The contact forms or other forms on your website are critically important.
Many businesses today rely on those forms to bring in all or most of the new clients.
Having mistakes somewhere in the form process can lead to missed opportunity and inefficiency.
In this post we’re going to look at a few ways you can improve your web forms or website forms.
Tip #1. Short Form vs. Long Form (Lead Quality) Balance
In general, a short form with few fields will convert better than a long form with many fields.
The reasoning is that when people only have to fill out a short form with maybe only their email address and name that they’re more likely to do so.
On the other side, it requires more work to fill out longer forms so people are less likely to do so.
However, long forms often equal better leads. The more fields you require the more determined the person will need to be to contact you or get the information they’re after. You know they’re more interested in what you’re offering and that’s always a good thing.
For every business there is a balance. There’s no one right answer for all businesses.
If you want to bring in as many leads as possible and sift through them to find the gems then a short form is the answer. If you want efficiency then a long form may be the choice since the form will do the sifting for you.
Tip #2. Long Forms Equal Better Leads, Better Information
I like to think of a business website as a salesperson for the business. And the contact form is kind of like the last step in the sales process before the lead is ready to become a client. They might have a few additional questions, but they’re pretty much ready to go by the time they fill out the contact form.
At the point of the contact form you need to get the information required to turn the person into a client. That usually requires name, contact information (address, email, phone), company information and some unique information that is critical to your business.
You might also add some qualifying questions to help the form sift through people that aren’t really a good fit for your business.
Tip #3. Required Fields?
Required fields can be tricky on contact forms. I think in general you want to present the fields as if you want all fields to be filled out. I’ve found that people will generally fill out all the fields you want if you leave off anything mentioning or showing that a field is required. You’ll often see the word “required” in red with an asterisk or something like that.
When you setup your form leave off the word required or asterisk. And make it so that the only thing required is the email address.
This will get people to fill out your form as fully as they are comfortable with and the form will still go through if they leave something off like a question they don’t know the answer to or if they’re uncomfortable leaving off something like their phone number.
And if on the weird occasion when all you get is the email and a question you still have the ability to contact them to learn more or you could ignore it if it looks like a poor quality lead.
Tip #4. Optimize For Mobile Visitors First
Mobile traffic is now over 50% of all web traffic. We knew this day was coming and now it’s here. Desktop traffic will probably never go away entirely and I think we’re leveling off in a good spot with the percentages, but right now it’s a good idea to optimize your website and its forms for mobile visitors first.
It’s been traditionally difficult to fill out web forms on a smartphone or other mobile devices.
A good practice is to have people that don’t know your business to try filling out your form. It’s good to watch them do it on desktop and mobile.
Watch to see where they get stuck or confused.
Are your questions too long?
Are the drop downs giving them grief?
Is too much typing required?
Is the button too difficult to click with their finger?
Would it be easier to setup a multi-page form instead of a long form?
There are a number of subtle things you’ll notice by watching others fill out for your forms and it can lead to better leads and more leads.
Tip #5. Call-To-Action Button Wording
A final tip here is to create a call-to-action button with wording that fits your business and situation.
“Submit” has been a popular button word over the years. It’s simple and it makes sense, but it’s not always the best option.
If you’re offering a download PDF then something like “Send The PDF!” might be better and more appealing to the user.
If a lead is contacting you to start being your customer then “Send Message” might make the most sense.
Every form has a different purpose and the key with the button is to make sure the wording fits the situation.
Conclusion
Web forms are critically important to the success of your website. There’s a balance for every business when it comes to the length of the forms. And it’s also important to make sure the form is not confusing to visitors so they’re not leaving your site right at the moment where they were ready to become a customer or to provide you with their contact information.
Follow the tips above and your forms will be in a good position to do what you want them to.
