Skip to content

TrustLab | Prod | Helpline Airtable Forms | Slow Load on First Visit #1497

Description

@RalphOwah

Helpline Airtable Forms | Slow Load on First Visit

Description:
The Airtable forms embedded in the Rapid Response Helpline buttons (Anti-spyware & Anti-trolling) on trustlab.africa are loading slowly when a user clicks them, particularly on first visit or on a device that has never loaded the site before.
On a returning device, the slowness is less noticeable because the browser has cached some Airtable assets from a previous visit. On a fresh device with no cache, the user clicks the helpline button and waits for the entire form to load from scratch, creating a poor experience at a moment that may be time-sensitive. Someone reaching out for help with a digital threat should not be made to wait.

Expected Experience:
When a user clicks a helpline button, the form should open and be ready to fill in immediately with no noticeable delay, regardless of whether it is their first visit or they are on a new device.

Steps to Reproduce:

  1. Open trustlab.africa on a fresh browser with no cache, or a device that has never visited the site
  2. Scroll to the Rapid Response Helplines section
  3. Click any helpline button
  4. Observe the delay before the form becomes visible and usable

Proposed Solutions:

  1. Preload the embedded iframes in the background when the page loads, so the form is ready before the user clicks
  2. Replace Airtable embeds with custom-built forms that submit data to Airtable via API
  3. Engineer to assess and recommend the optimal approach.

Acceptance Criteria:

  1. Helpline forms load without noticeable delay on first visit
  2. Experience is consistent across new and returning devices
  3. Forms remain fully functional; users do not need to sign in to fill form, and the submissions still reach Airtable

Metadata

Metadata

Assignees

Labels

No labels
No labels

Type

No type

Fields

No fields configured for issues without a type.

Projects

Status
✅ Done

Milestone

No milestone

Relationships

None yet

Development

No branches or pull requests

Issue actions