Building SharePoint Forms: Easy Guide to Power Apps & JSON

When it comes to building forms in SharePoint, you've got a few solid options. Most of the time, you'll find yourself using Power Apps to build a completely custom user interface right on top of a SharePoint list. The other route is using JSON formatting for quicker, more targeted visual tweaks. Either way, you're turning a basic data entry screen into something far more intuitive and useful.

Beyond Default Forms: The Power of Customization

Let’s be honest, the out-of-the-box SharePoint form is… functional. It gets the job done for the simplest data entry tasks, but it almost never fits the bill for a real-world business process. If you stick with that default layout, you’re often inviting user frustration, half-finished submissions, and a boatload of data entry errors.

Poor data quality isn't just an annoyance; it's expensive. According to Gartner, organizations believe poor data quality to be responsible for an average of $15 million per year in losses. Customizing your forms isn't just about making them look pretty—it's about building an intelligent front-end that guides users, validates their input, and plugs neatly into your other workflows.

This is where you have two primary tools in your toolkit:

• JSON Formatting: Think of this as your go-to for lightweight, visual-only changes. You can use it to create multi-column layouts, add headers, or group fields into logical sections without ever leaving the SharePoint interface. It's fast and effective for clean-up jobs.
• Power Apps: For anything more complex, Power Apps is your answer. It lets you build a completely bespoke user interface from the ground up. Need to show or hide fields based on a dropdown selection? Connect to another data source? Create a multi-page "wizard" experience? Power Apps handles all of that.

SharePoint Form Customization Methods at a Glance

Choosing the right path forward can feel tricky at first. To help you decide, here’s a quick breakdown of the three main approaches to SharePoint form customization.

Ultimately, the goal is to match the tool to the task's complexity. A simple expense log might just need a clean two-column layout—a perfect job for JSON. But a multi-stage project approval form that shows different fields to different approvers? That’s squarely in Power Apps territory.

Customization is about reducing friction. Every unnecessary field a user has to see or every confusing instruction they have to read increases the chance of abandonment or incorrect data. A well-designed form actively works to prevent these issues.

For instance, you can use JSON to create collapsible sections right inside a form. It’s a simple but powerful way to organize a ton of information without overwhelming the user.

This little tweak makes long forms so much easier to handle, as people can just expand the sections they need to fill out.

SharePoint's massive adoption is tied directly to the success of Microsoft 365, which is used by over two million companies worldwide. As a core part of that ecosystem, SharePoint forms are the backbone for countless business processes. If you're curious, you can find more details on Microsoft 365 usage statistics.

Getting Your SharePoint List Ready for Prime Time

Before you even think about opening Power Apps or writing a single line of JSON, let's talk about the foundation of your entire project: the SharePoint list. I’ve seen it time and time again—people get excited and jump straight into the form design, only to realize their underlying data structure is a mess. Building on a poorly planned list is like building a house on sand. It’s just not going to hold up.

Taking the time to architect your list properly will save you countless headaches later. It’s not just about data integrity; it’s about making the form-building process in Power Apps drastically simpler.

The first thing to nail down is your columns. Think strategically. Poor data quality can cost companies an average of $15 million a year, and a lot of that starts right here, with how you set up your data capture. By choosing the right column types from the get-go, you're essentially building validation directly into your list, stopping bad data before it even gets in.

For instance, I once worked on an IT helpdesk system where they used a "Single line of text" column for the ticket category. The result? A chaotic mix of "hardware issue," "Hardware," "hrdware," and "Laptop problem." Reporting was a nightmare. A simple switch to a Choice column with predefined options like "Hardware," "Software," and "Network" cleaned it all up instantly.

Architecting Your Data Columns

Every column you create is a decision that impacts the user experience and, more importantly, the complexity of your Power Apps formulas. Let’s get these right.

Here are a few of the most critical column types and my take on when to use them:

• Lookup Columns: These are your best friend when the options you want to present already live in another SharePoint list. For that IT ticket system, instead of a static Choice column for laptop models, we created a "Company Assets" list. Then, we used a Lookup column so users could select their actual assigned laptop. It’s way more scalable and accurate.
• Person or Group: This is a non-negotiable for any field that needs to reference a user, like "Assigned To" or "Submitted By." It pulls directly from your company directory, which means the data is always accurate. It also makes triggering workflows in Power Automate a breeze.
• Managed Metadata: If you're dealing with enterprise-level terminology that needs to be consistent across the entire organization (think department names, project codes, or regional offices), this is the tool for the job. It provides a central, hierarchical term store that keeps everyone on the same page.

Microsoft's own guidance echoes this sentiment. They make it clear that a solid data structure is a prerequisite for building effective forms. As they put it, "The columns in your list, their data types, and how they're configured define what data your form can capture and how users interact with it." You can read more in their guide to getting started with SharePoint lists.

Establish Smart Naming Conventions

Here's a pro tip that will save you a world of pain: be smart about your column names. When you first create a column, give it an internal name without spaces or special characters (e.g., use "TicketStatus" instead of "Ticket Status"). You can always go back and change the display name to something more user-friendly like "Ticket Status" afterward.

Why does this matter? Because Power Fx, the language used in Power Apps, doesn't play nicely with spaces in internal names. You end up having to write clunky formulas to handle them. Using a clean internal name like "TicketStatus" means your formulas will be simple and readable. This small habit is a massive time-saver, especially when you start building SharePoint forms with more complex logic. A little prep work here makes the whole development process smoother.

Your First Custom Form with Power Apps

Alright, let's move from theory to practice. This is where you'll really see the magic happen. Once your SharePoint list is set up and ready to go, it's time to fire up the Power Apps designer and turn that basic data entry screen into something your team will actually want to use.

Getting started is surprisingly simple. From your SharePoint list, just navigate to Integrate > Power Apps > Customize forms. That one click automatically generates a default app based on your list columns and drops you right into the Power Apps Studio. You're now ready to start customizing.

It's no surprise that low-code platforms like Power Apps can slash app development time by 50-90%. You’re about to find out why.

What you see here is the default, single-column form that Power Apps generates for you. Every field from your SharePoint list appears as a "card," which you can now click, drag, and modify to your heart's content.

While it's functional out of the box, the real power is in the customization. Let's make a few high-impact changes right away to improve the user experience and add a professional touch.

Making Your First High-Impact Changes

The first things I always tackle are changes that improve the user's journey. Nothing causes frustration and bad data like a cluttered, illogical form. We'll start with two quick wins: grouping fields and adding some branding.

• Group Related Fields: A long, scrolling list of questions is just plain intimidating. A much better approach is to group related info together—like putting all "Contact Information" or "Project Details" fields in their own sections. You can do this just by dragging and dropping the field cards into a more logical order right inside the designer.
• Apply Company Branding: A form that looks like it belongs to your company just feels more professional and trustworthy. Start by selecting the form's screen (it's usually called SharePointForm1) and changing its Fill property to your company's primary color hex code. Throwing your logo at the top as an image control is another great touch.

These small visual tweaks do more than just make it look good; they reinforce your corporate identity and make the form feel like a natural part of your business tools.

Introducing Your First Power Fx Formula

Now for the fun part: adding some smarts. One of the most common requests I get is for dynamic forms—like showing or hiding a field based on what a user picks in another field. This is where Power Fx, the low-code language behind Power Apps, comes into play.

Let's say you have a "Yes/No" choice field called RequiresApproval and a text field for the ApproverName. Obviously, you only want the ApproverName field to show up if the answer to RequiresApproval is "Yes."

Here’s how easy it is to set that up:

1. Click on the card for the ApproverName field.
2. In the properties panel on the right, find the Visible property.
3. Type in this simple Power Fx formula: DataCardValue_RequiresApproval.Selected.Value = "Yes" (Your field's card name might be slightly different, but you get the idea).

This one line of code is a game-changer. It tells Power Apps to watch the RequiresApproval dropdown. If the selected value is "Yes," the ApproverName card becomes visible. If not, it stays hidden. This is your first taste of building a truly responsive and intelligent form.

This kind of conditional logic is fantastic for decluttering the user interface, only showing people what they need to see, when they need to see it.

If you're looking to explore these initial steps in more detail, our full guide to create SharePoint forms has even more examples.

Once you’re happy with your changes, just go to File > Save > Publish to SharePoint. That’s it. Your custom form is now live and will pop up anytime someone adds or edits an item in your list.

Quick Visual Wins with JSON Formatting

Sometimes, you don't need the full power (and complexity) of Power Apps to make a big impact. If you're just looking for quick, effective visual improvements to a standard SharePoint form, JSON is your best friend. It’s a surprisingly powerful way to tweak the appearance of your form's header, footer, and body without a single line of code in another app.

Let's be real, a better user experience pays off. Some reports even show that every $1 invested in UX can bring back anywhere from $2 to $100. A bit of JSON formatting is a super low-effort way to grab some of that value by making your forms way easier to look at and fill out.

Transforming Your Form with a Two-Column Layout

One of the most common complaints I hear about the default SharePoint forms is that endless, single-column scroll. When you have more than a handful of fields, it just feels clunky and overwhelming.

Thankfully, you can fix this in minutes with a simple JSON snippet. The goal is to reorganize the form into a clean, multi-column layout, which instantly makes it feel more professional and efficient. By grouping related fields into sections, you guide the user's eye and make the whole data entry process feel a lot quicker. As Microsoft's own documentation points out, you can configure the list form to create these sections, which dramatically improves readability.

Here's a practical JSON example that creates a simple two-column layout for a form header:

{
  "sections": [
    {
      "displayname": "Project Information",
      "fields": [
        "ProjectName",
        "ProjectManager"
       ]
    },
    {
      "displayname": "Timeline & Status",
      "fields": [
        "StartDate",
        "DueDate",
        "ProjectStatus"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

This little block of code creates two clean sections, "Project Information" and "Timeline & Status," and neatly tucks the fields you specify inside them.

Pro Tip: When you're writing JSON, start simple. Get the basic structure working first, then add more fields or sections. I always run my code through an online JSON validator before pasting it into SharePoint. It’s a tiny step that catches syntax errors like missing commas and saves a ton of troubleshooting headaches.

Where to Apply Your JSON Code

Getting this into SharePoint is incredibly easy. You don't even have to leave the list.

1. Just click the New button to pop open the form.
2. In the top-right corner of the form, look for the Edit form icon (it looks like a little pencil) and click it.
3. Choose Configure layout.
4. A "Format" panel will slide out. From the "Apply formatting to" dropdown, pick Header.
5. Now, just paste your JSON code into the text box and hit Save.

The change is immediate, so you can see right away if it worked. This method is perfect for giving simpler forms a quick facelift without the overhead of building a full Power App.

If you want to get even more granular with styling individual fields, check out our guide on SharePoint Online list column formatting using JSON. A few lines of JSON can go a long way in reducing user frustration and making data collection a breeze.

Advanced Techniques for Smarter SharePoint Forms

Once you've got the basics down, you can start building SharePoint forms that do more than just collect data. They can become active players in your business processes. These advanced techniques transform a simple input screen into an intelligent tool that guides users, prevents mistakes, and makes everything smoother right from the get-go.

Let's be honest, this shift is driven by user expectations. People want their workplace apps to be as easy to use as the apps on their phones. It's a trend Gartner saw coming over a decade ago with the rise of smart devices, and it’s pushing all of us to build better user experiences in platforms like SharePoint. You can see how user adoption has been influenced by evolving technology expectations in this space.

Implementing Dynamic Validation Rules

One of the most powerful moves you can make is implementing dynamic validation. This is a huge leap beyond just ticking a "Required" box. Here, the form's logic actually adapts based on what the user enters, which is a game-changer for data quality.

Think about an expense report form. You can set up a rule where the "Justification" field only becomes mandatory if the expense amount goes over $500. For anything less, it stays hidden or optional.

In Power Apps, you’d achieve this by setting the Required property of the Justification field’s data card to a simple formula: If(Value(DataCardValue_ExpenseAmount.Text) > 500, true, false).

This keeps the form clean for small expenses while ensuring you get the necessary details for the big ones.

Auto-Populating Fields from User Profiles

Here’s another way to build smarter, faster forms: pull in data automatically from other sources. Every field you can pre-fill is one less thing for a user to type, and it dramatically cuts down on errors. A classic and highly effective way to do this is by grabbing data from Office 365 user profiles.

• Pre-filling User Data: As soon as a user opens a new request, you can instantly populate their name, email, and department. No typing needed.
• Retrieving Manager Information: For approval workflows, you can automatically find and fill in the "Manager" field by looking up the current user's manager in Azure Active Directory.

This is all done using the Office365Users connector in Power Apps. For instance, the formula Office365Users.UserProfile(User().Email).DisplayName will fetch the current user's full name. It makes the form feel incredibly efficient and personalized.

A smart form anticipates what the user needs. By pre-filling information and only asking for what’s absolutely necessary, you remove friction. This simple change dramatically increases the odds of getting accurate, complete submissions. You’re moving from passive data collection to actively helping the process along.

Creating Multi-Page Forms for Complex Processes

For bigger tasks like employee onboarding or detailed project proposals, a single, endlessly scrolling form is a recipe for frustration. The solution? Break it up. A multi-page "wizard" style form is far more user-friendly.

You can create separate screens for "Personal Details," "Hardware Request," and "Software Access." This guided approach feels less intimidating.

In Power Apps, you just create multiple screens and use buttons with the Navigate() function to move people between them. This helps ensure that every required step gets completed in the right order—a crucial element for building robust SharePoint forms.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

As you start digging into customizing SharePoint forms, a few questions almost always pop up. It's totally normal. Knowing the right tool for the job and how to backtrack if needed can save you a ton of headaches down the road. Let's walk through some of the most common hurdles I see people run into.

Power Apps or JSON Formatting?

This is probably the #1 question people ask: when should I use Power Apps versus simple JSON formatting?

The answer really comes down to one thing: complexity.

Think of JSON formatting as a quick, cosmetic touch-up. It’s perfect for visual-only tweaks, like arranging fields into multiple columns or adding a static header to your form. It's lightweight, fast, and gets the job done when you just need to change the look, not the logic.

But the moment you need your form to do something, you need Power Apps. If you want to show or hide fields based on what a user selects in a dropdown, connect to another data source (like pulling in a user's manager from Azure AD), or build a multi-page "wizard" for a complex process, Power Apps is your go-to. It gives you complete control over the form's behavior and user experience.

How Do I Get the Default SharePoint Form Back?

So, you've built a Power App for your list, but now you need to revert to the standard SharePoint form. Maybe it's for troubleshooting, or perhaps the requirements changed. No problem—it's easy to switch back without losing your work.

1. Head over to your SharePoint list settings.
2. Click on Form settings.
3. Simply select Use the default SharePoint form.

That's it. This disconnects your Power App from the list, but it doesn't delete the app itself. You can always pop back into this same menu and reconnect it later. It gives you the flexibility to toggle between the two as needed.

Will My Form Work on Mobile?

In a world where everyone's on their phone, this is a critical question. The short answer is yes. Power Apps forms are designed to be responsive and work quite well within the SharePoint mobile app.

To make sure you're delivering a great mobile experience, try to design with smaller screens in mind from the start. Use larger fonts and make sure buttons and other controls are easy to tap.

One of the biggest strengths of Power Apps is its ability to connect to other systems. You can easily add data connections to hundreds of other services. A common scenario is connecting to the Office 365 Users connector to automatically pull in details like a user's department or manager. You can even connect to an external SQL database. For a deeper dive, check out the official Microsoft documentation on configuring list forms.

The key takeaway here is that Power Apps is built for creating rich, context-aware forms. Its power to connect to other data sources lets you build solutions that read and write data across multiple systems, all from one simple SharePoint form.

At SamTech 365, we provide in-depth tutorials and real-world scenarios to help you master the Microsoft Power Platform. Explore our step-by-step guides to accelerate your solution delivery at https://www.samtech365.com.