Build A Flow (From Scratch Or From A Template)

If you're new to building Flows, it might seem daunting with all the different steps and options you can change.

But just remember: most of the time, the simpler the Flow, the greater the chances of people completing the Flow and having a better experience while filling it out.

And if you're just starting out with Flows, it's best to get the hang of the basics first before worrying about all the extra advanced features anyway.

So let's get down to the basics. You'll soon see how easy it is to build a Flow 😎

To begin, click the Nucleus logo in the top left corner and select Flows from the dropdown menu. Click here for a quick link.

In this guide, we'll cover the following topics. Click on any one to jump ahead.

Create A Flow From Scratch

If you're the creative type, have a unique Flow you need to build, or just want to do everything yourself, creating a Flow from scratch is the perfect option!

To start, click the + Create Flow button.

Next, select Create A Flow From Scratch.

Now, give your Flow a name. (This is for administrative purposes only, and can also be changed later, so don't stress too much about the name.) Then click Create Flow.

After a few seconds, you'll be given a blank canvas to being creating your Flow. From scratch. (Go figure 😁)

Skip down to the Add & Manage Your Steps to learn what's next 👇

Create A Flow From A Template

If you're just starting out with Flows (or if you just want to make things easier for yourself), it can be helpful to start with a template and then tweak the various steps generated for you, based on the template you choose.

To start, click the + Create Flow button.

Next, select Start From A Template

There are various templates to choose from. Select whatever one matches most closely to the type of Flow you want to create.

Now, give your Flow a name. (This is for administrative purposes only, and can also be changed later, so don't stress too much about the name.) Then click Create Flow.

After a few seconds, you should see pre-made steps that you can edit, reorder, or even delete if you don't want them. (Don't worry. It's not like we didn't take a lot of time curating those steps specifically for that type of Flow 😜)

Continue below to learn how to manage all your steps in your Flow 👇

Add & Manage Your Steps

Before continuing on, notice the menu in the sidebar: Create, Results, Share, etc. We'll explore these other options in other guides and stick with the Create option for the rest of this guide. The Create option showcases a variety of tabs, including Build and Customize, which you'll become familiar with below. Each time you enter to manage a Flow, you'll be taken to Create > Build.

If you're starting a Flow from scratch, you'll have the opportunity to choose your first step in your Flow.

But if you already have steps created, click the + Add New button to see the selection of options to choose from. Take note of each unique icon for each distinct type of step, as it will be helpful later on for management purposes.

Choose a step and then add a label. (This is for admin and organizational purposes. You can add a title that someone filling out the Flow will see when editing the step.) Then click Save Changes.

Since you can label a step whatever you want, each step has a unique icon associated with it to help you keep track of what type each step is.

To delete a step, hover your cursor over one and click the revealed Delete button.

Note: While you can archive an entire Flow, you cannot archive a step. So once you delete a step, it's gone forever.

To rearrange your steps, click the two lines on the right of a step and drag it up/down to your desired order.

To rename a step, click on the step's name to access the text field. Once done, click the Save Changes button.

Lastly, to edit a step, click the Edit button on the one you wish to make changes to.

Edit Your Steps

To edit an individual step, simply click the Edit button for that particular step.

While each step is unique, there are components that are the same for most of them. To learn how to edit each type of step, click here. For now, let's explore the various components of editing a step.

To begin, many steps ask the question, Is this step required?

Choosing Yes means that someone cannot skip this step and must fill out the required information.

Choosing No means that someone can choose to skip this step and not fill out the information for that step.

Note: To avoid cluttering up your Flows, adding steps that people can choose to skip should be used sparsely.

Choosing Use Conditional Logic means that when someone arrives at this step, they will be asked a "yes" or "no" question, which will determine whether Nucleus will show them the rest of the step or not. This is a great option to use for when certain information may be required by some people, but might not be pertinent to others.

For instance, if you're creating a "Plan Your Visit" type of Flow, you might have a step where people can submit their children's information. But not everyone has children who might be planning to visit your church. Conditional Logic can be helpful in this instance to avoid people having to skip steps that don't apply to them but apply to others.

To learn more about how to set up Conditional Logic on a step, click here.

Below this, you can often find the step's Label or Name. This is same label you provided when you created your step.

Many steps also allow you to add an optional Description to your step. This can be helpful to provide context for why you're asking for particular pieces of information (or just to provide little friendly comments along the way).

You might also see a Summary Prefix Label that you can edit. Each time someone completes a step in a Flow, it collapses into a pill above the next step they're filling out. To provide a summary of all the previous steps they filled out, the Summary Prefix Label is a helpful way to start off each step's summary.

For instance, the default Summary Prefix Label for a Text Entry Step is simply "Wrote". But if you could customize this to be more specific to the type of information someone would have entered in that step, like "A bit about me:" Or perhaps "My favourite type of animal:" if you wanted to know that about someone for some reason 😅

Once you're happy with your edits, click the Save Changes button at the bottom.

Of course, depending on the type of step you're editing, there could be a lot more to set up. To learn more about how to create/edit each type of step, click here.

Customize Your Flow's Name & Display Title

To edit the name and display title for your Flow, click the Customize tab. In the first field, you can edit the name of your Flow (for admin organizational purposes only). This is the name you will see in your list of All Flows here.

Below this, you can give your Flow a Display Title. While you can copy the name of the Flow, in some contexts it could make sense to name is something different that your congregation or whoever is filling out the Flow will recognize better.

Additionally, you can toggle on/off whether the Display Title shows at the top of the Flow (right below your logo).

Make sure to save your changes!

Preview, Test & Publish Your Changes

As you build and edit your Flow, it's helpful to preview your changes to experience what filling out your Flow will actually be like.

Clicking the Preview button will open a new tab with your Flow loading full screen. (If you add this Flow to, and access it from, The Launcher, you will have the option of changing between full screen and not.)

Feel free to test out your Flow so you can find what needs changing and what you're happy with.

Note: Any completed submission will be sent through as a real submission. You can always archive those test submissions, but if you have any Limits set up on your Flow, this can skew your counts, so be sure to reset your Limits before publishing your Flow for others to fill out for real. To learn more about setting up Limits, click here.

Once you're satisfied with your Flow, click Publish Changes. If your Flow has been added to an action in The Launcher, and The Launcher is installed on your website, people can now fill out this Flow from The Launcher. Otherwise, people can access this Flow as long as they have the Permanent URL. Click here to learn more about sharing your Flow.

Update An Existing Flow

If you're looking to update an existing Flow, click the Nucleus logo in the top left and select Flows. (Or if you're already in Nucleus Flows, click All Flows.) Click here for a quick link.

Find the Flow you wish to edit and click Manage.

Immediately, you'll be taken to the Create > Build tab where you can edit the Flow.

Helpful Tips When Building A Flow

Ask Questions. Keep It Conversational.

Not only does this helps to bring a more casual tone to your Flow, but it naturally invites an answer and response from the person filling out the Flow.

Keep It Short.

Using only steps that are necessary to collect all the information you need will lessen the time required to complete the Flow, which decreases the chances of someone abandoning ship partway through.

Obviously, there are times when a more complex, lengthy Flow is required. But a good rule of thumb is to keep it short and simple when possible.

Don't Lead With Contact Information

While most forms request contact information as the first order of operations, we suggest putting this off near the end of the Flow. Contact information (especially if it's just a name and email address) are easy pieces of information for someone to input. So having someone fill in the meat and potatoes of the Flow first makes for an easy win at the end of the Flow.

It's also what's becoming common practice in various sectors where you provide information, so it feels familiar to leave asking for contact information at the end. Think of Starbucks or any other establishment that you order food and drink from. If they ask for your name, it's always after you've placed your order, not before.

What Next?

Now that you know how to build a basic Flow, you might be brave enough to tackle creating a more advanced Flow. If that's you, go for it! Here's a guide that will help you on that journey:

But if you're happy with the Flow you've built, you might be wondering, "What now?" And to that, we'd say there are a few items you should review:

  1. You need to share your Flow.
  2. You need to know how to view and manage submissions.
  3. You need to make sure that any other admins have the correct permissions to help manage those submissions.

Click any of the following to learn more on those topics:

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