Improving Your Website Conversion Rate with a Contact Form

There are many different reasons to improve your website’s conversions rate: generate more website contacts for quotes and/or sales, newsletter signups to build followers and fans, or just increase the number of followers for your blog. Among the various routes and techniques employed in conversion optimization, one of the first and easiest things you should do is to optimizing your website contact form.

Less is More

Over the years, we have had multiple requests from clients to design complicated, elaborate contact forms that would get users involved with their site and, in their opinion, generate leads. The truth in the matter is: simpler, less confusing and less overwhelming contact forms generate much better conversion rates.

Years of marketing research, Steve Jobs himself, and our own personal experience has shown that simpler forms = higher conversions. The goal of each contact form should be to eliminate unnecessary fields that clutter up the form and make it seem overwhelming to the user.

• Less user confusion leads to more contacts.
• Less fields leads to more contacts.
• Less questions leads to more contacts.

In other words, when it comes to Contact Form Design – Less is More.

Great Design

One of the biggest problems with most of the contact forms is their graphic design features and functionality. A contact form is one of the most important features on a site. Depending on the type of site you run, it is arguably the one feature that will determine the success and growth of your business. After spending countless number of hours designing your website’s features and functionality, a contact form should never be an afterthought.

Make sure your contact form is pleasing to the eye of the user. Contact forms should be designed in a clean, uncluttered fashion with user’s experience in mind. Does your form have field markers? Do they disappear after your potential customer starts typing in the information field? If so, do they return if the individual were to delete the field and start over?

Furthermore, from a design standpoint, make sure the form is always encouraging users to move through the form toward completion. At the end of the form make the “SEND” button clear to see and welcoming to click.

Building Trust

Other factors to consider when designing an online contact forms are trust factors. Today’s modern online users are more conscious about the protection and security of their personal information than ever before. Allowing users to feel safe when completing your contact form will generate higher contact form conversion rates.

For starters, explain to them what action they will accomplish by completing this contact form.

• Is the form there for them to initiate contact with your company to request a free quote?
• Is it there for them to sign up for your newsletter?
• Is it there for them to initiate a purchase of a product or service?

Clearly stating your contact form’s purpose and use of information around the contact form will have users feeling more secure about initiating contact and attaining trust with your company/website.

In Conclusion

Make sure not to overlook the design and features of the contact form while designing your website; after all, the contact form is what will drive your website’s conversion rate. Unclutter the form by only asking for the most essential information with minimal number of fields. Users don’t want to spend hours completing requests for contact. Design the form with user experience in mind, by graphically and visually guiding users through form completion. Build trust with your contact form, ensuring users feel safe to provide their personal information on your website to initiate contact. At finally, think of your own user experience-how do you like your form completion process to go when surfing websites?