How to build a form people finish
A 10-step guide. Reading time about 6 minutes.
1. Step 1
A form is often the first conversation a business has with a customer, and most forms make that conversation harder than it needs to be. They ask for things nobody needs yet, they hide the one field that matters, and they fail without saying why.
A form is often the first conversation a business has with a customer, and most forms make that conversation harder than it needs to be. They ask for things nobody needs yet, they hide the one field that matters, and they fail without saying why.
2. Step 2
Start with the question you actually need answered. If you only need an email address to send a quote, ask for an email address. Every extra field costs some of the people who would otherwise have finished.
Start with the question you actually need answered. If you only need an email address to send a quote, ask for an email address. Every extra field costs some of the people who would otherwise have finished.
3. Step 3
Group fields the way people think about them. Name and email belong together; delivery address and billing address belong together, with a box to say they are the same.
Group fields the way people think about them. Name and email belong together; delivery address and billing address belong together, with a box to say they are the same.
4. Step 4
Say what a field is for when it is not obvious. A phone number field with a short note, "only to reach you about this order", gets filled in more often than one without.
Say what a field is for when it is not obvious. A phone number field with a short note, "only to reach you about this order", gets filled in more often than one without.
5. Step 5
Validate while people type, not after they press send. A message under the field that is wrong, in plain words, saves a round trip and a sigh.
Validate while people type, not after they press send. A message under the field that is wrong, in plain words, saves a round trip and a sigh.
6. Step 6
Keep the button honest. "Send quote request" tells people what happens next; "Submit" does not.
Keep the button honest. "Send quote request" tells people what happens next; "Submit" does not.
7. Step 7
Show what happened after sending. A short confirmation with what comes next and when is the end of a good conversation, not a blank page or a vague "thank you".
Show what happened after sending. A short confirmation with what comes next and when is the end of a good conversation, not a blank page or a vague "thank you".
8. Step 8
Test the form on a phone with one thumb. If you would not finish it standing on a bus, neither will your customers.
Test the form on a phone with one thumb. If you would not finish it standing on a bus, neither will your customers.
9. Step 9
Look at where people stop. A field that many people reach and few people pass is the field to rethink first.
Look at where people stop. A field that many people reach and few people pass is the field to rethink first.
10. Step 10
Finally, read the answers. A form that collects information nobody reads is a form that should be shorter.
Finally, read the answers. A form that collects information nobody reads is a form that should be shorter.