There are an almost-infinite number of well-written “best practice” articles on the subject of form design that focus on usability, layouts, and length. These articles tend to dive deep into UX tactics to increase form completion. While these tactical recommendations are an important piece of the puzzle, these articles often neglect to provide a larger strategic framework around the design of the form itself.
A form is a transaction. You are asking
the user to take time out of their day to provide information to you.
What are you asking for, and what are you offering in return? In
other words, why would a user fill it out in the first place? Like
any transaction, either digital or physical, there are criteria that
a person must consider before engaging.
Two primary factors to form
completion are:
- Brand reputation
- What the user gets in return
What's Your Brand Reputation?
You might be designing for a large company with an established brand name. In these cases, many years and millions of dollars in marketing have created an implied trust, so a user might be more comfortable giving a little more information.However, if you're a startup or otherwise unknown organization, the user might be more apprehensive about volunteering their information. Well, judging by the user in a form, what can you offer them? Actually, the answer is quite simple: access.
Many of the flash sale sites require an email address just to browse the site. Many of the flash sale sites require an email address just to browse the site. As a user, you can't even see the products unless you give up your email address. It's worth it to many people in this case, as a few extra emails in your inbox each week are worth the price of admission to see the deals on offer. More full-featured applications require registration to use the product.
Form length is only one part of form design. Do you
want to know every single detail about the user for a registration or contact
form? Ask the person's name, email, phone number, date of birth, employer,
position, salary rate and every field is required. Form completion rate will
slow, you will see that.