capture the information electronically. An online form can be created with something as simple as the Contact Form 7 plug-in, or by your web developer. The form will email the information entered into the form fields to you.
Note: you would not want to collect anything personal/private without making your site secure and inputting the collected information into a database where you would login to view/retrieve. Secure certs have come way down in price. Setting up the form and database will be at least in the hundreds.
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