What the Sign-up Flow Builder Is
The Sign-up Flow Builder controls the entire sign-up experience for your platform. Every field a constituent completes on the form flows directly into their profile.
The affiliation they select on Step 1 shapes which fields they see for the rest of the form.
The builder is organised around four concepts:
Step — A page in the flow. Constituents move through steps one at a time, with a progress indicator. The default form has two steps; you can add more.
Entity — A grouped set of fields within a step, such as "Education" or "Contact Details." Entities can be set to show only for specific affiliations using Display Rules.
Field — An individual question within an entity. Fields can be built-in (Name, Class Year) or any custom field that already exists on the constituent profile. You cannot create new fields from within the builder — they must exist on the profile first.
Step cover — The image, title, and copy shown alongside each step. This is what gives each page context and guides the constituent through the flow.
To open the builder: Admin panel → Settings → Customise sign up.
The Default Form
The sign-up flow starts with two steps by default.
Step 1 — Basic Information
Name, email address, and affiliation.
The affiliation options that appear here (Alumni, Student, Faculty, Parent, etc.) come from your CRM integration or import configuration — they are not configured inside the builder.
Almabase uses passwordless login. There is no password field. Constituents verify their identity through a one-time code sent to their email.
Step 2 — Preferences
Communication preferences (email, mail, phone, text consent) and profile visibility ("List my profile in the directory").
Admins can configure the default opt-in or opt-out behavior for each communication channel from the consent settings. See Should I show or hide Communication and Privacy? below for the full setup.
All default entities in both steps are shown to every constituent regardless of affiliation.
Display Rules
Display Rules allow you to show or hide entities on the sign-up form based on the affiliation a constituent selects.
This creates a personalised sign-up experience where each affiliation type only sees the questions that are relevant to them.
Display Rules work at the entity level, not the field level.
A rule specifies: "Collect this entity when affiliation is [X]." An entity can have multiple rules — for example, you can set Education to show for both Alumni and Student affiliations.
If no Display Rule is set on an entity, it shows for all affiliations by default.
Common examples:
Education → show when affiliation is Alumni or Student
Faculty Details → show when affiliation is Faculty/Staff
Address and Phone → no rule set (shows for everyone)
To configure: open the builder and click the "Display rules" button at the top.
Customising the Form
Adding entities and fields
To collect additional information at sign-up, add entities to an existing step or create a new step. Any field you add must already exist on the constituent profile — the builder does not create new fields.
Add to an existing step when the entity is central to the core sign-up experience. Education for alumni, for example, fits naturally within Basic Information alongside name and affiliation.
Create a new step when the entity is supplementary or optional — things like Industry, Employer, Affinity Groups, or Greek Life. A separate step signals that the information is additional rather than required, which reduces friction and keeps the core flow focused.
Keep it short. Longer flows see a higher drop-off. If you're unsure whether to include something, skip it for now — existing constituents can complete those fields from their profile after sign-up.
Editing a field's label, help text, or required setting
Click the edit (pencil) icon next to any field to open the Edit Field panel. From here you can:
Field Name (label): Change how the field label appears to users on the form. This does not change the underlying field name in your system or CRM — it only changes what users see. Useful when CRM field names are technical or unfamiliar (e.g. "Grad Yr" → "Class Year").
Help text: Add a short guidance note below the field — explaining what format to use or why the information is being collected.
Required: Make the field mandatory. Users cannot proceed past the step without completing required fields.
Step covers
Each step can have a cover image, title, and supporting copy shown alongside the form. Use the cover to connect the request for information to a clear benefit for the constituent. Recommended image size: 1200×400 pixels.
Suggested framing:
Step 1 cover: Welcome them and introduce the community
Step 2 cover: Connect consent to value — what they'll hear about and why it matters
Step 3 cover (if added): Explain why additional details help — what they enable
Key Decisions
Should I show or hide Communication and Privacy?
The Communication and Privacy section in Step 2 controls whether constituents see and interact with communication preference toggles during sign-up. We recommend showing this section on the sign-up form so constituents can explicitly set their preferences.
Option 1: Show the section (recommended)
Constituents see communication preference toggles on the sign-up form and can interact with them.
How the toggles behave depends on whether the constituent already has preferences on their profile:
If the constituent already has a preference on their profile (opted in or opted out), the toggle reflects their existing preference — regardless of whatever default you configured.
If the constituent has no preference on their profile (e.g. a brand new record), the toggle shows the default you configured in the consent settings — Opted In or Opted Out.
In both cases, if the constituent changes a toggle during sign-up, that choice is saved to their profile. If they leave the toggles as-is, whatever the toggle showed is what gets saved.
To configure consent defaults:
Open the Sign-up Flow Builder (Admin dashboard → Settings → Platform Settings → Customise sign up).
On the step that contains Communication and Privacy, click the gear icon next to the consent collection entity.
In the Edit privacy settings panel, you'll see each communication channel listed — Email Updates, Post, Phone, and Receive important updates by text.
For each channel, toggle it on to make it available on the form, and set the Default for users to either Opted In or Opted Out.
You can also edit the Field name (the label constituents see) and the Description (the helper text below the toggle) for each channel.
Click Save.
User view
Recommendation: For Email and Text, we recommend keeping the default as Opted In. For Mail and Phone, you can choose based on your institution's communication strategy.
Option 2: Hide the section
Constituents do not see any communication preference toggles during sign-up. Consent is handled automatically:
Existing records with a preference already on their profile: Their current preference is retained. Sign-up does not change it.
Brand new records with no existing preference: They are set to receive transactional communications only (e.g. registration confirmations, donation receipts). They will not receive marketing emails, newsletters, or event invitations until they explicitly opt in or an admin updates their preference.
This keeps the sign-up flow shorter but means constituents don't get a chance to explicitly set their preferences during sign-up.
How to Configure the Form Step by Step
Open the builder — Admin dashboard → Settings → Platform Settings → Customise sign up
Review default steps — Basic Information and Preferences are your starting point. Affiliation options come from your CRM or import configuration.
Add entities to steps — For each entity (Education, Faculty Details, or others), decide whether it belongs in an existing step or a new one. If adding Education, include all profile education fields. Set a Display Rule for every entity you add.
Configure each field — Click the pencil icon on any field to rename the label, add help text, and set required or optional.
Set step covers — Add an image (1200×400 pixels), title, and description for each step.
Handle Communication and Privacy — We recommend showing this section. If you do, open the consent settings (gear icon) to configure the default toggle state for each communication channel. For Email and Text, we recommend keeping the default as Opted In. For Mail and Phone, choose based on your institution's communication strategy.
Preview and publish — Walk through the flow as each affiliation type. Publish when satisfied. Changes go live immediately.
Testing the Sign-up Form
Use a test account to complete the sign-up flow as each affiliation type you have enabled. Create separate test accounts for each — one as an alumnus, one as a parent, one as a faculty member if applicable.
Check:
Does the all fields appear only for the affiliations you set in Display Rules?
Does each step feel purposeful — no entities that create friction without a clear reason?
Do field labels make sense to someone who isn't on your data team?
Do the step covers give context at each point in the journey?
Does verification behave as expected once sign-up is complete?
The sign-up form directly determines data quality. A mislabelled or partial field results in incorrect or incomplete data flowing into your CRM, which creates gaps in the directory profiles your alumni will browse.
FAQs
Can I create new fields from inside the builder?
No. You can only add fields that already exist on the constituent profile. If you need a custom field on the sign-up form, create it on the profile first, then add it to the form. Reach out to our Support team to add additional fields.
Where do the affiliation options come from?
Affiliation options (Alumni, Student, Faculty, Parent, etc.) come from your CRM integration or import configuration. They are not configured inside the Sign-up Flow Builder.
Is there a password field on the sign-up form?
No. Almabase uses passwordless login. Constituents verify their identity through a one-time code sent to their email address.
Can I have different sign-up forms for different affiliations?
Not separate forms, but Display Rules achieve the same result. By setting rules on each entity, you control which groups of fields appear for each affiliation. An alumnus and a parent can go through the same form but see completely different questions.
What's the recommended image size for step covers?
1200×400 pixels.
Can I reorder steps or entities?
Yes. Within the builder, you can drag entities between steps and reorder them within a step.
Do changes go live immediately when I publish?
Yes. Once you publish, the updated sign-up form is live for all new sign-ups. Existing accounts are not affected — they have already completed the form.
What if I'm not sure whether to add a field to the sign-up form?
Skip it. Constituents can complete additional fields from their profile after signing up. A shorter form has less drop-off. You can always add fields to the sign-up form later.