How Your Forms Can Affect Your Conversion Rate

We all know that how you set up your forms can affect your users. Whole divisions of companies were created just to find the optimum way to create forms. But did you know that your form efficiency can affect your bottom line?

Field types:

First, chose your field types. You have many options. You can have a simple text box, called a unified text field where users can input their data all at once. It is essentially just a large blank area that accepts any text. This is fast, but frequently allows for user error. A lot of times users will be confused as to what the form requires and will leave out vital information. It is also harder for an automated system to process.

You can also have the typical multiple form fields, where there is a box for city, state, zip- all separate. This type of field makes sure that the users are aware of what to fill out, but it takes the longest time of all for users to fill out, so you have a lower retention rate and correspondingly lower conversion rate. If you use this type it is especially important to make sure the layout flows well and the cursor can be smoothly moved from box to box with the tab key.

Last, you have the location automation field. This type automatically fills in the city and state once the user enters the zip code. This is the fastest of all the fields and has the least amount of user error. It also increases user retention and conversion. However, even this type can be fouled up through a couple simple issues.

Issues:

One common issue is faulty programming. If the zip codes entered don’t match up to the appropriate area, people will get frustrated and give up. Make sure your form works consistently.

A second common issue is having a difficult form format. If your form doesn’t flow, people won’t want to fill it out. There are many ways this can happen. Misaligned labels, too long of a form, too confusing of a form, even too many required fields increase drop-out rates.

Flow:

Build your forms with flow in mind. Make your forms easy to read by top-aligning labels. This allows the users eyes to focus in on the box without shifting to the directions. Make sure you leave enough space between boxes so that it is clear which label corresponds to each box.

It is best to have a single column of boxes so that the eyes flow down naturally. It is better to have a longer form than a confusing one. To reduce confusion further, do not label the mandatory fields. A user assumes all fields are mandatory unless otherwise stated. It is better to mark optional fields. This allows for more optional information to be entered because it doesn’t break the flow, but also allows users to skip over frustrating information requests.

Always remember that you want to reduce the time and effort it takes a user to fill out forms. The easier and faster it is, the higher your retention and conversion rate will be. The goal with forms is to get information, not frustrate your users. Set up your forms with this goal in mind.

This is a guest post from Laura Backes, she enjoys writing about all kinds of subjects and also topics related to internet service providers in my area.  You can reach her at: laurabackes8 @gmail.com.