Date input

Date input asks the visitor for a calendar date — a launch date, a birthday, an event date, or any answer that needs to be stored as a real date that can be compared and ranged.

Applies to: Builder Widget Results Contact fields

Best for

Launch dates, target dates, birthdays, event dates, and any value that should be sorted, compared, or filtered as a date.

Stores

A calendar date in YYYY-MM-DD format. Optionally updates a custom contact field of type Date.

Routes

Continues along the step’s default path. Date input does not branch based on the answer.

Use Text input for relative or fuzzy dates

Date input collects an exact calendar date. If you want answers like next quarter or as soon as possible, use Buttons or Text input instead.

At a glance

Capability	Supported
Calendar date selection	Yes, via the visitor’s native date picker
Earliest date (minimum)	Yes, configurable per block
Latest date (maximum)	Yes, configurable per block
Per-answer routing	No, all answers continue along the step’s default path
Contact field binding	Yes, custom Date fields

Example

A demo-request workflow asks:

When do you want to launch?

The visitor opens the date picker, selects a date, and presses Continue. The answer is stored as 2026-09-01 in the workflow result and can drive a Condition block that routes urgent launches to a faster-track team.

When to use Date input

Use Date input when the answer must be a real calendar date that may be compared or ranged.

Good use cases:

• Ask for a launch date or target go-live date.
• Capture an event date for a booking workflow.
• Collect a birthday for a custom contact field.
• Ask for a deadline that drives downstream urgency.

Use a different block when:

• The answer is a relative or fuzzy timeframe (“ASAP”, “next quarter”): use Buttons.
• The answer is a number (year, count of days): use Number input.
• The answer is open-ended text: use Text input.
• You need to capture both a date and a time of day: split the question into separate Date input and Text input blocks.

Add a Date input block

1. Open a workflow and go to the builder.
2. In the block sidebar, open Questions.
3. Add Date to a step.
4. Write the question text visitors should see.
5. Choose where to save the answer.
6. Optionally set Earliest date and Latest date to constrain the range.
7. Connect the next path.

Configure the question

The question text appears immediately before the visitor sees the input. Keep it specific and answerable.

Good:

When do you want to launch?

Avoid:

Tell us about your timeline.

Date input expects a single calendar date. Frame the question so the answer is unambiguous.

Configure the input

Earliest date and Latest date

Set Earliest date to reject any date before that day. Set Latest date to reject any date after that day. Both fields use YYYY-MM-DD format.

Common reasons to set bounds:

• A booking workflow that should not accept dates in the past.
• A launch-date question that should not accept dates more than 12 months in the future.
• An event workflow that should only accept dates within a fixed window.

Both fields are optional. Leave them blank to accept any valid calendar date.

Save the answer

Date input answers are always saved in workflow answers. You can also bind the answer to a custom contact field of type Date.

Question	Suggested contact field
When do you want to launch?	Launch date (custom Date field)
When is your event?	Event date (custom Date field)
What’s your birthday?	Birthday (custom Date field)

Date input cannot bind to standard contact fields (First name, Last name, Email, Phone, Display name) — only custom fields with a Date value type are compatible.

Common patterns

Booking workflows

Ask for a target date and use Earliest date to keep visitors from picking past days. Pair with a Condition block to route based on how soon the date is.

Launch or go-live timing

Capture a target launch date during qualification. Bind to a custom Date field so reporting can group leads by quarter.

Event date capture

Set Earliest date and Latest date to a fixed event window so visitors cannot select unsupported days.

Birthday or anniversary capture

Collect a birthday for a custom Date field that downstream automations can use for triggered messages.

Answer output

When a visitor submits a Date input answer, DialogMaker stores the value as a structured object.

{
  "type": "date",
  "value": "2026-09-01"
}

Field	Meaning
type	Always date for this block.
value	The selected calendar date in ISO 8601 YYYY-MM-DD format. No time of day is stored.

Routing behavior

Date input always continues along the step’s default path. The block does not branch on the answer’s content.

To route based on the date — for example, send urgent launches to a fast-track team — add a Condition block after the Date input and compare the saved value.

Validation and limits

DialogMaker rejects invalid Date input answers when:

• The answer is not a Date answer.
• The answer is empty.
• The answer is not in YYYY-MM-DD format.
• The answer is not a valid calendar date.
• The answer is before the configured Earliest date, when one is set.
• The answer is after the configured Latest date, when one is set.

Troubleshooting

Problem	What to check
Visitors can pick dates in the past	Set Earliest date to today’s date or later. The widget then rejects past dates.
Visitors can pick dates beyond the workflow’s window	Set Latest date to the last accepted date.
The visitor’s date picker looks different from another visitor’s	The widget uses the visitor’s native browser date picker. The picker UI varies by browser and device — the data DialogMaker stores is identical.
The answer cannot be bound to a standard contact field	Date input only binds to custom contact fields of type Date. Standard fields like First name and Email are not compatible.

Related articles

• Question blocks overview
• Answer storage
• Number input
• Text input