In today’s competitive online marketplace companies must ensure that all elements of their website (content, imagery, navigation tools, webpage header design, SEO Management) are optimized to provide a positive user-experience. Oftentimes, in the rush to provide the best online tools and resources, some of the most basic elements of operation are often neglected. For example, something as simple as a contact form can often dismantle even the most elaborate optimization effort. Online users that become frustrated while entering information (required or otherwise) or who become weary over the amount of time required to complete the form tend to bounce from a site, resulting in the loss of a potential new customer.
In terms of optimizing one of the most basic of operational templates, that of an online contact form, studies have identified three common mistakes online businesses make when creating these forms: the contact form is too long in length; the form does not work as designed; or the form does not function uniformly across all of the company’s platforms.
Nothing is more certain to cause undue user frustration than an online contact form that is too complex to complete in a timely fashion. The attention span of today’s online users shrinks by the year. Studies have shown that online retailers have less than 3 seconds to capture a user’s attention before they bounce to another page or website. Simplicity is key in all forms of web design, even for the basic contact form. Most online users are willing to complete contact forms that contain between three (3) and six (6) form fields. The ideal online contact form is one containing three (3) form fields and takes less than a minute to complete.
If, however, after entering the requested information and hitting the submit button, the user receives the dreaded Rule 404 error message, companies may be forced to spend thousands of dollars and devote an untold number of work hours to restoring user confidence in the brand. To avoid this issue, brands must incorporate mandatory internal testing of all underlying operational templates and forms prior to and following their activation.
Finally, with such a high number of online users accessing websites via their mobile devices, companies must ensure that their various online forms are optimized to function and display properly on their mobile platforms. A mobile contact form that is unresponsive, displayed erratically, or missing images or content is one that will lead to increased frustration and decreased user retention. Here too, simplicity is the answer. Brands must test all operational forms prior to mobile activation to ensure that they display and function in the same manner as they do on the company’s desktop website.
If you’d like to learn more about how to optimize your website contact forms for conversion, call Proctor Digital at 773.664.5819. We love creating a path for growth for our partner brands.