Webflow Cloud - Forms

Community resources General
1

Playing with Webflow Cloud - Thoughts & Form Field Frustrations

I’ve been experimenting with Webflow Cloud, and overall it works pretty well so far. But I do have a few questions - especially around input fields and form handling.

As you probably know, Webflow doesn’t offer standalone input fields - only full Form Blocks. This makes things tricky if you’re not actually submitting data but just want to use input fields in your app (e.g., for internal logic, state updates, APIs, etc.).

Now that I’m using Webflow Cloud to build micro SaaS tools, I find the forced use of Form Blocks just to include a basic input field increasingly frustrating. Yes, I could embed raw HTML - but that kind of defeats the purpose of using Webflow in the first place.

Every time I use a form component, the submissions show up in the Form Submission Data panel - which is completely unnecessary if you’re building an app that doesn’t send email forms. I’m not sure if Webflow plans to introduce proper non-submitting input elements, but the lack of them really gets in the way.

Also curious about the future of OpenNext, which powers the Webflow Cloud setup right now. There are already warnings about Windows compatibility, and the overall stability of the OpenNext toolchain feels a bit uncertain long-term. It works for now, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Webflow transitions to something more native down the line.

Have you tried Webflow Cloud yet? I’d love to hear how others are finding it.

For reference:

  • I’m using IntelliJ WebStorm
  • Node.js v20 (already had it installed)
  • Using some public APIs - works great and feels close to full stack
  • Deployment is a bit slow, but manageable

Let me know your thoughts and how you’re approaching these limitations, especially if you’re also using DevLink and trying to avoid Webflow’s default form behavior.

2

Outside of forms, use custom elements and set the tag to input.
You’ll get a lot more control with a lot less restriction on the attributes.

When you do use form blocks and don’t want Webflow JS to process them, simply add an Action to the form, # is fine if you’re handling the form with JS.

3

Good point - I forgot about Custom Elements :face_with_open_eyes_and_hand_over_mouth: