6 Tips & Ideas to Use Online Forms Effectively

With user-friendly forms, you can significantly increase the conversion rate and collect important information about your users.

Web forms are often annoying for users because they usually take time and pop them up at the wrong time. On the other hand, companies benefit from filling out online forms, gain insight into the inner workings of customers, and collect important customer data.

Below we have listed some tips and ideas for the use of online forms.

Design

A beautiful form design appeals to users immediately, and the temptation is greater to fill out the fields in the end. For example, add your brand logo, insert video clips, and adapt the form design to your cooperative design in terms of color and voila you have also created a recognition value.

Usability for creators and users

In order not to discourage users and to ensure that they receive the desired and required customer data, the usability of the form is crucial. But also the form creator, should not need extensive programming knowledge to create a form. HeyForm forms are super simple to create and also designed to be user-friendly so that your customers do not give up too quickly.

Structure

Start with a meaningful headline and then give a very brief explanation of the purpose of the online form or why you are collecting the data. You can then request important personal data such as name, cell phone number, or e-mail and then add specific fields.

The number of fields is also important. Do without all fields that are not necessary. Even if you naturally want to collect as much data as possible and learn a lot about your users, you should not overdo it with the number of fields. This increases the risk that your customers will eventually give up and close the form without submitting it. We recommend up to 8 fields, depending on the occasion. The longer it takes to fill out the form, i.e. the more data you request, the lower the conversion rate.

Mobile optimization

Many users access forms from mobile devices. According to Google, mobile search queries already exceed desktop queries by far. Mobile use is therefore becoming increasingly important. Therefore, make sure that the user-friendliness of the forms is still guaranteed. You should consider the following points when creating mobile online forms:

• Consideration of the touch function:
  Size of buttons & input fields.
• Loading time of the website:
  if the data is transferred quickly, it is more likely that the online forms will also be sent mobile.
• Content for online forms:
  Note that users often access your forms via mobile devices when you are on the road and are therefore often under time pressure. Adapt the number of fields and the general content to this situation.

Think about privacy & security

With online forms, you often collect personal data. These require a certain degree of security precautions. In times of the DSGVO, the data protection of the user is of utmost importance. Add a link to your general terms and conditions and let your customers confirm them.

To prevent your data from being falsified by internet trolls, activate a captcha. Your users must explicitly agree to the collection of their personal data. Also, personal information can be confirmed using two-factor authentication.

Show your gratitude

After your users have taken the time to fill out your forms, show your appreciation, and thank them with a personalized text after sending the form.

Conclusion

Online forms are often a pain for users and a blessing for companies. To simplify the process for all parties involved, the right tool plays an important role.