Are your online forms user friendly?
A poorly designed form always reduces your chances for getting a sale or gaining a qualified lead.
This article discusses the merits of a good form and the pitfalls of bad forms. It offers advice and tips on how to increase your success rates by making your forms more user friendly.
Forms are used to collect information or to allow prospects to buy products or services online. It therefore goes without saying that a badly designed form could mean loosing a sale, an online donation or valuable contact information about a prospect.
When forms are used for building your prospects database, it is usually helpful to offer freebies in exchange for a visitor's contact details (e.g. Free e-book, email newsletter subscription, free consultation, etc.)
It is a fact that Internet users are always in a hurry and cautious about parting with personal details. This makes it vital that he/she is reassured and that the process is made quick and easy. Long and drawn out online forms are therefore a big no no and even more so when the process of completing the form outweighs the benefit.
Picture yourself as the user
What's in it for me? This is a question nearly every user will ask. So test the form. Picture yourself as the user. Ask and answer these questions:
- What is the purpose of this form?
- Why would I want to fill in this form?
- Is there a gap in the intentions of this form? If there is a gap then you'll want to ensure that you bridge that gap. This can be achieved by offering more or requesting less.
Less is more
Don't request too much information from your user. Always remember, the longer the registration form, the higher the drop-off rate.
Required fields
- A short form is a good form so get rid of all non vital information;
- Use required fields only if it's absolutely necessary (e.g. a contact number because the user has requested a call back);
- Make them obvious - asterisk in bold and red (bold because colour blind people can't distinguish between red and black).
Reset button
The problem with the reset button is that users sometimes become confused or mistakenly click it instead of the submit button. Such mistakes clear the form and it's all gone. Try edit instead. It is usually even faster to edit the old data than to erase it and start over.
Use an address finder
Services such as "Postcode Anywhere" will allow your users to save valuable time. By just entering their post code, their full address will be captured. Remember, internet users are always in a hurry!
Check boxes versus radio buttons
Radio buttons should be used when there is a list of 2 or more options from which the user must select only one. Checkboxes are used when there is a list of options. They allow the user to check any number of boxes without un-checking others. What makes this rule important? It follows an internationally accepted convention. Doing otherwise is likely to confuse the user.
Error messages
Make error messages clear. Put them in bold and in red (the error red, not a burgundy but the error red!). Remember, colour blind people don't know red from black. Make sure it is in bold.
Confirmation message
A clear confirmation message is a must. This lets the user know that the form has been accepted and that they are done.
Text boxes
Vary the size to suit the information being gathered. As an interactive section, it gives the user a visual cue as to what you are looking for. It may even help the user to check and determine whether inputted information is correct.
