I came across a scenario where I needed to exclude the default value for dropdowns in Sitecore Forms. By default, dropdown fields in Sitecore Forms often preselect the first option, which might be a placeholder like “Select an option.”
If users submit the form without changing this value, it can lead to unreliable data. Custom validation helps enforce user interaction, ensuring the selection is meaningful.
Steps to Implement Custom Validation in Sitecore Forms
Step 1: Create a Custom Validator
Navigate to your Sitecore solution and open the project where Sitecore Forms is configured.
Create a new class that extends FormConditionalValidatorand override the validation logic.
Step 2: Register the Validator in Sitecore
Open Sitecore Content Editor and navigate to: /sitecore/system/Settings/Forms/Validation
Create a new validation item:
Name: Department Validator (Change it according to Project needs)
Type: Reference the class you created, e.g., Custom.Validators.DropdownDefaultValueValidator, CustomAssembly
When we signed up for Optimizely’s Opal Innovation Challenge, we knew it wasn’t just about building a solution—it was about solving a real marketing pain point. As marketing professionals and technologists, we’ve seen countless campaigns fail despite being well-written. Why? Because they didn’t resonate with the audience. This challenge gave us the perfect opportunity to tackle that problem head-on.
Persona Alignment is Non-Negotiable: Content without persona context is just noise.
AI Can Bridge the Gap: Multi-agent systems can automate what manual reviews can’t.
Collaboration is Everything: Combining tech and marketing expertise was our biggest strength.
Start Simple, Scale Later: A modular approach helped us deliver a working prototype fast.
The Hackathon Experience
The Opal Innovation Challenge wasn’t just a competition—it was a learning marathon. We explored Opal’s agent ecosystem, experimented with orchestration, and realized how AI can transform marketing workflows.
Check out our video presented at the Hackathon –
Closing Thoughts
Innovation happens when you combine empathy with technology. For us, this challenge was proof that marketing and AI are not separate worlds—they’re partners in creating meaningful experiences.
Top teams can win prizes like $5,000 in MDF, gift cards, and thought leadership opportunities.
Sitecore PowerShell Extensions (SPE) (Huge thanks to Michael West, Adam Najmanowicz, and contributors) is a robust module that adds the power of PowerShell scripting to the Sitecore platform.
It empowers Sitecore developers and administrators to automate repetitive tasks and extend Sitecore’s functionality with custom scripts.
Downloading Sitecore Logs from Azure Web Apps wasn’t easy. To troubleshoot any issues, I used to spend decent time trying to find recent logs.
AzureTools (Thank you Sitecore Community – You are simply awesome!) comes to the rescue. It’s a simple .aspx page that can be dropped into CM environments and download logs in just seconds.
The Sitecore Content Export Tool(many thanks to Erica Stockwell-Alpert) is a powerful utility designed to streamline the process of exporting content from your Sitecore instance.
It enables developers, content authors, and administrators to easily extract content in bulk, simplifying tasks like data migration, content backups, or sharing content across environments.
The Sitecore Log Analyzer (SCLA) (Sitecore Community Rocks!) is a powerful tool designed to help Sitecore developers analyze and interpret log files with ease.
It simplifies the process of identifying issues, tracking errors, and monitoring system performance by providing a user-friendly interface to view and filter Sitecore logs.
This ClickOnce installer sets up the application and enables automatic updates. After installation, the app can be launched from the Start menu or pinned to the taskbar for easy access.
I have exploring Optimizely Forms recently – Installed NuGet package to enable Optimizely Forms, created a Contact Us Form and placed in a landing page. Sharing my learning from installation to submission.
Let’s get started.
To enable Optimizely Forms, we need to install NuGet package for Forms – It can be installed via NuGet Console or Manager. I prefer GUI since it’s more visual.
EpiServer.Forms
EpiServer.Forms.Core
EpiServer.Forms.UI
Let’s run the project – localhost:5000 now will have a new tab Forms besides Blocks and Media.
Create a New Form by right clicking on EpiServer Forms – named it as Contact Us Form.
Let’s add the fields by drag and dropping into the Content Area.
Quick Edit to change the Label, Tooltip, Required field and RegEx if needed. Save and Publish the changes.
Note: Each field needs to be published.
Similarly, I have created the following fields –
First Name – Text
Last Name – Text
Email – Text
Comment – Text Area
Submit Button
Note: The Email is Text field with the Email checkbox checked.
Form is now ready to be placed in any landing page.
Let’s create a Standard Page or any page with Content Area.
Drag and Drop the Contact Us Form into the Content Area and publish the changes.
Let’s test the Contact Us Form – we could see the new menu CONTACT US PAGE is automatically added when published the page.
Submitted the Form – Verified that the required field validators are working as expected.
The submitted records are easy to check by pressing the Form Submissions.
The records can be exported in any of the following formats.
The records are stored forever by default – feel free to change the retention policy as needed for partial and full submissions.
If you prefer watching a video, my quick recording –
When you’re ready for the exam, you can purchase the exam voucher code for $300. Alternatively, if your company is an Optimizely partner and you have competitor certification, fill out the Opt-up program to receive a free voucher code.
