Want to communication with your clients or customers that lands on your website?
Looking for a way?
The best to collect clients/customers information, queries is via contact form, feedback form, etc.
Again a question may arise in your mind that how to design or build web forms ?
Don’y worry I even have the answer of your this question.
Below in this article, I have covered a process to develop or build web forms for your business. And also added 10 best practices for it.
Top 10 Best Practices
1. Documentation
Gather knowledge on the tools you are going to use. Assuming that you are using an online form builder that requires no coding skills, you still need to play a bit with the platform and get familiar to its capabilities.
2. Content structure
Especially when you build a longer form, content should be grouped in sections. Signal these sections either graphically or by textual headings that indicate what type of information is requested in the following fields. Users comprehend well-structured forms faster and are more willing to fill them out.
3. Label positioning
Field labels can be positioned in three ways. With top-aligned labels, users are able to scan the form quickly, but the form takes up more space. Left-aligned labels are sometimes too distanced from the input area, but save space. Right-aligned labels save space, are close to input areas, but take their toll on the overall form appearance and readability.
4. Typing stress
Make sure that users have to type as little as possible. Use choice fields when appropriate (radio buttons, dropdown lists, checkboxes) and take advantage of predefined fields – their structure shows precisely what needs to be typed where.
5. Interactivity
A closer form/user relationship can be created using advanced form features. Set up field rules to show or hide form fields based on user input. This way, you won’t be asking for superfluous information. Users will be impressed by both form interactivity and content relevance.
6. Required fields
Keep forms short and simple. Users can always navigate away from your page, so don’t claim too much of their time. From this perspective, most form fields should be required ones. Go straight to the point. if you want more information besides that point, create another form. Optional fields are not forbidden, but try to keep them to a minimum.
7. Design and layout
Form appearance influences users’ decision to stay on or leave your page. It takes users 8 to 10 second to make this decision. Use few and carefully chosen colors (those that represent your brand, if that is the case), avoid graphic clutter and go for one-column forms when possible.
8. Security
The most common way to protect web forms is by using CAPTCHA images. These are verification codes that can only be read by humans, hence preventing forms from being abused by robots. You can use smart CAPTCHAs, which show up when the web form seems to be abused and do not interfere with user activity otherwise.
9. Guidance
Assist users in filling out your form. This can be done in several ways: use predefined fields, which are very easy to understand; add field instructions to provide clarification on what information is requested; show highlighted error messages and indications on how to solve errors.
10. Confirmation
Don’t give up on users once they press submit. Show a Thank You message to let them know that you value form submissions. This message can redirect users to your website. There is also the option of sending a confirmation message to form users via email.
How to Build Web Forms?
Among web tools for creating forms, 123ContactForm.com is one of the most practical sites, suiting everyone’s needs, from professional web designers and developers down to any user without programming knowledge.
Once you defined what types of forms you need and where you want to display them, things go easy as a pie. The site offers a real-time form builder in 3 easy steps.
You can create: contact forms, polls or questionnaires, mailing lists, registration forms, order forms.
The process of form building is effortless. You just drag and drop the fields you need and then customize them. Your form can dress up in fancy colors, with a variety of themes to choose from.
Submissions are sent to you via e-mail (you may specify even more than one recipient) and can be stored on the site’s server on request. You can run queries, look over statistics, and export submissions in CSV.
In which concerns security, you have the option to include CAPTCHAs in the form, and even smart CAPTCHAs, to show up only when there are signs of abusive usage. Also, some user packages include password-protected forms and SSL data encryption, for an increased level of security.
Vendors are able to receive payments from any order form they create. 123ContactForm.com offers payment integration with several merchants such as PayPal, Google Checkout, and Authorize.Net credit cards. Of course, first, you can assign prices to products and go through a wide range of options for notification and confirmation.
After having set up a form, there comes the step of publishing it on your website, disseminating it via e-mail or social media.
123ContactForm provides very handy integration the most popular mediums. The main feature of which 123ContactForm developers are proud of is the WordPress plugin.
Bloggers can easily embed their forms on their WordPress platforms through this application, which very shortly after its release has been accepted and added to the WordPress Plugin Directory.
You need to just install the application in your WordPress plugin list and feel free to integrate any form on your blog from then on.
Other ways of form publishing are embed codes (JavaScript, IFrame), Lightbox, links. You can also integrate forms in Facebook pages, Blogger posts, and Google Sites or tweet them! Usability is the main idea in form building and publishing, so go searching for it in the right places.
Conclusion –
Hope you find this article on how to build web forms useful. If you have any other suggestion do let us know in the comment section.
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