Form Design for Better Conversion
Summary: The sweet spot for the length of form is five to ten fields (with seven fields as optimal). A form with one field is often perceived as spammy. A/B Testing is very important to understand consumer behavior as gut feeling will not always serve you right.
Article Highlights
The Test
TruckersReport, a resource site for professional truck drivers, conducted a multivariate test to look into the effect of the length of forms on conversion. The registration process consists of five steps and the first step is tested here. Guess which version will have a better response rate?
Version A
Version B
The Result
Version A has 31.3% more clicks at a 99.9% confidence rate than Version B. For the registration process, 24.8% from Version A completed the entire five step registration process, at a 90.7% confidence rate.
Criteria for Forms that Converts Well
- Forms with seven fields (break down into more steps if more fields are required)
- Never the one field form as this may look spammy
- Ask more general questions first (e.g. interests, experiences) before asking for personal data (e.g. email address) in order to create the momentum to complete the form
- The design of the page should look credible, including privacy statement and encryption details.
Hi, my name is Edward Chung, PMP, PMI-ACP®, ITIL® Foundation. Like most of us, I am a working professional pursuing career advancements through Certifications. As I am having a full-time job and a family with 3 kids, I need to pursue professional certifications in the most effective way (i.e. with the least amount of time). I share my exam tips here in the hope of helping fellow Certification aspirants!
