Write a closed message people understand

A closed form can say more than a default line. Since FormFlow v1.23.0 (2026-10-01), a form's Hosted page settings have a "While closed" box, and what you write there is what people read instead of the form for as long as it is closed. This tutorial covers writing that message, where visitors see it, and the limits.

What counts as closed

A form is Closed when it is not accepting Submissions. That happens for one of four reasons: its Accepting submissions switch is off, its Opening time has not arrived, its Closing time has passed, or it holds as many non-spam Submissions as its Submission cap allows. Clearing the rule that closed it reopens it.

Your message covers a form you switched off, a form whose closing time passed, and a form that reached its submission cap. A form still waiting for its Opening time is different: it says when the form opens instead of showing your message.

The point that shapes the writing: a visitor cannot tell which of the other three reasons closed the form. Write a message that is true whichever one applies.

Write the message in six steps

1. Open the form and go to its Hosted page tab.

2. Find the "While closed" box, under "After submitting".

3. Write the message. The Release suggests three things worth telling people: why the form is closed, when it reopens, or where to go instead. Include only what is true for every way the form can close.

4. Save the form.

5. Check it. Switch Accepting submissions off, open the hosted page, and read what a visitor reads. Then switch Accepting submissions back on if the form should be open.

6. Optional, for a form with a closing time: turn on "Show the closing time on the hosted page" on the same tab. While the form is open, a line such as "Closes 5 Nov 2026, 14:30 UTC." appears under the page title. Once the form closes, your closed message takes its place.

Wording that holds up

Lead with the fact, then give one next step. A visitor who finds a closed form wants to know whether to wait, go elsewhere, or write to someone. The two messages below are examples only: our own illustrative wording for you to adapt, not text FormFlow supplies, and not a description of anything FormFlow does.

• Example: "Applications for this round are closed. A new round will be announced on our website."

• Example: "This form is no longer taking answers. If you still need to reach us, write to the organizers."

Keep it to one or two plain sentences, and read it once as a stranger would, with no idea why you closed the form. Avoid a date unless you control it. A message that says the form reopens on a given day is wrong the moment someone clears or moves the rule that closed it.

Where a visitor sees it

Your message appears on the hosted page and anywhere the form sits on your microsite, exactly as you wrote it. If your Team has set a Privacy notice link, the hosted page footer shows it on a closed form too.

Leave the box blank and FormFlow shows its own standard line, in the form's language. The closed message is your content, not FormFlow's wording, so FormFlow does not translate it. Write it in the language your visitors read.

Limits to know about

• The message is shown to visitors who reach a closed form. A Refused submission is answered by FormFlow's refusal wording, never by the closed message.

• A form waiting for its Opening time shows when it opens, not your message.

• Times on the hosted page, including the closing time, are shown in UTC.

• The submission cap counts the non-spam Submissions the form holds now, not per usage period. Raise the number or delete Submissions and the form opens again. Arrivals racing at the cap may land a few past it.

Where it is blunt

The closed message does not close anything. It is only what people read once a rule, a switch or a cap has already closed the form. It cannot tell you which rule did it, and it will not keep your promises: if the text says the form reopens next week, you still have to change the rule that closed it.