The Importance of Designing Great Online Forms

It may seem like a simple proposition, but in reality, an online form can be a challenge to get just right. We see forms everywhere. Almost every website has them, so what’s the issue? That seemingly innocuous form is vital for gathering valuable visitor information, so it’s crucial to perfect its design. Essentially, online forms provide a rich seam of customer information such as email addresses, contact numbers and buying preferences. This valuable data can then be used by marketing to produce higher sales conversion rates and build a high-performance database. So, let’s look at ways you can optimise your website form design to maximise customer engagement.

Simple and Effective Online Forms

We’ve shown many times that a website has less than 10 seconds to capture a visitor’s attention. To do this, it must effectively present its value proposition. So, this is where less is more comes into play. You must reduce content to keep things simple. Moreover, clutter and flashy graphics will overwhelm a visitor. And so it is with online forms. An instant win is to simply reduce the number of fields in your forms. Ok, you say, but what is the optimum number of fields? Well, according to HubSpot, the ideal length is just 5 fields. Basically, short forms persuade more visitors to fill them out. However, although you’ll achieve more feedback this way, the information will be basic and therefore not as useful. So, is there a case for making longer online forms?

A Longer Form Means Quality Information

Some businesses are used to getting a lot of form submissions. This can mean a lot of work to sift through them to find relevant leads. So, in spite of the above, these companies may benefit from longer online forms. Effectively, they’ll receive fewer forms but the information will be way more useful.

Clever Online Forms Maximise Conversions

To achieve a smarter, higher-performing online form consider the following best practices. Firstly, use large forms with large copy for easy reading. Secondly, be clear with your calls to action. Next, be sure your form is easy to use on mobile devices. Fourthly, customise your forms to suit their purpose. For instance, an email signup form is very different to a new account form. As a final note, website form design is a dynamic process. All forms should be tested and altered as necessary until optimal performance is reached.

Don’t underestimate the importance of a well-designed online form! Chat to the team at F1RST to create your best-performing forms.