Your application (join) form lets new people apply online, and automatically creates a Member Splash account for them when they submit it.
Overview
The form is built with Gravity Forms and its User Registration Add-On. Depending on your settings, each new account is either:
A waitlist account: the applicant waits until space is available.
An active account: the applicant gets immediate access to the member portal.
💡Important Note: During your Member Splash onboarding, we set up your application/join form for you with the correct field mappings and settings. Clubs rarely need to change these settings or create a new application form.
This form is for NEW members only. Existing members do not rejoin each year through this form, and you do not need to recreate it each year. Renewals are handled separately in the member portal.
This article helps you:
Understand how your existing application form works
Troubleshoot account creation problems
Make small changes to form fields or notifications
Create specialized application forms for specific membership types (advanced users)
🚨If you need to change your application form and are unsure about the technical details, contact Member Splash support first so you don't break account creation.
Common Edits You Can Safely Make
These changes won't affect account creation:
Form Fields:
Add or remove optional fields (for example, "How did you hear about us?")
Change field labels or descriptions
Update placeholder text
Reorder fields
Make optional fields required (or the reverse)
Add instructions or section breaks
Notifications:
Edit email subject lines and message content
Add or remove admin notification recipients
Update confirmation messages
Change the confirmation page redirect
Form Appearance:
Update the form title and description
Membership Information Fields:
Add text describing membership types or benefits
Update wording in instructional sections
Add optional fields to collect preferences or interests
💡Note: A regular membership-type dropdown that you add yourself is for information only. It tells admins what the applicant is interested in, but does not set the account type. New accounts get the Default Acct Type from Settings > Members > Account Settings > Default Acct Type (see Member Splash Settings). The only exception is a special Member Splash account-type field that support can set up on the form; if your form has one, the applicant's choice sets the account type. Contact support if you want this.
⚠️ Do NOT Change Without Support
These settings break account creation if changed incorrectly:
User Registration Feed settings (especially field mappings)
Username or email field mappings
User Meta field mappings (first_name, last_name, billing fields, and similar)
User Role settings
The field type of required fields (for example, changing the Email field to Single Line Text)
Deleting required fields (First Name, Last Name, Email, Username)
Conditional logic on the User Registration Feed
Field parameter names on the form (Member Splash uses them to find each field)
If you need to change any of these, contact Member Splash support first.
How Application Forms Create Accounts
Before you begin, you need:
Gravity Forms installed and activated
The Gravity Forms User Registration Add-On installed and activated
Admin access to your WordPress dashboard
When someone submits the form:
Form submission: The applicant fills out and submits the form.
User creation: The User Registration Feed creates a WordPress user.
Account creation: Member Splash creates the account and makes this person the billing member, using the form's name, address, phone, and email.
Account type: Set from the Default Acct Type setting (or from the special account-type field, if your form has one).
Notifications: Emails go to the applicant and admins, based on your notification settings.
Portal access: If the account type is active, the member can log in and use the member portal.
Required Form Fields
Required:
First Name (Single Line Text)
Last Name (Single Line Text)
Email Address (Email field)
Username (Single Line Text), or use the email as the username
Note: If the username is the email field, Member Splash checks that the email isn't already registered on your site. If it is, the applicant sees That email is already registered on this site.
Recommended:
Address (Address field)
Phone Number (Phone field)
Password (Password field), if you want applicants to set their own password
Optional:
Emergency contact information
Family member details
"How did you hear about us?"
Custom fields specific to your club
The User Registration Feed
The User Registration Feed connects your Gravity Form to Member Splash account creation. It was configured during onboarding and holds the field mappings that make account creation work.
Key feed settings (set during onboarding):
Action: Create User
Username: mapped to the Username field or to the Email field
Email: mapped to the Email field
Role: Subscriber (standard WordPress role for members)
Password: mapped to the Password field or auto-generated
User Meta: mappings that fill in Member Splash member data (address, phone, and so on)
⚠️ Do not edit these settings without contacting Member Splash support. Wrong mappings stop accounts from being created correctly.
Editing Notifications
You can safely edit the content of emails sent after the form is submitted.
Go to Content > Gravity Forms and open your application form.
Click Settings > Notifications.
Click the notification you want to edit.
Common notifications:
Admin Notification: alerts staff to new applications. Edit recipients, subject, and message. You can use merge tags like {First Name}, {Last Name}, {Email}.
User Notification: confirms receipt to the applicant. Edit subject and message. Can include login instructions if you give immediate access.
Editing Confirmation Messages
The confirmation is what the applicant sees right after submitting.
Go to Content > Gravity Forms and open your application form.
Click Settings > Confirmations.
Click the confirmation you want to edit.
Confirmation options:
Text: show a message on screen
Page: go to a specific page (for example, an "Application Received" page)
Redirect: go to the member portal login page or another URL
Waitlist vs. Active Accounts
The account type is set by Default Acct Type in Settings > Members > Account Settings > Default Acct Type, not by the form itself (unless your form has the special account-type field described above).
Waitlist accounts — if Default Acct Type is a waitlist type:
Accounts are created but cannot access the member portal
Applicants wait until space becomes available
Admins change the account to Offered Membership when ready
💡For more on the waitlist, see: Understanding the Automated Waitlist
Offered Membership (active) accounts — if Default Acct Type is an active type such as Offered Membership:
Accounts get immediate portal access
No admin approval needed
Applicants can log in, manage their account, and pay right away
To change which account type is created, update Default Acct Type in Settings > Members > Account Settings > Default Acct Type. Contact support if you need help.
Testing Your Application Form
After changing fields, notifications, or confirmations, test the form before sending members to it:
Submit a test application with a test email address.
Go to Membership > Accounts and search for the test account.
Open it and check that all information filled in correctly.
Log in with the new account (if you create active accounts).
Check that all email notifications were sent.
Check that the confirmation message shows correctly.
After testing, delete the test account from Membership > Accounts (click the ... next to it, then Delete).
Troubleshooting
Problem: Accounts aren't being created
Possible causes:
User Registration Add-On is not activated
User Registration Feed is not set up correctly
Required fields are missing from the form
A field mapping is wrong
Solution: Contact Member Splash support. This needs a technical review of your feed settings.
Problem: Some form information isn't showing in Member Splash
Possible causes:
User Meta fields are not mapped correctly in the User Registration Feed
Field names don't match the names Member Splash expects
Custom fields need to be created in Member Splash first (Settings > Members > Custom Account Fields)
Solution: Contact Member Splash support to review your field mappings. Don't edit User Meta mappings yourself without guidance.
Problem: The form shows an error on submit
Possible causes:
Gravity Forms license expired
Plugin conflict
User Registration Add-On issue
Server error
The email is already registered on your site
Solution:
Check that your Gravity Forms license is active.
Check the Gravity Forms system status for errors.
Contact Member Splash support for help.