Peak Usability Seminar - Increasing form completion and conversion rates

Increasing form completion and conversion rates Lyndall Plumb

Common successes & mistakes VS

Why does it matter?
Don’t drive your potential customers to this!

Users selecting or entering data Form elements

Text boxes
Generally easy to use but no control over what users type in
Provide examples to show how the data should be entered
Provide contextual help next to field labels
Use client side validation to check for common mistakes
Try to be flexible regarding how users enter data


Buttons and links
Links should generally be used for navigation
Buttons should generally be used to initiate a command or action e.g. submit or save
Should be positioned to the right or below the functions/fields on the page for good visual flow
Should be positioned close to functions/fields on the page so users will see them and don’t have to scroll
X Fold line

Cancel / Reset buttons
Only use ‘clear form’, ‘cancel’ or ‘reset’ buttons if you really need to
Users generally like a Cancel / Reset button when entering their details
Users expected to see these buttons at the top right of a form or bottom left
Don’t put cancel/reset buttons at the bottom right of a form
Use grey shading or red for cancel/reset buttons
X 

Good Cancel / Change options

Error recovery & prevention

Error recovery
Error messages should:
be expressed in plain language (no codes)
precisely indicate the problem
highlight the fields where there is an error
constructively suggest a solution
be given to users as soon as possible


Error prevention
Even better than good error messages is a careful design which prevents a problem from occurring in the first place
X 

Error prevention…
Allow users to type in information as they naturally would.
Particularly for:
$ amounts – allow commas, and decimals
Phone numbers – allow spaces, brackets and dashes, mobile numbers
Address – don’t split up street number and street name
X Loan amount: e.g. 10000 
If you have specific requirements for data entry, make sure you provide an example of how you want the data entered and put some contextual help next to the field
?

User confidence

Would you buy insurance from this company? Why? Why not?

Building user confidence
Good visual design – key indicator of credibility for users
Consistent branding and visual design across applications and website

Royal Pines example 1 2 Different branding & visual design. Different URL. 4 Security certificate not issued to Royal Pines or application host Aborted 3 Have to enter personal details. Not secure.

Users are still concerned about security
Many users don’t know about https:// and the padlock icon
For transactional websites, include a clear security statement or image as users are concerned that their details may be “hacked”.

Provide a clear privacy statement
Users are very protective of their email addresses

Don’t expect too much commitment too soon from your users… … gradually engage them and they will give up their information

What will I get for giving you my information? I am not here to enter into a relationship. I just want to buy something. You are just going to use my information to send me marketing stuff Why do you want to know that?

You want to know WHAT?!
Do you really need them to register up front?
Do you really need to know EVERYTHING in the form?
Do you need to know it at this stage in the process?
Less information asked = higher completion rate

Progressive disclosure
Don’t scare away users with long forms with irrelevant fields
Show users basic or important fields most frequently used
Hide fields infrequently used by the majority of users
Build the form with relevant fields based on data entered
E.g. Budget Direct Get Quote: www.budgetdirect.com.au

Forms design Some final points

Multi page forms
Provide clear progress indicators.

Speed up the process - defaults
Use the 80/20 rule – set defaults based on what the majority of your users are selecting
DO NOT pre-select responses that you wish your users would select e.g.
Opting in for marketing offers
Accepting terms and conditions

Avoid jargon
Use your customers’ language
Don’t use acronyms
Provide good inline help as appropriate
Speak to your call centre staff

So is this box of forms goodies going to fix all your forms problems? NO But it will help!

So what else can you do?

Conduct research to understand:
Your users
Their tasks
Their technology
Keeps the customer involved in the design process

Users Context, context, context

Conduct usability testing with users
Find unique problems with your form or site
Test with representative users that reflect your real users
Accurate and objective assessment of your site – find out specifically where it is failing?

The value of usability testing Our Client - a financial institution - conversion rates after testing application form & minor site changes – mid 2009 Increased online conversion from 30% to 47% in just 7 weeks by addressing some of the ‘low hanging fruit’ usability issues we identified in usability testing. Some of the bigger issues are yet to be addressed.

In summary
Make it easy for users to enter data
Your problems SHOULD NOT be their problems!
Make it easy for them to recover if they make an error
Inspire confidence in your users through great design and quality control
KNOW your users – don’t just think about them…

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Peak Usability Seminar - Increasing form completion and conversion rates

by Peak Usability on Oct 06, 2009

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Peak Usability Seminar - Increasing form completion and conversion rates — Presentation Transcript