Unlock the secrets to designing online forms that don't just grab attention, but elegantly guide users through to conversion. Today, we're joined by expert designer Nik, who sheds light on the art of crafting forms that strike the perfect balance between aesthetic allure and functional clarity. Step into a realm where each textbox and submit button is meticulously tuned to convert engagement into results. We cover the gamut, from the hazards of too many fields to the strategic placement of engaging copy that transcends the mundane "contact us" to create a compelling narrative for your audience.
Take a journey with us through the subtleties of form design, where every detail is essential in crafting a user-friendly experience that boosts conversion rates. Learn why simplicity in design doesn't mean a sacrifice in effectiveness, and how thoughtful elements like auto-population and a memorable thank-you page can leave a lasting impression. Nik's insider tips, like using high contrast and active states, offer a masterclass in guiding users effortlessly to completion. By the end of our discussion, you'll be equipped with the knowledge to transform your online forms from mere data collectors into powerful engines of conversion.
Unlock the secrets to designing online forms that don't just grab attention, but elegantly guide users through to conversion. Today, we're joined by expert designer Nik, who sheds light on the art of crafting forms that strike the perfect balance between aesthetic allure and functional clarity. Step into a realm where each textbox and submit button is meticulously tuned to convert engagement into results. We cover the gamut, from the hazards of too many fields to the strategic placement of engaging copy that transcends the mundane "contact us" to create a compelling narrative for your audience.
Take a journey with us through the subtleties of form design, where every detail is essential in crafting a user-friendly experience that boosts conversion rates. Learn why simplicity in design doesn't mean a sacrifice in effectiveness, and how thoughtful elements like auto-population and a memorable thank-you page can leave a lasting impression. Nik's insider tips, like using high contrast and active states, offer a masterclass in guiding users effortlessly to completion. By the end of our discussion, you'll be equipped with the knowledge to transform your online forms from mere data collectors into powerful engines of conversion.
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Speaker 2:Award-winning digital agency J Marketing. Okay, so, when it comes to conversion optimization, there's a lot of focus on the entire process, from start to finish and there's a lot that goes into conversion optimization.
Speaker 2:But if you want to just fix one thing and increase your conversion by as much as possible by just doing one thing, I think the best approach might be to fix your forms, because that's the actual conversion point. You actually need people to fill out the form and submit it to get a conversion. So it's important to have both a copywriter content perspective which is what I'm bringing and a design perspective to make sure you create the best forms. So that's why we have Nick, our designer, on the podcast today.
Speaker 3:Thanks for coming on, nick, thank you for taking your time to prepare the questions for this beautiful podcast and for inviting me, of course.
Speaker 2:So can you talk a little bit about why forms are so important for conversions and for getting people to engage with the page?
Speaker 3:Oh well, you're sometimes given some forms on the website. So, if you think about it, it's very important that that experience is super quick, easy and clear for you. Important that that experience is super quick, easy and clear for you. So people usually make or some people, some websites make mistakes and if the form is a way you expect people to conduct you, then you really need to think through about copywriting or strategy part. You need to be clear what this form is about. Well, some people would probably think like, yeah, it's just a form. But let's say, if you're having a lot of visitors on your website and a bad form, and then you probably waste a lot of resources, you waste a lot of possible wood leads Because there are forms that are pretty long, there are forms that are using some bad practices. So it's very important that at least do the basic stuff and not every website has the basic stuff covered.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I've noticed a lot of websites, including big websites with a lot of traffic from big brands. The main thing they'll be trying to get people to do is to fill in and submit a form to request a meeting or something like that. Main thing they'll be trying to get people to do is to like fill in and submit a form to like request a meeting or something like that. But that, like the headline is just like contact us and the forum is just like totally generic and a lot of times it has too many, too many fields. It's like it's so important but people overlook, I think, both the message and the actual design of the form. Like from a copyright perspective, I just contact us. No one's even gonna like you know that's not even gonna like make an impact. It needs to be like you know get expert guidance or you know something that actually engages people and tries to persuade them to actually fill out the form if I really really want to buy something, then I don't care about some small details.
Speaker 3:But usually you're not sure you're checking competitors, you're checking other stuff. So probably you want to be clear about what should people expect when they submit the form. So what's the next step? Or well, there's all the details when it comes to form design and usually it's not just a contact us form. Sometimes you want to sign up for a service and then we want to take as much details as we can, because there are always two sides. If you're connecting a customer with sales team, so you want this person from sales team to be prepared for the initial call, or if they're just going to do email confirmation, but then in the other hand, you don't want to frighten the time poor customer. So usually you're trying to minimize the effort for the customers while you get the most out of it. But yeah, you need to keep in mind how to use labels on the form States, like probably if you, some or most of the websites are already using some plugins for forms or something like that. So usually when you plug in your forms, you already have the states. But yeah, there is a lot, some helper text notes you need to mark your mandatory fields, then you need to well, you really need to think about what you need, what you really need and what you don't need. So probably there is like you should never follow like raw data and numbers, but there's like a golden rule like seven fields or something around. That is sweet spot. Why? Because if you go over and I say it's unfortunately seven fields, if you need eight, you should probably use eight or even five. But that's something what I look for when we're creating the forms. Because you really want to take into consideration what you really need and what's something that you think you need, because people don't have that much attention. And imagine, if you need to fill in something, then you need some data, you need to check somewhere or something like that, and then there is a chance you'll lose the lead for something you could ask him, like, on a meeting in a couple of days. So, and then of course, you cannot always limit the forms to seven fields or less. Then you need to create, to think about probably dividing form into a couple of steps so we sometimes create multi-step forms. Then you really need to pay attention to have some tracker for progress that probably people should know, if they're going to fill in some longer form, that they only a couple of minutes, a couple more minutes or five minutes to fill in the form.
Speaker 3:Probably you really want to make users feel like it's easy to submit, not just start, and then it's 20 fields and then probably sometimes someone's going to give up, someone's going to have some internet problems, attention problems Well, there's a lot. So and of course, in the other hand you don't want to create just one field, you only want quality leads. So sometimes if you're having a lot of leads and then't want to create just one field, you only want quality leads. So sometimes if you're having a lot of leads and then you want to make them a bit more let's say, not a bit more, but quality leads then you probably add a couple more fields and then you get a bit more specific leads, because people that are just casuals are just going to drop off. No one's going to something like that, but then there's a lot more into it.
Speaker 3:It really depends on that. You know the best and when we work on the projects together then it's not that easy to agree on goal of the form fields. I think those we need. So we usually have discussions. Some someone from copy team will probably want a bit more fields than I would want a bit less fields. Then we'll find something in between yeah.
Speaker 2:So I think basically you want to figure out exactly the fields that you definitely need and then try not to. You know you have to include those, but try not to include new fields you don't absolutely need, because I think first like I know, this is more of like a design thing you want to make sure that people just like glance at the form before they actually start filling it out, that it looks super easy to fill out, cause otherwise they wouldn't even like get started, and when they're actually doing it, you want to make it feel easy. So, yeah, that's why it's, like you said, seven fields. You don't really want to go much above that, and if you do have to have more than that, it's Another thing that I've I know you've called me out on this a couple times is that like below the headline, I think you might call it helper text or explainer text.
Speaker 2:Sometimes I'll write like a hundred words. It'll just be a big block of text and that'll keep people from even starting the form in the first place. So you just got to. You got to keep in mind people have a short attention span and they want things to feel as easy as possible.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we really want people usually try a lot more than they should. I mean in that context, then you will. You will try to make something sound beautiful and it will sound beautiful. But then there is a form and there is a big one context that's going to explain something a bit more complex than it should. So probably keep it simple, and this is like some generic tips and tricks. Probably you need to go a bit more in depth because sometimes fixing your forms can. I mean most of the times, if you fix your form, you're gonna earn more money, and they're simple as that yeah, exactly because the form, you know, is the actual point of conversion, where someone becomes like a lead right.
Speaker 2:So it's worth it even to try and test out small changes to the form. So we've covered. You should have as few fields as possible. You should try to make it as easy as possible. But in terms of just pure design like how would you use different colors and different fonts and the spacing and stuff to try and get people's attention?
Speaker 3:Easy to click input boxes. There are standard sizes. Like you have a paragraph text and you should have padding around. You need to have a big button, clickable button. The most important is going to be some basic design rules and you should have padding around. You need to have a big button, clickable button. The most important is going to be some basic design rules and if you have a longer form, you need to make sure you don't put label inside the box Because if I click on that, write something down, then you will lose your label on top.
Speaker 3:I mean you will lose your label if it's not on top. Usually, when the form's longer, we try to put input box description or label on top. I mean you will lose your label if it's not on top. Usually, when the farm is out longer, we try to put input box description or label on top and then, if you click on the input field, write something down. If you come back to that, you will always see the label on top. You will know what's that field about. So as far as that goes from design point of view, just like basic design rules contrast, contrast you really want to make sure you have active state and then you then there's a lot more, let's say complex things like uh, if you have to add the state, you really feel what's better quality form.
Speaker 3:When you fill in some form on some big brand or big websites, you really know when it's easy for form. When you fill in some form on some big brand or big websites, you really know when it's easy for you. When you start typing and it's going to auto-populate, it's going to suggest you. You're going to see the drop down with flags. When you click flag it's going to pre-format your phone number first three or four numbers. So some small details. It's not a form form. But you know when you're creating a password it's not that kind of form we're talking now but that's the feeling you want to get, like automolitation password when you're filling in the password and it's rather around with you when you do all the conditions, then it's going to turn out green. So some small details that you don't even realize. Then you you're not lost.
Speaker 3:Then, course, if you submit something wrong like scenario, I submit a wrong form. There are two cases. If I have some errors with my field, it's very nice that you have highlighted field with error and then explain what you did wrong. And there is another case when I fill in the form and then everything is right or landing is right, and it says, like your phone is not, form is not good or something like that. So then you need to go and see like what I did wrong. So all these are smart, small details, but in fact you are more professional. It's like in personal conversation in a store. I really that would be something like uh, if you don't do something that we're communicating, it's people you just wanna. If I make a mistake, I want to hear some details from you and you will go and say you made a mistake.
Speaker 3:So the forms are pretty much part of your team. Yeah, they are the forms, but you really need to make sure the form is clear, that the next step is clear. Some basic designer rules. Of course, sometimes you want to have like a thank you page after the form. Of course the form is also important, not just for that specific lead.
Speaker 3:Sometimes we want to create some other forms that are not going to be inquiry forms. Sometimes you want to download something from website. So there's all the ways, and a lot of forms have a lot of purpose we can use them for, but the rules apply to all of them. You really need to think through everything. And then, in the other hand, if you have a website with some forms, go ask your friends Super basic stuff what I do with my designs. All the time I'm going to ask some friends, I'm going to ask people that are just not from the industry and say, like, what do you see? You can pass your form to someone and say like, is it clear how easy it was for you to fill in? Yeah, I think that's. It's not that hard to do. That's like not ideal scenario of testing, but it's good, free way of testing yeah, I think that's a good way to do, like the initial testing.
Speaker 2:Just ask some people, you know, whether the form makes sense and it's easy to fill out and stuff, and then maybe you can make a few changes based on the feedback and then do like like a full ab test. But it's definitely, it's definitely important to do the testing because, as we were talking about, just like one small change to a form can actually have a big impact on how many people submit the form and that's you know how many people submit the form, that's how many leads you actually get right.
Speaker 3:So you create an emotion.
Speaker 3:Sorry for interrupting no, go ahead you create emotions as a brand like, uh, if you're a big brand or, as I had a couple of examples, when I want to reach out to some service provider, then something is not working well. My emotion towards that brand is, uh, you know, I don't trust them anymore. Problem, frustrated. Maybe I frustrated, maybe I needed something so that works or that stands for every aspect of your website. It's not just what you're going to get, it's what you can lose. Also, if you're underperforming and if I want to submit the form, and then something is not working well and your website is slow or whatever, it's just my emotion towards your brand and whenever I see whatever I see from your brand, it's not going to be good. So you really want to build your brand in every possible way. So usually people don't think from that perspective like it's just a form. But if someone tries to reach out to you and then they fail because their form is too long too, whatever any of the reasons we mentioned before, then you fail.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like a bad user experience like that. It's not just a bad form, it actually hurts the image of your brand and a lot of people don't really think about that, that even if they do, a lot of times they just like try and make the form good on pc but not on mobile. So I guess, say someone's trying to optimize a form so that you know someone on their smartphone can fill it out easily, like, what are some, some tips you would give to like optimize the form for mobile?
Speaker 3:you need to make sure someone can use their finger to click on that. I mean, sometimes the form are too small, the spacing between the fields is not that good. So probably some similar rules to desktop and mobile. But, yeah, I would be frustrated if when I click I cannot click. Sometimes it happens that just the form is not that big, the field is not that big. Of course you really need to think.
Speaker 3:If your form is very long 20 fields on mobile, infinite scroll form then you need to go back and then if you don't have label, then you don't know If you added something. You need to check. Imagine the frustration if you're submitting the filling the form on mobile and if it's a very bad, very long form and then you made one mistake. Sometimes probably I'm not sure if it happens today, but sometimes when you have an error, it happens that just everything you need to start over, or even, if you don't, if you need to manually go and find your mistake or error you made so there's a lot and find your mistake or error you made. So there's a lot. And especially those things are notable on mobile. Most of the users are from mobile anyways, so you need to pay attention to that especially.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean most of the forum plugins. They do have mobile optimized versions, but they don't always work. Need to test and make sure they work. I also think for mobile, you got to make sure, like the, maybe the fields are a bit bigger so you can easily tap on them, and maybe use more like multi-step forms, because it's really annoying to have to tap on like 20 different fields. You know when you're on your smartphone or whatever. Yeah, and it's like I said, like 58 or something of traffic is mobile these days, so but yet mobile optimization is like an afterthought for a lot of businesses when they're putting their forms together.
Speaker 3:It's just like really thorough testing and tweaking can be kind of a pain, but it's definitely definitely worth it in the end for your conversion rates yeah, probably sometimes people just assume we created with website that the here we're just going to put a form and that's it. Usually you would just assume that the forms are really intuitive and everyone knows how to submit the form, and indeed, yes, that's the case. But when you just take a look at more and consider every aspect of every user that's going to be on your website, every scenario, device, so, yeah, probably you need to invest a bit more time into the forms yeah, I agree, it's definitely worth investing a lot of time, a lot of time into the forum, especially if there are main conversion points.
Speaker 2:Some people like it's kind of like an afterthought, like we've been talking about. But even just small changes are important. You know people, not only will they overlook, sometimes you know they won't write new copy, they will just go with the standard design. Write a new copy, they will just go with the standard design. There's also some other stuff.
Speaker 2:I know a little bit about cybersecurity and development and I know there are some hacks that you can do through forums and you can get a lot of spam through forums. So you have to make sure you have a captcha and all that stuff set up, or you're just going to get a ton of spam stuff set up or you're just going to get like a ton of spam. So in the end, basically it's worth spending a lot of time optimizing your form, but because there are so many different aspects that go into it, it's best to hire the professionals who have a team of writers, designers and developers who can work on the form. To that, and JMarketing offers a comprehensive $995 digital marketing audit where we will examine everything on your website and all of your marketing operations, including your forms. So go ahead and go on our website and sign up for that. Thanks for listening and thanks for coming on the podcast today, nick. Thank you have a nice day.