This tutorial introduces the main building blocks of Govforms Digital Service Builder. You will create a working service from a template, learn how its structure fits together, make a content change and test the result as a user.

What you will learn

What a service library is and how it relates to individual services.
How services are organised into pages, components and settings.
How the Service overview, List view and Flow view help you understand a journey.
How Builder changes appear in User view.
The difference between a prototype and a deployed service.

Before you start

You need access to a Govforms service library in which you are allowed to create a training service. Use non-sensitive test content throughout. This tutorial uses Demo library 1 in the screenshots, but the same concepts apply in any library you have permission to use.

1. Open your service library

After signing in, Govforms shows the service libraries available to you. If you have access to more than one and do not know which to use, check with your library administrator. Opening a library takes you to its service list.

Demo library 1 service list in Govforms Builder. — A service library contains the digital services that its members can work on.

The list also helps the team see the lifecycle of each service—for example, whether it is only a prototype, has been deployed to QA, or is live.

2. Create a service from a pattern

Select Create new service.
Choose Create it myself and continue.
Enter a clear service name. The name is visible in the service header and browser title.
Enter a unique service ID. Use lower-case letters and dashes, with no spaces. The ID becomes part of the service URL, so choose something stable and meaningful.
Select Basic linear digital form service, then create the service.

Create new service screen with Basic linear digital form service selected. — Choose a starting pattern that is close to the journey you need.

A service pattern is a useful starting structure, not a restriction. The basic linear pattern supplies a small example journey with common page types. You can edit, add, move or remove pages after creation.

New tutorial service shown at the top of Demo library 1. — The newly created service appears in the current library.

3. Understand the service structure

Open the service. The Service overview is the main map of your design. In List view it shows the access step, form pages and submission workflow in order. In Flow view it visualises the routes a user can take.

Service overview showing pages in a basic linear service. — Service overview shows the current journey and provides routes into service-wide settings.

Pages, components and settings

Pages are the steps in the journey. A page might explain something, ask a question, let a user check answers, or end the journey.
Components are the pieces placed on a page, such as standard content, text inputs, radios, dates and file uploads.
Settings control how a page or component behaves. They include content, validation, pre-population, conditions and actions.

In a simple linear journey, users normally move through pages in order. Govforms automatically gives suitable pages a Continue button and a Back link. Later, you can add conditions that skip or include pages based on previous answers or other data.

4. Explore a page

Open Page 1 from Service overview. The page design view shows the page title, its components and the controls used to edit the design. Use the page list or previous and next controls to move around the journey.

Page design screen with page list and editing controls. — A page is assembled from one or more components and has its own behaviour settings.

From a page you can edit its title, content and components; add another component or page; copy or move content; and open tabs for conditions, validation and actions. If you lose your place, use Service overview to return to the map of the whole service.

Switch between List and Flow views. The flow diagram is especially helpful once conditions create branches. You can move and zoom the diagram to inspect a larger journey, but the underlying page configuration remains the source of truth.

5. Make a content change

Select the Standard content component on Page 1. Replace the placeholder copy with a short introduction that explains what the service is for, who can use it and what they need before starting. Preview the processed content, then apply the change.

Standard content component being edited in Govforms Builder. — Edit the component content, preview the processed result and apply the change.

Standard content supports Markdown and, where appropriate, HTML. Markdown is a lightweight way to add headings, emphasis, lists and links without writing full HTML. Use structure because it helps users scan and navigate.

6. Test the journey in User view

Select User view in the Builder header. It opens the service prototype separately, allowing you to switch between the design and the user experience. Applied Builder changes are reflected in the prototype; refresh the user view if necessary.

Govforms User view showing the updated introductory page. — User view lets you experience the service as a user while it remains a prototype.

Work through the entire journey, not only the page you changed. Try invalid values, follow Back links, use Change links on the check-answers page and confirm what happens at the end. Use Reset prototype to clear your answers and start again.

Prototype, QA and Production

Prototype is for rapid design testing. It shows prototype warnings and does not run real integrations or actions such as file storage, email or API calls.
QA behaves much more like the real service and is used to test integrations, authentication, uploads and deployed versions safely.
Production is the live service used by real users. Deploy only a version that has been reviewed and tested.

You can share a prototype URL with colleagues or research participants from Environments. Remind participants not to enter personal or sensitive information, and test the responsive journey on a mobile device as well as a desktop browser.

Check your understanding

Why should a service ID be stable and URL-safe?
What is the difference between a page and a component?
When would Flow view be more useful than List view?
Which behaviours cannot be fully tested in a prototype?

What you learned

You created a service inside a library, explored how pages and components form a journey, changed component content and tested the outcome in User view. You also learned that prototypes support design work, while QA is the place to test a deployed version and its real integrations before Production.

Continue with Tutorial 2 to build a service from an empty starting point and introduce validation, uploads and conditional page flow.

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