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How to add custom fields to a campaign
How to add custom fields to a campaign

Collect additional information from your supporters at the time of checkout.

Alyssa avatar
Written by Alyssa
Updated over 2 months ago

Custom fields are additional prompts to ask questions and collect information from your supporters during checkout on any campaign. Custom field questions can include text, as well as images and links. You can view and export your custom field responses to manage your donor preferences and information.

campaign custom field options
  1. Text – A simple text field for collecting short answers

  2. Textarea – A larger text box for collecting long answers

  3. Checkbox – A yes/no checkbox

  4. Select – A dropdown menu for selecting a single option from a group of options

  5. Radio – Radio buttons for selecting a single option from a group of options

  6. File – Upload a document or image file as part of the checkout process (max 5MB)

Adding custom fields ➕

  • In your dashboard, select Campaigns in the left-hand menu.

campaigns button
  • On the Campaigns page, click on the campaign you want to edit.

click on a campaign
  • Click on the campaign's Tools tab.

click the tools tab
  • Scroll down to the Custom Fields section, and click New Custom Field.

click new custom field
  • Fill out the title and description, and add selection options (answers) as necessary. You can also add clickable links, and determine if this is a required field.

sample new custom field
  • When creating custom fields with multiple answer options, you can remove an option by selecting the red trash can, or add another option by clicking the blue plus sign. You can add up to 50 response choices per custom field.

answer options to create or delete

Editing custom fields ✏️

To edit an existing custom field, click the Edit menu. Click the [...] icon to Delete or Archive a custom field. You can reorder how your custom fields appear, by clicking the arrows beside the custom field to move it up or down.

options for editing an existing custom field

If you want to change the type of field (ie. convert a dropdown menu to a radio button), you will need to delete the option and create a new one.

Please note that you cannot edit Paragraph (long answer) custom fields, however you are able to edit Text (short answer) custom fields.

Custom field responses 👀

If you want to check an individual's response, click on a transaction on your Transactions page and scroll to the bottom of the sidebar.

view responses in the transaction

Custom field responses will also appear in email receipts sent to your supporters, and in the transaction notification emails you receive as an admin.

view responses in the receipt

For responses from all of your supporters (at the end of your campaign, for example), you'll need to run a Transactions export. Custom field responses are included in this export.

view responses in the CSV transaction export

The transactions export file contains a lot of columns. You'll need to scroll to the far right side of the file to locate your custom field responses. Each custom field will have a separate column, named by the custom field question you created.

More information 🔎

Add HTML links 🔗

Each custom field can contain an optional description. Descriptions allow the use of HTML, which is ideal if you'd like to add a link to a waiver, disclaimer, or terms. You can use the following HTML to add a clickable link that opens in a new tab:

<a href="HYPERLINK" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TEXT</a>

Replace HYPERLINK with the web address for the link (keep the quotation marks), and replace TEXT with the text you'd like to appear as a clickable link. It'll look something like this:

custom field showing a link

You can use the following template to replicate the description shown above:

Please read and agree to our <a href="URL TO TERMS HERE" target="_blank" 
rel="noopener noreferrer">terms of service</a>.

What are "target" and "noopener noreferrer"? Can't I juse use normal <a> links?

  • Target tells the browser how to open the link. Blank opens the link in a new tab so donors are not directed away from the checkout.

  • Noopener noreferrer sets a secure relationship (rel) between your browser and the URL to prevent phishing attempts and is highly recommended.

Add images 📷

You can also add images to the description of a custom field. To add an image, use:

<img src="INSERT A PUBLICLY HOSTED IMAGE LINK HERE">

You'll need to replace the text that says "insert a publicly hosted image link" with a URL to your image. It'll look something like this:

custom field showing an image of a tshirt

You cannot add images in the selectable custom field answer options — only the description can host images.

Required / Optional ⭐

If you mark a field as required, all supporters will need to select/complete the custom field before they can continue. Required fields will be marked with a red asterisk. Optional fields can be left blank by supporters.

custom field showing a required field

File uploads 📁

File upload custom fields allow supporters to upload a document or image as part of the checkout. After files are uploaded during the checkout process, you can view, replace, or delete them on the Transactions page. Under All Transactions, search for or click on the relevant transaction, and in the sidebar that appears, scroll to the bottom of the transaction details to find the Custom fields section.

Files must be under 5MB each. Supporters are notified of the file size limit and supported file types in the checkout flow.

Supported file types

  • Image formats:

    • jpeg – Commonly used for photos

    • png – Good for images with transparency

    • svg – Scalable vector graphics, ideal for logos and illustrations

  • Document formats:

    • pdf – Portable documents, suitable for sharing and preserving formatting

    • doc/docx – Microsoft Word documents

    • pptx – Microsoft PowerPoint presentations

    • rtf – Rich text format, supports various text styles

  • Data formats:

    • csv – Simple text format for spreadsheets and databases

    • xlsx – Microsoft Excel spreadsheets

    • text – Plain text files

We also offer the option to upload files directly to a contact profile with Givebutter Plus – our paid subscription service that gives you access to buttery advanced features to help you raise more. Read more about Givebutter Plus

Zapier ⚡

If you're using Zapier, a Zap that includes transaction data will also include custom fields – this data will be sent over as part of the Zap, once it's set it up to do so.

FAQ 🤔

How many dropdown options can I enter?

You can enter up to 100 unique custom field answers for donors to select from.

Do custom fields support dependencies, or conditional logic?

No – custom fields are treated separately, and all custom fields will be shown to all donors, regardless of answer selection. Please see the feature request for custom field dependencies.

Can custom fields be added to ticket purchases, rather than the general checkout?

Yes, however, you'll need to add these as per-ticket custom fields so they apply to each ticket purchase individually rather than the purchase as a whole. You can use both (ticket custom fields and campaign custom fields) if you like. This is ideal if your custom fields serve multiple purposes, for example, an item/preference selection per ticket, plus a terms agreement per purchase.

Does Givebutter collect physical or mailing addresses?

Givebutter will collect billing addresses (as applicable), so if you need to collect physical or mailing addresses from your donors, we recommend adding a custom field to collect this information.


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