If you own your own company, you know just how valuable information about your audience is to the success of your business. One of the most effective ways to gain this information is through effective web forms tailored to your company's needs. Forms need to balance asking just enough questions, but not too many as to deter the participant from completing the form. At High Energy Media we specialize in creating e-Commerce web sites and form creation. We have found 7 simple tips to help you create effective forms for your website.

1. Design With a Purpose

Rule of thumb, keep it short and keep it simple. Make sure each question has a purpose and take the time to evaluate exactly what will be obtained from the participant's answer in exchange for his or her time.

Also, the structure of your form is just as important as the questions you are asking. We know three obvious, but important key points about our Western audience.

1. They read top to bottom

2. They read left to right

3. They navigate with the tab key

Here are 3 effective ways to format your form to meet the three needs above.

Left-Aligned Labels With Vertically Stacked Fields

 

Right-Aligned Labels With Vertically Stacked Fields

Top-Aligned Label

2. Evaluate the Questions

If you ask yourself the following questions while you are creating your form, you should be able to determine which questions are worth asking and which ones can be omitted.

1) What are you asking?

2) Why?

3) What does your Web design look like with and without the question?

4) Is the question something users want to fill out, or is it something they're required to fill out?

5) How much time does it take to answer?

6) Is it absolutely necessary?

Always remember to keep it short and keep it simple. These questions should help you determine the layout and content of your form for your specific situation.

 

3. Use Concise Descriptions for Personal Information

When you are requiring personal information like a participant's phone number or email address, he or she will be more inclined to share this information if you provide a short description explaining why are you asking for it. Below you will see an example of a form that uses concise descriptions to encourage users to complete the necessary fields.

 

4. Be Friendly

It might sound cheesy, but if your form is friendly and user oriented participants will be more likely to complete all the fields. There is a simple trick to do this; pretend like you are actually talking to your participant. A phrase like "What's your name?" is much more personable than "Full Name," Little changes like the way you ask for your information can make a great difference in how successful your overall form will be.

5. Divide it Up

Just because you have a lot of questions to ask, doesn't mean you have to throw it all on the users plate at once. Instead, divide the information up by similar questions and it will make your form look quick and easy to complete instead of time consuming. Below you will see an example of a form that divides the questions up by the user's contact information and the reason he or she is contacting you.

6. Include Meaningful Highlighted Error Messages

If one of your participant's forgets to answer a question or fills out the field incorrectly, your error messages should be clear and highlight the problem. You will lose the user's interest and information if she or he has to search for the problem. Below you will see an example of a form that uses error messages correctly and effectively.

7. Let the User Go!

Once your users hit "submit" they are ready to move on. Make sure you have a custom web page thanking them for their time and information.  Also, if they are submitting a question or another response necessary inquiry, make sure you ensure them that they will be hearing back from you very soon. (Provide a time line if possible)

At High Energy Media, an Atlanta Web Design  company, we are more than willing to answer any questions you might have about creating effective forms. Please contact us If you follow these 7 easy steps, you should be ready to create a well-designed, user-oriented form.