Online contact forms are a great way to learn more about your customers, grow your lists, gain subscribers to your newsletter, and generate new sales leads.
However, your contact form design can affect its effectiveness. And the effectiveness of your contact form can make or break user engagement.
At Results Repeat, we understand the pivotal role contact forms play in fostering connections with your audience.
In the following article, we explore the secrets behind the power of simplicity and explain why fewer fields in contact forms often lead to better results.
Contact Form Design Tip #1: Simplicity is Key
A clutter-free contact form is more user-friendly and encourages visitors to complete the form fill process without feeling overwhelmed.
When creating your online contact form, focus on capturing essential information to keep the user journey smooth.
Contact Form Design Tip #2: Reduce User Frustration
Long contact forms with too many questions often lead to user frustration.
Users want to start the conversation quickly. They have a question that needs answered, a problem they need solved, or a product/service they want to purchase. They don’t want to delay the process by having to fill out long, cluttered forms with information that they don’t see as pertinent to the process.
Relying on long, complex contact forms can deter users from engaging with your brand. When faced with these forms, they’ll often abandon them after a few steps, leave the site, and search for a competitor with a contact form that’s more direct and to the point.
Streamlining the fields of a contact form minimizes the time and effort required to fill it out, resulting in higher completion rates.
Contact Form Design Tip #3: Choose Your Field Selection Wisely
A contact form should strike a nice balance between collecting necessary data and respecting user time.
Before you design your contact form, identify the most crucial information needed for effective communication and use that as your foundation.
Including fields for customer name, email, and brief message regarding their needs or wants are often sufficient for initial contact.
What Fields Should a Contact Form Have?
Form fields are the building blocks of contact forms, each representing a piece of information you seek from the user. The right selection of fields can help support contact form efficiency and relevance.
As we mentioned above, limiting the number of fields on your contact form design can help lead to more fills and submissions.
Yet, you may be wondering which fields are truly necessary.
For best design practices and results, we recommend including the following fields in your contact form:
Visitor Name
Good customer relations start with a name. Including this field not only captures this important information, it also adds a human touch to your interactions, helping build a meaningful connection from the first point of contact.
Visitor Email Address
An easy, practical and reliable means of communication with prospective customers, the email field is indispensable in your contact form. Ensure its accuracy for effective follow-ups and communication.
Message
The third most important field in a contact form, the message field allows users to express their inquiries or comments concisely.
With this field, you’ll know exactly what the prospective customer needs or wants when reviewing the submitted form. Knowing this information not only adds clarity, it also helps streamline your response process.
Additional Fields for B2B
In some cases, B2B companies may require additional fields to collect relevant information from visitors. Adding one or two additional fields to collect the visitor’s company name and website information can be incredibly helpful when responding to their query.
Tailoring Forms with Conditional Fields
While a simple and straightforward contact form is incredibly helpful to user experience and collecting customer information, some companies prefer to tailor their forms to suit each visitor—or prevent irrelevant forms from being submitted.
This can be accomplished with conditional fields.
Conditional fields are dynamic form elements that adapt their appearance or behavior depending on specific conditions. These conditions are usually influenced by user interactions or predefined rules.
For example, if a company would like to offer the visitor a choice of how they would like to be contacted, a conditional field could ask this question and give two options: email or phone. If the visitors elects phone as their preferred means of contact, a new field will populate with space for them to provide their number.
In some cases, companies may want to prevent children from submitting contact forms. A conditional field that asks if the visitor is over the age of 18 or prompts the user to enter their birthday can help limit the amount of irrelevant form submissions.
Need Help with Your Contact Form Design? Ask the Experts!
The first point of contact with prospective customers often occurs through a well-designed form.
By opting for simplicity, planning a more strategic form field selection, and, if necessary, adding conditional fields, your business can enhance user experience, boost engagement, and foster meaningful connections.
At Results Repeat, we believe that in the world of contact forms, less is often more, unlocking a pathway to better results and satisfied users.
If you need help building an effective contact form for your business, we would love to help!
Our team can create a contact form that’s not just an online tool; they’ll design an user-friendly gateway that builds lasting relationships with your audience. Additionally, our Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) and Web Design and Development services can further elevate your website’s performance and user satisfaction.
Contact us today to learn more about how we can help improve your website’s user experience with our digital marketing expertise!
