Building Successful Web Forms, Part 1
Web forms play a key role for visitor (and customer) interaction on many sites. However, many web designers don't realize that there may be huge differences in form abandonment ratio, depending on how well the form is designed. In this post and follow ups, we'll give you some tips to help you make your web forms an effective communication channel.
Always provide form filling instructions.
Don't assume that all of your visitors will understand how to submit a form without further explanation. Short and clear form filling instructions can reduce form abandonment, and increase the quality of the information collected.- include a call to action phrase like "Please fill out this form to contact XYZ"
- indicate the purpose of the form and the recipient of the information collected
- if applicable, confirm that you will reply, and give an indication of the time frame
Select the correct data type for each input field.
Because of necessary form validation, choosing and incorrect data type may prevent a form user from submitting valid information. When this happens, it is likely to lead to form abandonment.For example, if you specify that a form field can only contain a Number, it may not work for a phone number. 1233456789 will work, but not 123-345-6789. So use the Phone type instead. In many cases, the form builder will pre-select a type for you, but not always. Read more about selecting an input field data type in the form builder documentation.
Choose the most appropriate input field widget.
Don't restrict yourself to text boxes and drop-down lists. Take advantage of the full range of HTML form fields with radio buttons and checkboxes. Learn when to use each one.Using a drop-down list for a yes/no question will slow down the form user, and increase the chances (s)he gives up. Use radio buttons instead. Read tips about choosing the best input field widget in the form builder documentation.
Brand your forms for instant visual recognition.
Always brand your web forms with your own logo. This helps visitors recognize at first sight who they are about to send information to.Posted on Tuesday, 06 May, 2008 at 18:21 in html-form
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Tags: web-forms, form-builder, howto
Why Does Submitting a Form Require Two Steps?
Many form processors let visitors submit a form in only one step: users fill in the form, and are done after pressing the submit button. With FormSmarts, there is an extra confirmation step, during which users are invited to review and confirm the information submitted. There are two strong reasons why we added the confirmation step.
The first reason is quality. FormSmarts is typically used for transaction where the information submitted is important. Important because the information collected is intended to be read by humans, rather than machines. Important because this information is often intended to be acted upon.
By allowing users to review and modify their submission, we increase the accuracy of the information you get in the end.
Form users understand that, and it increases their confidence that you value the information they are sending you. Most of times, confirmation will only add a few seconds to the whole transaction.
The second reason is security and usability. Many form submissions are automated, or even manual spamming attempts, known as form spam or comment spam.
When a user presses the submit button, a lot more happens on the server than you may suspect. If we spot a likely spamming attempt, we'll ask the user to complete one or more tests (e.g. CAPTCHA test) on the confirmation page. But in the same time, the bulk of users will never be asked to waste time on a CAPTCHA test.
Posted on Wednesday, 23 April, 2008 at 05:59 in form-handler
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Tags: form-spam, usability, form-handler
Getting Help on FormSmarts
At FormSmarts, we are pleased to let you use our web form platform absolutely free. However, whenever we have to help you in person, we ask you to spend a few minutes publicizing FormSmarts, before we take some of our time to help you.
- post a video on YouTube showing how you use FormSmarts on your website, blog, MySpace, etc.
- post a video on YouTube about a specific FormSmarts feature
- write a review on HotScripts
- write a review on CGI Resource Index
- write a review on Scripts.com
- post a substantial comment about a FormSmarts demo video on YouTube
Posting a video gets you manual ownership verification and logo validation of all your websites. Please write at least two or three lines per review.
About Writing Reviews & Comments
We ask you to write reviews and comments that are useful to readers, not spam. If you're using FormSmarts, there must be reasons: talking about features you like about FormSmarts is probably a good start.Posted on Thursday, 17 April, 2008 at 03:15 in html-form
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Form Fields Now Editable
The form builder now allows field modification. Click on the
icon to edit a field.
Posted on Wednesday, 16 April, 2008 at 17:29 in form-builder
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Tags: form-builder, upcoming
Form Processor Upgrade: More Interactivity for Web Form Users and More
We'll be upgrading at the end of the week some key components of FormSmarts. The changes will affect both form users and form owners.More Interactivity for Web Form Users
- form users can modify any invalid data they may have submitted in the same page, rather than having to press the back button
- form users can modify submitted data even when form data is not cached by the browser, or if JavaScript is disabled
- we've added features to improve the experience of visually-impaired users equipped with screenreaders
Changes in Email Notification of Form Results
- new email subject format [Form #123] My Form Name #456
- the first part [Form #123] is fixed so that you can use it to create a filter within your mail client
- emails now include a unique transaction ID, e.g. #456 that can be used, for example, as an order number for order forms (form users are shown the transaction ID on the confirmation page)
- whenever your form contains an email field, you can now reply to sender hitting the reply button in your email client
- because of the previous point, we no longer show your pass-phrase in every email
Posted on Tuesday, 15 April, 2008 at 05:01 in form-handler
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Tags: form-handler, web-forms, upcoming
