1. Don't present visitors with too many fields
Many forms are so obviously cut-and-pasted from somewhere without the designer really considering what they are asking of their visitors. If you were cold-calling somebody, or you received a call from a customer out of the blue, would you be asking that person for their date of birth, or their marital status? Take the time to think about what you would consider reasonable when it comes to what you are being asked. In most cases, all you really need from someone on their initial visit is a name and a means of getting in touch, be that an email address or a phone number.
2. Don't use complicated drop-down menus
Again, a symptom of copying someone else's form without putting some thought into your design. Most people, even if technically they go by an official title such as "Commander" or "Reverend", aren't going to be offended if their choice is limited to "Mr" or Mrs", so don't bloat your form with a drop-down menu offering 30 choices of title. Similarly, if your company deals only with a limited territory, don't have a drop-down menu in the address section giving people a choice of 200-plus potential countries of origin.
3. Don't alienate your mobile visitors
With the increasing use of mobile devices such as phones and tablets comes increasing issues with form design. As well as ensuring that the majority of your site is readable on a mobile device, it's vital that your contact form is easy to fill in on such a device. That means your form fields and drop-down menus must have enough vertical space between them for people to use their fingers comfortably, as well as making those items large enough to be able to easily flick between.
4. Don't use opt-outs for your affiliates
It's much better to have people opt in to a service than to make them opt out. If people fill in your form in a hurry or without properly reading it (and, be honest, who among us hasn't done this?) and then get bombarded with mail from your affiliates then this paints your company in a pretty bad light. Make all options as clear as possible and let people know what they are opting in to.
5. Don't overcomplicate your security methods
While it's important to make sure your form is not being used by spammers by implementing some kind of security system - usually in the form of an obscured-word code - you need to make sure that your security device isn't so obscured as to be unusable. Think again of mobile users. If your security method is deliberately hard to read on a full-size monitor, what is it going to look like on a mobile screen? Again, testing is the key. Speak to people about their experiences with filling in forms and gauge opinion on whether your security question is just too secure.
Most issues with contact forms could be solved with a little targeted research at the planning phase. Don't be lulled into finding a cut-and-paste option on the internet and assuming that it will work. While many visitors to your site may have no problem filling in your form, making it as brief, simple to fill out and easy to view as possible will open up your business to a lot more potential traffic
Five Mistakes to Avoid on Your Contact Form
Many forms are so obviously cut-and-pasted from somewhere without the designer really considering what they are asking of their visitors. If you were cold-calling somebody, or you received a call from a customer out of the blue, would you be asking that person for their date of birth, or their marital status? Take the time to think about what you would consider reasonable when it comes to what you are being asked. In most cases, all you really need from someone on their initial visit is a name and a means of getting in touch, be that an email address or a phone number.
2. Don't use complicated drop-down menus
Again, a symptom of copying someone else's form without putting some thought into your design. Most people, even if technically they go by an official title such as "Commander" or "Reverend", aren't going to be offended if their choice is limited to "Mr" or Mrs", so don't bloat your form with a drop-down menu offering 30 choices of title. Similarly, if your company deals only with a limited territory, don't have a drop-down menu in the address section giving people a choice of 200-plus potential countries of origin.
3. Don't alienate your mobile visitors
With the increasing use of mobile devices such as phones and tablets comes increasing issues with form design. As well as ensuring that the majority of your site is readable on a mobile device, it's vital that your contact form is easy to fill in on such a device. That means your form fields and drop-down menus must have enough vertical space between them for people to use their fingers comfortably, as well as making those items large enough to be able to easily flick between.
4. Don't use opt-outs for your affiliates
It's much better to have people opt in to a service than to make them opt out. If people fill in your form in a hurry or without properly reading it (and, be honest, who among us hasn't done this?) and then get bombarded with mail from your affiliates then this paints your company in a pretty bad light. Make all options as clear as possible and let people know what they are opting in to.
5. Don't overcomplicate your security methods
While it's important to make sure your form is not being used by spammers by implementing some kind of security system - usually in the form of an obscured-word code - you need to make sure that your security device isn't so obscured as to be unusable. Think again of mobile users. If your security method is deliberately hard to read on a full-size monitor, what is it going to look like on a mobile screen? Again, testing is the key. Speak to people about their experiences with filling in forms and gauge opinion on whether your security question is just too secure.
Most issues with contact forms could be solved with a little targeted research at the planning phase. Don't be lulled into finding a cut-and-paste option on the internet and assuming that it will work. While many visitors to your site may have no problem filling in your form, making it as brief, simple to fill out and easy to view as possible will open up your business to a lot more potential traffic
Five Mistakes to Avoid on Your Contact Form
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