Best Practices to design your sign up forms

Sign up form best practices that will help you increase conversions.

The design of your form impacts your website's overall user experience. Having a well-designed form not only leads to conversions but it also shows that your agency understands the needs of the user.

A well-designed form facilitates the collection of information but also plays a vital role in shaping user behaviour, encouraging completion, and ultimately boosting conversion rates.

Clearly define your form title

Providing a title for your forms is essential to let users know what they are giving their information for. A simple title that says "Sign Up for Al-Faiz Design Newsletter" clearly states that they will be signing up to receive newsletters from us once they have submitted their information.

Using of field labels

Simplify the user experience by having proper labels for each text field. Never use your placeholder text as part of your field labels as they will disappear once a user enters information into the text field.

Minimise usage of columns for certain view sizes

First of all, there can never be a right or wrong answer for this. This really depends on the screen size that you are designing for. For larger screens, a two column form might be suitable for some long forms but definitely not on mobile. The key here is to understand how users are interacting with their devices.

Consider the use of progress bars for longer forms

For longer sign up forms, we think that it is essential to break them up into sections or pages to minimise the friction between users and submitting their information. Have you ever wondered when you get to a sign up page and ask how many questions do I need to answer before I get to the dashboard? This design tip gives an idea to users how long they need to be on the sign up page before getting to the good bits.

Prompting users to fill up the forms

Some designers and developers alike forgot that this is actually quite an important step to getting information from users. How do we prompt the users to start filling up? By making the first field to be already focused while they are on the page.

Providing users with proper feedback

Proper and timely feedback is needed to alert the users of any mistakes that they have done while filling up their information. But don't let these mistakes be punished. Designers tend to give negative feedback such as "You have not entered your email". As much as possible, give positive feedback to minimise their frustration of entering their information to your forms.

Leverage on input constraints

Why is this important? Have you ever clicked on a text field to enter your phone number only for the "qwerty" keyboard to come up? It is such a hassle right? Make use of these input constraints to create efficiency in your form submission. You never know that shaving off a few seconds might increase your leads' generation.

Conclusion

Sign up forms best practices can be found online when you know what to search for. We, as designers, need to ensure that we are able to put these best practices into use when designing for our clients.

A well-designed form is crucial for conversions for several reasons:

1. User Experience (UX): A good design ensures a smooth and intuitive user experience. Forms that are easy to understand, navigate, and fill out reduce friction for users, making them more likely to complete the form and convert.
2. Clarity and Simplicity: Clear, concise, and well-structured forms with appropriate labels, instructions, and visual cues help users understand what information is required and how to provide it. This reduces confusion and errors, encouraging users to complete the form.
3. Reduced Abandonment Rates: Complicated or poorly designed forms often lead to high abandonment rates. Users may get frustrated with unclear instructions, excessive fields, or a cumbersome layout, causing them to leave without completing the form. A good design minimizes these issues, reducing abandonment rates.
4. Mobile Optimization: With the increasing use of mobile devices, forms need to be optimized for various screen sizes. A responsive design that adapts well to different devices ensures that users on smartphones or tablets can easily interact with and complete the form, improving conversion rates.
5. Aesthetic Appeal: A well-designed form doesn't just focus on functionality but also considers aesthetics. Visual appeal and a pleasing design can positively influence users' perceptions and attitudes towards the form, making them more inclined to engage and complete it.

In essence, a good design form not only facilitates the collection of information but also plays a vital role in shaping user behaviour, encouraging completion, and ultimately boosting conversion rates.