Join us on a journey through the highlights of 2023, where groundbreaking features, enhanced security measures, and a new look shaped a year of innovation and problem-solving – setting the stage for a promising 2024 filled with continued innovation and success.
It was an exciting year for Cognito Forms. And as another year ends – there are plenty of things to celebrate.
Let’s look back at the most significant changes in 2023, the newest features and updates, and reflect on how our users helped us reach new heights.
New Workflow Capabilities
While workflow automation launched in September 2022, we didn’t stop there.
With the new workflow capabilities released in 2023, you’ve got more ways to automate just about any process within your organization – think reports, quotes, requests, negotiations, and much more. And more ways to engage the appropriate people at each step – automating repeatable tasks, simplifying approvals, and maximizing your productivity.
Whether you’re a small business, nonprofit organization, or IT department, workflow automation will provide endless ways to automate your work.
Here are some features we released in 2023 that enhanced our workflow capabilities:
Workflow Role Permissions
Adding workflow role permissions was crucial for efficient and organized data management within Cognito Forms. This feature ensures that individuals assigned to specific roles can access and interact with entries that align with their responsibilities. Structuring permissions on a form-by-form basis allows for a tailored approach, ensuring that users with designated roles can create new entries and edit existing ones within their specified domain.
This not only enhanced security but also streamlined workflows, making collaboration more effective and preventing unauthorized access to sensitive information.
Enhanced Entry Sharing
Can’t remember who you’ve shared your form with? When you share an entry, you now can view all the people you’ve shared the link with (including their workflow role and link expiration date).
Bulk Document Generation and Download
To tackle the issue of downloading generated documents one at a time, we set out to find a way to enable users to conveniently get them with one click.
Users can receive all relevant documents conveniently packaged in a single zip file using the new bulk download feature. This promotes efficiency in document management and enhances overall organizational workflow.
Ensuring Your Data Stays More Secure than Ever
There are now even more ways to secure and manage your forms – so you can quickly get the data you need and continue to be a self-serve option to keep track of your data with little effort and maximum security.
In a digital landscape filled with sensitive data, prioritizing security is crucial.
Through our new authenticated forms feature, organizations can have confidence that their workflows are only being accessed by the right people at the right time. Authenticated forms confirm the identity of all participants in a workflow while also providing a custom experience for every user who interacts with your online forms.
To further protect your data, we added new ways to access your account, with the ability to login or sign up with your Microsoft Account (among our other options such as Google and Facebook)
Our new entry auditing feature enables you to view the complete timeline of changes for each entry, including who performed an action and when it occurred, order payment history, email delivery status, and more. As a plus, organizations on the Enterprise plan level can now require Single Sign-On (SSO) with Google, Facebook, or Microsoft.
New Payment & Integration Possibilities
With Cognito Forms, you can choose from popular payment providers & integrations you trust.
We announced our new Stripe payment options – with ways to create beautiful, user-friendly checkout pages and boost conversions via card payments, Google Pay, and Apple Pay. And regardless of what you’re selling, Cognito Forms enables you to effortlessly collect and manage payments through our seamless integration with PayPal, without any extra charges for processing these payments.
For the most up-to-date analytics, we made the switch to GA4 to optimize your forms, provide insights into your form users, and measure your advertising success.
Our New Look
One of our biggest releases this year was a newly refreshed interface. It was inspired by the amazing things our 1 million users have done over the past 10 years to create a seamless form-building experience – packed with the same powerful features you rely on to get your work done efficiently.
What changed with the new look? Along with the more obvious visual changes, we also made updates to the navigation to make things more user-friendly. If you’d like to check out the complete list of changes, read our FAQ.
Following the new look launch, we released our organization theme feature to tackle the challenges of inconsistent branding— your secret weapon to maintaining a unified and professional brand image across all your forms, regardless of the volume and variety.
With an organization theme, you can now ensure your online processes remain unified for your organization. This consistency helps your audience easily identify you and builds confidence in your business.
Inspiring Customer Stories
We do what we do to help our customers grow their organizations and make better use of their resources. And celebrating our customers is a highlight for us - all one million of you. Throughout 2023, our customers brought unique needs to the table. Their stories showcased common process issues and illustrated how Cognito Forms was the key to resolving them.
This only scratches the surface of what our team has accomplished in 2023 – and while it’s impossible to detail them all, we extend our gratitude to everyone who played a role in enhancing Cognito Forms this year.
2023 brought both celebrations and challenges for all of us, and throughout it, we are especially thankful for you. Your experiences, feedback, and inquiries remain our guiding light, steering us toward improved ways to help you achieve more in 2024.
Wishing you all the best, and here’s to a Happy New Year! 🎉
Haley N.
Haley, the Content Specialist for Cognito Forms, helps customers discover how they can use the product to elevate their business. She knows that when it comes to getting things done, Cognito Forms is the perfect tool. When not at work, you can find her hiking, listening to podcasts, or buying plants.