A form is often the last hurdle between a visitor and a conversion – the action you want them to take, such as placing an order, sending an inquiry or making a booking. If it’s poorly designed, people leave just before the finish line. The good news is that improving it usually doesn’t take a new website, just a few well-thought-out tweaks. Here are the ones that have proven most effective in practice.
Why people don’t finish forms
- too many fields and questions that don’t make sense at first contact,
- unclear field names or descriptions that disappear when you click,
- error messages that don’t say what’s wrong,
- a form that’s hard to fill out on mobile,
- a “Submit” button that doesn’t make it clear what happens next,
- worries about what the company will do with their personal data.
1. Only ask for what you really need
Every extra field is one more reason to close the form. For a contact form, a name, an email or phone number and a message are often enough. You’ll only need an address, a company ID or a budget later – or you’ll find them out during the first phone call.
For each field, ask yourself: what would happen if it weren’t there? If the answer is “nothing serious”, remove it or mark it as optional.
If you really need more information, for example for a custom kitchen inquiry, split the form into steps. Start with a simple question and leave the harder ones for the end, when the person already has some of the work behind them. Also show them which step they’re on.
2. Write clear field labels
A field label should be clear at first glance, for example “Your name” or “Phone number we’ll call you on”. No “User identifier” or “Request subject”.
Don’t put the label only as gray text inside the field. It disappears when you click, and people forget what they were supposed to fill in. The label belongs above the field; inside, you can at most show an example of the correct format.
3. Report errors right away and in plain language
- highlight the specific field, not the whole form,
- say what’s wrong and how to fix it: “Email must contain @”, not “Invalid input”,
- validate entries as you go, when the person leaves a field, not only after submitting,
- never delete what they’ve already filled in.
4. Think mobile
Many people fill out forms on their phones, often with one hand and on the go. A form that’s comfortable on a computer can be torture on a phone.
- fields and buttons big enough to hit with a thumb,
- the right keyboard type – a number pad for phone numbers, one with the @ sign for email,
- browser autofill,
- a few buttons to choose from instead of dropdown lists.
5. Put the form where interest arises
Many people won’t find a form hidden at the bottom of a long page or only on the Contact page. Place it where people make decisions: below a service description, next to the price list or by a product. On long pages, a button that scrolls down to the form helps. For example, a car repair shop can have a short three-field “Book an appointment” form next to each service instead of one long form hidden on the Contact page.
6. The button should say what happens
“Submit” says nothing. Specific copy works better, like “Get a free quote”, “Book an appointment” or “I want a consultation”. Add one sentence below the button about what comes next, for example when you’ll get back to them. You’ll find more about writing calls to action in our article How to use a call to action (CTA) the right way.
7. Remove concerns
- a short sentence on what you’ll use the data for, and a link to your privacy policy,
- no pre-checked marketing consent boxes,
- your company’s contact details right next to the form for those who’d rather call,
- spam protection that doesn’t annoy real people.
8. Take care of what happens after submission
After submitting, people should get a clear thank-you, an email confirmation and information about the next step. The thank-you page is also a good place for a next step – a link to testimonials, FAQs or social media. At the same time, set up tracking of form submissions as conversions so you know how many inquiries your website really brings in. You’ll find a guide in our article How to set up tracking in Google Analytics 4.
Test and measure, don’t guess
First, find out where people drop off. Tools like Microsoft Clarity or Hotjar show session recordings and which field people hesitate at. Then try changes: fewer fields, different button copy, a different placement. Always change one thing at a time so you know what helped. You’ll find the process in our article A/B testing on your website in practice.
A quick check of your form
- Does the form have only the essential fields?
- Are the labels above the fields and easy for anyone to understand?
- Do error messages say how to fix the error?
- Is it comfortable to fill out on mobile?
- Is the form where people make their decision?
- Does the button say what happens after clicking?
- Do people know what comes next and what happens to their data?
- Are you tracking submissions as conversions?
Frequently asked questions
How many fields should a contact form have?
As few as possible – as many as you need for the first contact. For a typical inquiry, a name, contact details and a message are enough. You’ll fill in the rest during the conversation.
Is one long form better, or several steps?
For a short form, one step. For a longer one, such as a quote request, steps with a progress indicator work better, because people aren’t overwhelmed by lots of fields at once.
Should the phone number be a required field?
Only if you really can’t handle the inquiry without it. A required phone number puts some people off, so offer it as optional or let people choose between phone and email.
How do I find out which field is putting people off?
Watch session recordings in a tool like Microsoft Clarity or set up form interaction tracking. You’ll see where people hesitate and where they abandon the form.
Forms people actually fill out
In our website design work, we design forms and entire pages to lead to inquiries, and we set up tracking from day one. If you’d like, we can also take a look at the forms on your current website.
