An online form serves as an important way for a business to gather specific information. Customers can use these forms to submit a question, request a service, or make an appointment. It is crucial that forms work as intended and offer a clean and straightforward way for customers to submit information. Let’s look at how to create a user-friendly form.
Key Components of a User-Friendly Form
When creating a form, first, be sure to only ask for information you truly need. A form with too many boxes can be overwhelming and might turn someone away. Try to list the information you are seeking in a logical way, keeping labels simple and short. Are all the boxes for contact information together? If you require an address, are all of those boxes appropriately organized? This way, the user will be able to quickly and efficiently navigate your form.
Streamline the Process
Here are a few things you should keep in mind to make a genuinely user-friendly form:
Highlight Mandatory Fields – You may request some information that is nice to have but not mandatory. Highlighting the fields that require a response will let users know which areas they can skip if they are short on time.
Avoid Short Answer Questions – Cater to short attention spans by using drop-down menus and autocomplete when appropriate. If you require a short answer, indicate that users may need to type in some information at the beginning of the form, just to give a heads-up.
Real-Time Validation – No one likes to take the time to fill out a form only to have it rejected. Implementing real-time validation lets a user know if a box is not filled in correctly before submitting the document.
Avoid a Reset Button – While you may think it is useful, users often accidentally hit them and then need to redo the whole form.
Test Your Form – Online forms should be easy to use, so run some user experience tests – even with employees not involved in the project – to catch any usability errors.
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