# Adding AI Mockups to Your Website Request Form

> How to add an instant AI lighting mockup to your website request form: setup, monthly credit cap, domains, script vs iframe, QR codes and expectations.

- URL: https://light-ai.app/blog/ai-mockups-website-request-form
- Author: Light AI Team, The team behind Light AI
- Published: 2026-10-22
- Updated: 2026-10-26
- Category: Product how-tos
- Topics: request forms, ai mockups, website leads, christmas lighting marketing
- Publisher: Light AI (https://light-ai.app/), quoting and AI mockup software for Christmas lighting contractors

An AI mockup on your website request form shows the homeowner their own house with lights while they finish the form, which gives them a reason to complete it and gives you a photo and a design direction before you ever call. In Light AI, you turn it on in the form's AI mockup preview and budget step, set a monthly credit cap, list the websites allowed to show the form, and paste one snippet into your site.

Website request forms are a Pro feature (Enterprise too). This guide covers why the preview helps, how to set it up, how to budget for it, what happens when the cap runs out, and how to set expectations so the concept does not turn into a promise.

## Why put an AI mockup on the request form

A standard contact form asks the homeowner to do work and gives them nothing back. They type their name, wait, and maybe hear from you in two days. A lighting form with a preview flips that: they answer a few taps about what to light and what color, add a photo of the front of the home, and see a concept of their house lit before they leave the page.

What that does for you:

- **More complete requests.** A homeowner who wants to see their house will add the front photo, and that photo is what you need to start a quote.
- **A design direction before the first call.** You see what they picked (surfaces, color, trees and bushes) and the concept they saw.
- **A head start on the quote.** When you click Start quote on the request, the homeowner's photo is waiting on Intake.

![Homeowner's revealed AI mockup on a phone after finishing the request form](https://light-ai.app/blog/shots/request-form-reveal.webp "The homeowner sees a concept of their own home, labeled as an AI reference")

## Setting up the form step by step

Open Requests, then Forms, and click New form. You can start from a ready-made template such as Classic, Early Bird, Black Friday or Last Chance, each with its own look and offer, and change anything afterward.

![Form editor with template choices and a live phone preview](https://light-ai.app/blog/shots/request-form-design-offer.webp "Start from a seasonal template and watch the live preview as you edit")

The editor walks you through these steps:

1. **Basics:** name the form so you recognize it in your inbox (for example "Website home page" or "Yard signs").
2. **Fields and photo:** decide what contact details you collect and keep the photo upload on. The preview needs a photo.
3. **Questions:** the lighting questions the homeowner taps through, like what to light and which light color.
4. **Copy and consent:** your headline, button text and consent wording.
5. **Design and offer:** colors, the look, and any seasonal offer.
6. **AI mockup preview and budget:** turn on the instant preview and set your monthly cap.
7. **Install:** list the allowed websites, copy the snippet, and optionally turn on the share link and QR code.

Full details are in the [request forms help article](https://light-ai.app/help#request-forms).

## Budgeting the preview: credits and the monthly cap

Each preview is one AI mockup of the homeowner's home, generated in the light color they picked. It starts while they finish the rest of the form, so it is usually ready by the time they reach the end. Each preview uses 5 credits from your balance. Requests themselves never use credits.

While the preview is on, a monthly credit cap is required. The editor shows what you have used this month, your cap, your credit balance and an estimate of how many previews are left.

![Form editor AI mockup preview and monthly budget settings](https://light-ai.app/blog/shots/request-form-mockup-budget.webp "Set the cap and watch usage, balance and estimated previews left")

To size your cap, work backwards from the requests you expect:

| Planning question | How to work it out |
|---|---|
| How many photo requests do I expect this month? | Look at last season's requests, or your website visits times your current form completion rate |
| How many previews does that mean? | One per request that includes a photo |
| What cap do I need? | Previews x 5 credits |
| Will my balance cover it? | Compare the cap with your monthly credits plus any purchased credits |
| What happens in peak weeks? | Raise the cap for October and November, lower it after |

Example: if you expect about 40 requests with photos in November, set a cap of at least 40 x 5 credits, and make sure your balance can carry that alongside the mockups you generate for quotes.

Two safety details worth knowing. Previews only spend credits above your Auto Top-Up threshold, so they will not drain the reserve you set aside for your own quoting. And website visitors never trigger an Auto Top-Up; only you spend money on credits.

## What happens when the cap or credits run out

Nothing breaks. When your credits run low or the monthly cap is reached, the form hides the preview and keeps capturing every request. The homeowner still submits their answers and photo, and the request still lands in your Requests inbox and the Pipeline in the Request stage. You just lose the instant "wow" for those visitors.

Two habits help here:

- **Check the estimate weekly in peak season.** If "previews left" is getting small in mid-November, raise the cap or top up credits.
- **Follow up fast on requests without a preview.** Generate a mockup yourself when you build the quote, so the homeowner still sees their house lit.

If you run Plus or Pro and switch to Off-Season between seasons, your forms keep taking requests, and the first requests each month get AI mockups included without using credits. After that, the form takes the request and tells the homeowner you will follow up with a design. See the [Off-Season article](https://light-ai.app/help#off-season).

## Installing the form: domains, script or iframe

### The domain allow-list

Only the websites you list can show the form; anywhere else it stays blank. That protects your credits from someone copying your snippet onto their own site. Add every version of your address the form will appear on:

- Your domain with and without www (example: yourcompany.com and www.yourcompany.com).
- The temporary address your site builder uses while you build (example: yoursite.squarespace.com).
- Enter just the website address, not a page path.

If the form does not show up, the two usual causes are a missing domain on this list or a snippet that did not get saved on the page.

### Script or iframe

| Option | Use it when | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Script snippet (recommended) | Your site lets you paste custom code in an HTML block | Resizes itself to fit each step |
| Iframe snippet | Your builder does not allow scripts | Sized to fit the whole form; place it full width |
| Iframe plus optional script | Your builder allows inline scripts after an iframe | Fits each step exactly |

Paste the snippet where the form should appear, ideally on its own "Free quote" page and near the top of your home page. If an AI site builder makes your website, the Install step has a Copy instructions for AI button you can paste straight into it.

### The share link and QR code

Turn on Share your form to get a link and a QR code that open the form on its own page. Use the link in texts, social posts and email signatures. Download the QR code as SVG for print (yard signs, door hangers, flyers, truck wraps) and PNG for posts and texts. For tracking, consider a separate form for print so those leads show their own form name in your inbox; [our lead sources guide](https://light-ai.app/blog/christmas-lighting-leads-request-forms-qr-google) explains why.

## Setting homeowner expectations

The preview is a concept, not a promise. AI mockups illustrate an idea; they are not a guaranteed installation result, and the reveal itself tells the homeowner it is an AI concept for reference and that the final design may differ.

Back that up in your own words:

- **On the form:** keep the consent and copy honest. "See a concept of your home with lights. Final design and price come with your quote."
- **On the first call or text:** refer to the preview as a starting point. "Saw you liked warm white on the roofline. I'll put together a few options."
- **In the quote:** replace the preview with mockups you generated from your own measured lines, so the design matches what you will actually install.
- **On price:** the preview does not show pricing. Do not let it imply one.

## Launch checklist

- [ ] Pro plan active and a form created from a template
- [ ] Photo upload on, questions trimmed to what you need to quote
- [ ] Instant AI mockup preview on, monthly credit cap set
- [ ] Balance checked against the cap for your busiest month
- [ ] Every domain listed, with and without www, plus the builder's temporary address
- [ ] Script (or iframe) pasted and the form tested on a phone
- [ ] Share link and QR code turned on; SVG downloaded for print
- [ ] A test request submitted and found in Requests and the Pipeline
- [ ] Request notification emails on in Preferences
- [ ] Copy on the form says the preview is a concept

## Frequently asked questions

### Which Light AI plans include website request forms with AI mockups?

Website request forms, including the instant AI mockup preview, are on Pro and Enterprise. Free and Plus can't create forms.

### What happens if my monthly cap runs out?

The form hides the AI preview and still captures every request, with the homeowner's answers and photo. You can raise the cap or add credits at any time to turn previews back on.

### Can a website visitor run up my credit bill?

No. Previews only spend credits up to the monthly cap you set and only above your Auto Top-Up threshold, and website visitors never trigger an Auto Top-Up.

### Should I use the script or the iframe?

Use the script if your website builder lets you paste custom code, because it resizes itself for each step. Use the iframe if scripts are not allowed, and place it full width.

### Is the AI mockup what the homeowner will get?

No. It is a concept to show the idea, and the reveal says the final design may differ. Your quote should include mockups built from your own measurements and the design you will install.