Pre chat form is used to collect information about a contact/conversation before initiating a conversation. The Pre chat form is available only in website live chat.

## How to add a pre-chat form?

**Step 1.** Go to Settings → Inboxes. Click on the specific settings of a website inbox.

![](https://app.chatwoot.com/rails/active_storage/blobs/redirect/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBNTE0VHc9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--911cd41359340b46dc11052072085c6b5c28c007/website%20inbox%20settings.png)

**Step 2.** Go to the “Pre Chat Form” tab.

There are two types of fields possible with the pre-chat form.

1. **Standard fields**: These are the primary contact fields––Email, Phone number, and Full name.

2. **Custom fields**: These are the fields that are created with [custom attributes](https://www.chatwoot.com/docs/user-guide/features/custom-attributes).

The Pre chat form settings list down both the standard and custom fields.

![](https://app.chatwoot.com/rails/active_storage/blobs/redirect/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBNlY0VHc9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--1a2064541643e42e2d4ceb56260c284b33411a88/pre-chat%20form%20settings%20in%20chatwoot.png)

The columns in the settings of pre-chat forms are described below.

* **Key**

  Field unique identifier

* **Type**

  Type of the field (Text, List, Number, Date, Link, Boolean)

* **Required**

  Is the field required or not

* **Label**

  The label that will be displayed to the visitor on the widget

* **Placeholder**

  The placeholder value

All the fields would be displayed under the pre-chat form settings by default. The admin will be able to do the following.

* Enable/disable fields

* Change the order of fields

* Update label/placeholder

* Enable/Disable validation

Customize your pre-chat form according to your needs. In order to add more fields, add more custom attributes.

## What does a pre-chat form look like?

Once the pre-chat form is enabled, it would ask your customers to fill out a form like the one shown below when they start a conversation through live chat.

![](https://app.chatwoot.com/rails/active_storage/blobs/redirect/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBN0o0VHc9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--11e4f146dbb7b8d6f2cb69ee9e3e1190ee1e655c/what%20does%20a%20pre-chat%20form%20look%20like.png)

Also, read: [**Pre chat form + Automations = 🚀**](https://www.chatwoot.com/blog/pre-chat-form-automations)