Blog – The Architect’s Log

How to create an effective and useful web form:

1. Don’t ask too many questions.
   Only ask for information that you’ll actually use. For example, if you plan to respond to form submissions via email, only ask for an email address, not their email address and phone number. Short forms are more likely to be completed and most of us don’t like giving away all our contact information anyway.
   
   
2. Ask specific questions.
   In a generic web site contact form, for example, ask the user for a specific piece of information in the “message box” field. Asking something like “What type of of service are you most interested in?” or “What is the biggest challenge for you in X area?” will give you better information to work with than “Enter your message here:”. (With more specific information, you can address a user’s specific needs right away when responding to them.)
   
   
3. If a field has a validation requirement, tell the user what the requirement is.
   For example, tell the user you need their phone number entered in the format: 703-555-5555, rather than giving them the error “Please enter a valid phone number.” What is an appropriate entry to you may differ from what the user things is appropriate.
   
   
4. Confirm successful submissions.
   After a user clicks the “submit” button, there should be some kind of confirmation that their message was received (or an error message if there were any problems.) We like to display all the information the user submitted, and ask them to contact us if any of the information is incorrect. You’ll also want to tell the user when they can expect a response to their submission.
   
   
5. Post and adhere to your privacy policy.
   Any time you collect user information, you should have an easily accessible privacy statement that addresses what you collect, how you use it, and under what circumstances, if any, you disclose it. If completing a form means you’ll add their email address to your newsletter system, for example, you need to be clear about that upfront.
   
   
6. Consider your audience.
   As with everything web related, forms should be created with the end user and their specific goals in mind. You may need separate forms for existing customers, new prospects, or different situations. Don’t try to service all users from the same form.

Finally, and most importantly, make form completion easy, intuitive and as painless as possible.

Recommended Reading:
Smashing Magazine’s review of form design patterns on 100 popular web sites.

Also see:
Netdrafter’s How to Properly Test Web Forms

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