Ways to Improve Your Website Form Conversion Rate

When it comes to online contact forms, most people think that a form is a form. Nothing can be further from the truth.

In reality, the nuances of your online contact form matter a great deal. The website form is that first door a site visitor walks through when deciding if they want to interact with your company. This can be a door that is easy to walk through or one that creates questions and uncertainty.

Take the guesswork out of your forms and make them as easy and inviting as possible with some of these suggestions.

Placement Matters

Depending on the purpose of your page, placement of your form plays a big role. A landing page with a goal of a form submission should have the form visible above the fold with clear instructions of what will be received upon submission. CTAs for bottom of funnel offers like “Schedule a Consultation” should be sprinkled throughout the site leading to a landing page containing only a form for this conversion.

Consider How the Contact Form Appears on Mobile Devices

The continued rise in use of smartphones and tablets demands that we pay attention to how our forms appear on these devices. It is recommended to begin your design with mobile in mind. Make sure your forms are easy to see, navigate, and complete on all devices. Don’t alienate this growing group of site visitors.

Go Beyond the “Submit” Button

Use actionable text for your buttons. The tendency is to go with the traditional “Submit” button since that is what we are doing… we are submitting our information. Statistics show that using actionable text directly related to the purpose of the form will increase conversion rates. Opt for a button that says “Download Your Ebook” or “Schedule Your Appointment” instead.

Tell Them What to Do

Be specific on what you want your site visitors to do. If you want them to fill out your form, tell them to do so and let them know what they will receive when they do. Place clear text like “Download the Top 10 Benefits of Being a Massage Therapist” at the very top of the form.  

Less is More When It Comes to Form Fields

It is imperative that your contact form has as few fields as possible. Put yourself in the site visitor’s shoes. They don’t want to fill out half a dozen fields just to receive a phone call or newsletter from your organization. An abundance of form fields will only serve to decrease your conversion rate. Limit your form fields to the minimum amount of information you need at the site visitor’s current step in the buyer’s journey.

Use a Thank You Page

Nothing is more frustrating than hitting the submit button and not knowing if your information was sent. Make sure the person submitting the form clearly understands their submission went through successfully. The best route for doing this is redirecting the site visitor to a “Thank You” page. The Thank You page confirms their information was successfully sent and can contain follow up components such as a download link or another call to action.

You work so hard to generate traffic to your website and get your site visitors excited about your brand. Don’t lose them at the last moment because your forms are not up to par. Take a few minutes to go through each of the forms on your website and see which areas we’ve discussed here can be used to help increase your conversion rates.

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By Ken Franzen

President / Co-Founder of Neon Goldfish