eSign Guides & Tutorials | pdfFiller How-To

Businesses today deal with a constant stream of digital documents—contracts, approvals, invoices—and keeping them secure and manageable is a daily challenge. Digital signatures offer a practical solution, ensuring your documents are authentic, legally binding, and tamper-proof throughout the entire signature process, all while letting you digitally sign online from any device.

In this guide, we’ll walk through how to add a digital signature functionality to a web application, spotlighting pdfFiller as a go-to online signature generator. You’ll learn about electronic signatures, how they differ from digital ones, and how to create a secure, seamless signature workflow for your business.

Sorting Out the Basics: Electronic Signatures vs. Digital Signatures

Let’s start by clearing up a common mix-up: what’s the difference between an electronic signature and a digital signature? They’re related and sometimes used interchangeably but serve different purposes, and understanding this helps you get the most out of pdfFiller.

An electronic signature is anything that stands in for a paper signature in the digital realm. Maybe you type your name into a field, draw it with your mouse, or upload a photo of your handwritten signature. It’s quick and straightforward—perfect for everyday tasks like signing a receipt or a casual form.

Digital signatures, though, take security up a notch. They use cryptography and digital certificates to verify who signed the document and ensure it hasn’t been altered since. Think of it as a digital seal—unique to the signer and the document, breaking if anything changes. This makes them ideal for legally binding documents like contracts or financial records.

Important note: pdfFiller makes it simple to digitally sign documents. While it’s great for everyday use, it doesn’t currently offer digital signatures backed by certificate authorities (CAs) or Public Key Infrastructure (PKI).

For situations that call for that extra level of verification, you can complete and prepare your document in pdfFiller, then use a third-party service to apply a digital signature with a CA-issued certificate. This approach gives you the flexibility of pdfFiller’s tools, along with the enhanced authenticity of a certified digital signature.

How Electronic Signatures Work in Web Apps

Electronic signatures are a powerful functionality that streamlines approvals and simplifies document workflows—especially when built into a web application.

pdfFiller makes this easy by allowing users to sign documents in several ways: typing their name, drawing a signature, or uploading an image. These signatures are legally binding and ideal for fast, everyday agreements. While not full digital signatures with encryption keys, they still provide an extra level of security and help detect unauthorized changes.

Through pdfFiller’s API, all of this can be integrated seamlessly into your application—giving users the ability to sign, send, and manage documents from any device, including a mobile device or computer. Features like templates, user authentication, and notifications further support efficient, secure workflows.

Whether you need basic eSigning or more robust verification, pdfFiller delivers flexible tools to meet your business needs without complicating the user experience.

How to Add Digital Signature in Web Application with pdfFiller’s API

pdfFiller is a standout for contract management, and its API lets you weave digital signature features—or its certified signature option—right into your web application. This is a secure way to sign PDFs that suits most business needs. Here’s how to make it happen:

1. Authenticate with the pdfFiller API using OAuth2 to get an access token.
   
2. Upload the PDF document you want to have signed using the /document endpoint.
   
3. Create a signature request using the /signature_request endpoint and include the document ID and recipient details.
   
4. Add signature fields to the document by specifying field type, location, and page number.
   
5. Send the signature request to the signer either by email or by generating a URL for signing documents.
   
6. Track the signature request status and download the completed, signed document once it’s finished.
   

This process is pretty straightforward, and pdfFiller’s API documentation lays it all out if you need more specifics. These signatures are plenty secure for things like online contracts or digital contract signing—perfect for most businesses. For electronic signatures, pdfFiller’s functionality is a breeze: upload your PDF, pick your signing style, and you’re good to go. It’s a tool that flexes to cover both quick tasks and more serious needs.

Go Beyond Signing Documents with pdfFiller

Beyond the basics, pdfFiller offers more ways to enhance your web application’s document workflow. Its API doesn’t just stop at signing—it offers advanced functionality for handling, managing, and storing documents efficiently.

Imagine you’re building something for a small business. With pdfFiller, users could upload a contract, add their certified signature, and send it off for a client’s electronic signature—all without leaving your platform. That kind of integration turns a simple web app into a full-on document management hub.

For teams, pdfFiller’s cloud storage is a game-changer. Once a document’s signed, it stays in its secure system, ready to access anytime, cutting out endless email chains and keeping everything organized. What’s more, pdfFiller’s flexibility shines through in how it supports your workflow. Here’s a quick look at what you can tap into with pdfFiller API:

• Templates: Easily reuse standardized documents
  
• Fillable Forms: Turn any PDF into a dynamic, fillable form
  
• Organizations: Control data and permissions across teams
  
• Signature Requests: Send, track, and manage electronic signature flows
  
• Callbacks: Stay in the loop with real-time event notifications
  
• Folders: Organize your documents like a digital filing cabinet
  
• Custom Logos: Brand your forms and documents your way
  
• Users: Manage individual and team user accounts
  

These features make pdfFiller versatile, whether you’re handling real estate deals, legal agreements, or just everyday paperwork.