Creating forms: Use this guide to optimize UX & conversion rates

People may visit your website with a particular goal in mind, but they will only extend their visit and make a purchase if you provide them with the information they were looking for, and if you make it easy for them to make the conversion. And that usually means making forms easy for them to fill out, which in turn increases your conversion rate – regardless of whether you want to gain newsletter subscribers, score leads in B2B, operate an online store, or offer web-based services.

The actual web form plays a key role in all these examples, and the quality of the form makes the difference between conversion and abandonment. For you as webmaster, this represents both a risk and a huge opportunity. Although not all website visits will be converted into sales, you can tailor the usability of your forms to your objectives.

There are only two main reasons why users decide either not to fill out a form or to start but then stop before clicking on "Send":

• First impressions don't convince them, because the form looks confusing and puts them off.
• The form is not designed in an easy-to-use and understandable way; labels are unclear, and there is no guidance.

Forms are an effective tool for generating leads and an opportunity for you to interact with your prospective customers. A positive user experience is the key to a high conversion rate. Once you succeed in overcoming both these issues and creating forms with high conversion rates, you will have killed two birds with one stone. It is a win-win for both sides: your users will benefit from successfully making contact with you via the form, and you will gain new contacts and/or customers and increase your conversion rate.

Our guide to "Forms with high conversion rates" comprises a checklist and a comprehensive guide. The checklist describes 46 criteria you can use to check the usability of your web form, and the guide contains seven sections that explain how you can effectively optimize your web form to create a better user experience and thus achieve a higher conversion rate. The guide shows you:

• How to make sure forms are clear and as easy as possible for users to fill out.
• How to create forms that meet user expectations.
• How to make sure that all relevant input fields are immediately visible.
• How to make your forms memorable and build trust.
• What to keep in mind when you optimize your forms for mobile devices.
• Why it is wise to offer navigation options to users.
• How to skillfully make users aware of errors without frustrating them.

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