# How to work with HTML forms

**URL:** <https://forum.freecodecamp.org/t/how-to-work-with-html-forms/253188>\
**Category:** General\
**Created:** [January 22, 2019, 3:00am UTC](https://forum.freecodecamp.org/t/how-to-work-with-html-forms/253188 "2019-01-22T03:00:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![dyer.ben](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/freecodecamp/user_avatar/forum.freecodecamp.org/dyer.ben/32/108665_2.png) [@dyer.ben](https://forum.freecodecamp.org/u/dyer.ben)\
**Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 3:00am UTC](https://forum.freecodecamp.org/t/how-to-work-with-html-forms/253188/1 "2019-01-22T03:00:00Z")

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I built an HTML form following the tutorial on FCC, but I’m not sure how to actually use it outside of FCC. For instance, I would like to be able to do something with the information input by the user. Things I would like to be able to do:

(1) Console.log() or write to HTML some of the user input;  
(2) Store the user input in a new file;  
(3) Store the user input in a database;

I tried following W3 Schools tutorials, but all that I got when I click to submit the form is to download a copy of the php file referenced in “\< form action=welcome.php” … \>

I’m gathering that I can use PHP to handle the form and with MySQL. I haven’t found a reference on how to do this though. Any suggestions? (Preferably something you have actually used to learn this stuff - I have done plenty of Googling, but nothing I’ve found has been very helpful.)

What about (2)? Can I use PHP to do this? Do I need PHP to do this, or can I do this just with javascript? Lastly, what is the minimal way of accomplishing (1)?

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**Author:** ![zNematoadz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/freecodecamp/user_avatar/forum.freecodecamp.org/znematoadz/32/105185_2.png) [@zNematoadz](https://forum.freecodecamp.org/u/zNematoadz)\
**Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 3:21am UTC](https://forum.freecodecamp.org/t/how-to-work-with-html-forms/253188/2 "2019-01-22T03:21:22Z")

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I would recommend node.js. I like mongoDB for the database, you can setup a free database on [mlab.com](http://mlab.com).  
FreeCodeCamp goes into this setup in the Apis And Microservices Certification

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**Author:** ![ILM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/freecodecamp/user_avatar/forum.freecodecamp.org/ilm/32/363239_2.png) [@ILM](https://forum.freecodecamp.org/u/ILM)\
**Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 8:06pm UTC](https://forum.freecodecamp.org/t/how-to-work-with-html-forms/253188/3 "2021-01-17T20:06:04Z")

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Closed on January 17, 2021, 8:06pm UTC