Filling out web forms is an important step in online engagement. When a web user or visitor decides to fill a form, they commit to doing the next step you expect, such as inquiring, purchasing, or subscribing. Therefore, web designers must make sure that the form design is convenient and easy to navigate.

If you think of creating a website with a form, make sure to understand the proper design and common mistakes that sour users’ experiences filling out forms.

Common Mistakes in Making Web Forms

Web forms that are inconvenient or challenging to fill will steer users away. Here are several common mistakes to find in form designs.

• Overly Long Forms

Signing up for complicated services required detailed forms. However, overly long forms can deter website users from actually committing to filling them out. Imagine having to fill a form with 30 entries to subscribe to cheap service, and understanding what information is necessary to input will reduce the need for long forms.

• Confusing Entry Fields

For web users, filling out a form feels like having a one-sided interview. If your form entries have confusing orders regarding questions, it will deter users and reduce their satisfaction. They may also make more mistakes because of that confusion.

• Forcible Download

The forcible download is a big no in modern design trends. It started to decline among millennial web users, which is likely to decrease even more among younger generations. When modern users see “download the app” orders to fill a simple web form, they are more likely to retreat and find something more convenient.

• Lack of Validation or Assistance

Have you ever filled an entry in a web form, only to find out that your answer is incorrect without any explanation? It means the form lacks assistance or validation, informing users about their mistakes and what they should do to fill out the forms properly.

• Lack of Field Focus

Field focus allows users to see where they currently are during form filling. There are risks of skipping entries without field focus or making mistakes, especially if users are distracted during the form filling.

Tips to Make Ideal Web Forms

What can you do to avoid common mistakes? Here are several basic tips for creating web forms:

• Use Stepped Form

While short-form is ideal, sometimes long forms are unavoidable, especially when signing up for a complicated service. To reduce the tedium in filling them, you can use a format called stepped forms. This form uses different sections and screens to split the process, allowing users to break the tedium and stress.

• Make Logical Entry Fields

Logical entry fields give users an easier mind map to answer questions. In an interview, we expect the questions to start from something basic (name, date of birth, education, domicile) before moving to specific things. Make sure the same thing applies to form, especially a long one.

• Create Assistance or Validation

When a user makes mistakes in filling out a form entry, create assisting or validating text. You can see the example in texts that appear next to a wrongly filled entry, such as “this password is less than 16 characters”, “this username is taken”, or “please provide a valid phone number.” This way, users can immediately understand what to do next.

• Create Field Focus

Make users know where they currently are with field focus. For example, you can make the cursor automatically appears on the next entry to fill. You can also manipulate the visual, such as changing the background or border color once an entry is filled.

• Inform Users How to Fill the Entry

Make your form entry order as clear as possible. For example, if you want the user to fill in the date entry with a specific format, create a box with DD/MM/YY code. If you need users to create a long password, add text like “must be longer than eight characters and shorter than 16 characters.”

• Add Autofill

Modern web users are more demanding, preferring mundane actions to be automated. Autofill reduces the need to repeat similar actions, such as filing basic info like complete name and password. Integrating autofill increases user experience, which in turn adding a positive impression on your website.

Filling out website forms is a formality, so make sure you do not burden users with bad form designs. Use this guide to create ideal forms or download website templates that have built-in forms for your convenience.