7 Ways To Make Your Web Forms Better
Keywords: web site design, web page design, web site development, web design templates, web page designs
Since many people who design web forms have never designed any form of any kind in their lives before, it’s hardly surprising that plenty of the results could do with a little improvement. And if you’ve spent any time on the web, you’ll know just how annoying bad forms can be. In this article, then, we’ll look at seven quick and easy ways to make your web forms much better.
1. Remember the Rest of the World.
This one is a call-out to American websites especially: don’t forget that your site will have more than just American visitors! It’s very insulting to be asked to register for something, only for the site to demand my state and zip code, leaving no space for me to choose any other country or enter a postal code in any other format than five digits. To save the trouble of the whole thing, I usually just go for ‘California’ and ‘90210′. A bad entry for that person’s database, just because they didn’t consider me when they designed their form.
2. Don’t Use Huge Drop-Downs.
Likewise, though, if you are nice enough to let me choose a country, don’t make me do it from an alphabetised list of every country in the world! The same thing goes for lists of states, counties, and so on. Drop down lists that are long enough to have scroll bars are just plain difficult to use and inconvenient. I’d much rather just type the name myself, thanks.
3. Always Offer Suggestions.
So someone can’t get something they filled in on a form . Their username or domain name or whatever was already taken. What do you do? Please don’t just say “sorry, that one’s taken, please try another”. Come up with some useful suggestions of alternatives that are available, and let me choose them easily if I like them. Do try to be more imaginative than just adding numbers to the end, though, unless you want all your users to be called ‘jane23436′.
4. Don’t Punish Double Submitters.
There are some people, let’s face it, who just aren’t all that sure how the web works. They’ve been taught that you have to double-click computer things to make them work, and so double-click they do: on links, on buttons, on everything. At some point, one of these people is likely to click twice on your submit button. You should allow for this in advance, instead of punishing them for it with an error. You might even consider using Javascript to grey out the submit button once it’s been pushed once, which solves the problem in most cases.
5. Stop Being So Picky.
Come on, now, do you really need my birth in dd/mm/yyyy format? Couldn’t you figure out what I meant if I wrote a month out in words, or if I only put in a one-digit day, or a two-digit year? Of course you could. Don’t throw my input back and ask me to fix things that a little server-side scripting could just as easily fix for me.
6. Display Warnings on the Page.
There are few things more annoying than websites which pop-up those little alert boxes, causing the computer to make a loud ‘ding!’ sound as they do so. If there’s something I need to go back and fix, add the warning to the page itself, preferably with a red border or background to mark it out for my attention. Don’t make me read a dialog box, click OK, and scroll back up myself to hunt for my mistake.
7. Only Ask for What You Need.
Last but not least, this is a rule that could make so many web forms so much better. If the information you’re asking for isn’t absolutely crucial to your dealings with me, don’t ask for it. Every second I spend filling in a form is a second I spend getting more frustrated with your website, and more likely not to finish what I’ve started if something goes even slightly wrong. Your site should be set up to figure out as much as it can about me automatically. Don’t ask what language I want to use. My browser tells you that in its HTTP headers. Don’t ask which country I’m from. You can detect that with my IP address. Save me time, and I’ll be much more likely to appreciate your site.
Floyd Bogart has been in the Marketing field for his entire 26 year career. He is now focusing all of his efforts to online marketing. For more information on website design go to:
websitedesign.hijackmyebooks.com
Previous Articles Highlighter:
Pop-Ups Versus Banner Ads: Which Is Better For Increased Website Traffic? (1)
The power of the choice lies in the hands of the advertisers at this time and until users want to force them to change their ways, the advertisers will continue to support pop-ups over banner ads.
Turn PLR Products Into Your Own Products (2)
Most of marketers are simply too lazy to invest little time and effort in customization of those products and they sell them without any changes. Even worse, they sell private label rights to these products too, the market becomes saturated within couple of weeks and product price falls sadly low.
How To Effectively Use Overture/Yahoo To Get Website Visitors (3)
There are different ways yahoo/overture will charge you. It may be in the number of keywords or keyword phrases your ad uses or in the many times your ad is clicked on.
Is SEO Better Or Is PPC The Answer? (4)
The highest bidder for the price per click will definitely get the chance to be first listed in the search engine. With this kind of advertising, you can still basically control your campaign as you get to create your own ad.
Network Marketing Tip: How To Create Your Own Sizzle Call From Scratch (5)
I record myself directly into Audacity but I could go through AudioGrabber, too. Then I use Audacity to stitch all the tracks together. Once you have the audio for your sizzle call you need to have a good voicemail service to use it with.
How To Get Root Access Through Your Web Hosting Company (6)
So who really needs this kind of control though? Who should have access to everything on a server? Those who have this access must know how to maintain their website.
Organizing Your Home Business For Maximum Productivity.. (7)
Take breaks, step away from your work and go to lunch even if it is in another part of your house or in your backyard. Get all these done and i bet you'll be very comfortable working at home to making money..
Some Of The Benefits Of Shared Webhosting (8)
This will only take a little bit of time, and will be available for you to use within a few minutes of signing up. For those of you are may need help from time to time there is always support available.
Getting Into The Real Estate Market (9)
Either way, the property will have to be in good enough shape to sell or rent out. For this reason you will probably have to do some repairs. Are you handy enough to make these repairs on your own?
Set Your Book Up To Succeed With A Marketing Plan (10)
to get paid, if you must but you are most importantly after the exposure. Community groups. Expand your public image in your field. Offer your expertise to community group.
Dont Forget About Email Requirements When Choosing A Web Host (11)
The third choice you have is a web based email which is of course the most flexible, allowing you to access your email from anywhere on the planet with a computer and an internet connection though a web browser.
Making Money With Several MLM Opportunities (12)
They can then establish their own hosting packages, charge what they believe the market will bear and pocket the difference. Obinna Heche: Delivering the best home based business ideas and opportunities so you can work at home successfully..
Why You Should Get Involved In Internet Marketing Home Based Businesses (13)
This is an indication that they have no intention of making sure that you are compensated for your time and effort; otherwise, the more money you make the more money they make, and they should be more than happy to teach you how to succeed in your internet marketing endeavors.
How To Create A Business Website (14)
This is especially true if you are not able to build your own website. You can either pay a lot of people to do something for you, which might cost you money and might be frustrating or you can design a simple and nice page for yourself using frontpage, which is very easy to do and does not take a lot of skill.
Generating Money On Demand With An Automated Affiliate Business (15)
It can all be done through a simple web form set to capture your prospects details and send them sequential mailings in order to make your affiliate sales. It is because of an automated money generating process that I am able to go to bed at nights and wake up the next morning to new sales.
To Land High-Paying Clients, You Need An Agency Quality Website (16)
Websites that attempt to teach generally attract clients who need teaching, oftentimes small business with a low appreciation of what good copywriting can do for them and an even lower threshold for paying reasonable fees.
Ways To Increase Leads And Conversion Rate (17)
So obviously, it's important to be able to capture these leads so that you can follow up with them and build a relationship with them... to build TRUST. So, rather than asking yourself "How can I get more customers?" Narrow your focus more and ask "How can I get more leads and convert more of them into sales?" This will change the way that you look at your online business.
How To Find First Time Home Buyers...Your Never Ending Supply Of Mortgage Prospects (18)
Tom Domin is the author of "101 Ways to Originate Mortgages" and publisher of "Tom's Mortgage Tips" a twice monthly Mortgage Newsletter geared for Mortgage Professionals. Put your mortgage career on the fast track and sign-up for FREE at www.MortgageMarketingToolKit.com
Great Bargain Sources For Profitable Resale On Ebay (19)
Once you have done your research and determined that there is a high demand and good profit potential for an item or two, find a good source for it. The easiest way to find your sources is to Google the keywords of wholesale, bulk, lots, and their variants along with what you are looking for.
Web Site Promotion Ideas For Small Businesses (20)
Keywords: web site promotion, advertising, small business, business, seo, traffic, make money, marketing, affiliate You've already figured out that your small business needs a web site to compete with the big boys and maintain every aspect of your relationship with your customers.
Newer Articles Highlighter:
Profiting From Article Submissions (1)
Just make sure it is all done in a text document and all will be fine. Sometimes the directory will require a keyword to go along with the article and may or may not ask for a brief description of the article in a separate box.
How A Website Copywriter Can Unleash The Power Of Your Website (2)
But for all the trouble and expense, her website didn't generate traffic. "It was like giving a party and nobody came," she said. "Nobody came" because what little copy her website did have, was embedded in fancy graphics - making it unreadable to search engines.
Why You Must Seek A Professional Web Designer For Your Website (3)
Not only will you end up spending more money, but also a poorly designed web site can cost you untold amounts of money in lost visitors. There are many companies and websites online that offer cookie cutter templates for you to just fill in the blanks and then press a button and give you a website.
The Benefits Of Multilevel Marketing (4)
The bottom line is that multilevel marketing makes you money too. As soon as a decent amount of people started to cash in on it, the number of interested parties began to increase.
Using SEO Strategies To Get Free Traffic To Your Website (5)
Here are some of the places that you can receive free traffic to your site. Directories Many general directories also accept submissions for free. There are also many general directories that accept submissions for free.
Search Engine Rankings Are Greatly Improved When Using Meta Tags (6)
The content of the title should include the keywords you want to push with the most important being listed first. Many search engines use the description tag as a way to tell the searchers what the page is about.
Bidding Web Directory FAQ (7)
Any visitor who finds a site useful can contribute to its listing. This way the BFP system becomes an open ranking system for websites, where each user is free to vote with his contributions.
How Blogs Keep You Updated On New Information (8)
If your favorite blog doesn't offer some of this options, you can ask the author to include it. Most of them will be happy to give you this kind of service to their readers.
How To Decide On A Domain Name For Your Website And Register With Your Web Host (9)
It is important to look the terminology up for yourself and to only follow information from reputable web pages. Once you have purchased your space and registered a domain name you can then build your website.
Theaters Using Text Messaging (10)
Taking into account the astounding number of text messages sent in the US, promoters see this number increasingly steadily. The Blue Man Group, a theatrical production featuring a rock oriented musical show, has also used text messaging to promote their latest tour.
Building Site Traffic: Speak To Your Customers (11)
Publishers in your field are likely to only check the categories that pertain to their areas of interest. Thus, you want to make sure that they will see it.
Earn Extra Money Online With Email Marketing (12)
Most of the profit comes after the first sale to your customer. The profit comes from the multiple sales to each individual customer. The only way to facilitate this is to offer excellent value and content, and to continue following-up with them.
Article Marketing: A Unique Approach To Online Advertising (13)
Rather than annoying your potential customers with flashy, condescending advertisements, you will be earning their trust with genuinely informative content. The only advertising will be in the form of your small, tasteful "About the Author" box.
Using Internet Business Directories For Increased Site Traffic (14)
Sites can be listed by topics or regions, for example. Different business directories use different criteria to categorize its sites. The reason you want to get listed in an internet business directory is because people use directories to find sites.
Ways To Build A Business Online (15)
You do not want your link associated with a lousy, inappropriate or ineffective web directory. Cross Link With Sites Offering Related Products Closely related to the directory link method, cross linking is another creative and efficient way of building your business online.
How To Brand Your Company Online With Blogging (16)
If you can take advantage of the best of the blogging arena, you can brand your company online and see your profits soar. Learn how you can have more free time by letting our team take care of the hard work for you.
The Biggest Lie Potential Clients Will Tell A Copywriter (17)
Plus, the most trusting among us will believe there is more work to come, and will be anxious to land the job and develop a new copywriter/client relationship. These and other realities of the copywriting life help us talk ourselves into a situation we'll regret...a pattern of accepting low pay from clients we don't want in the first place.
How To Get A 50 Percent Deposit Up Front On Your Freelance Work (18)
In her own words: "I've been in this business for 23 years and only in ncentive the rush the check. So I send a final Invoice "due and payable upon receipt," instructing the payment to be sent via regular mail.
A Guide To Using Affiliate Programs To Boost Your Infoproduct Sales (19)
In another article, we will look at the methods of motivating affiliates and getting them to actively promote your products and services, growing your infopreneur business exponentially - and as far as you are concerned, automatically, hands-free!
Finding Success With MLM Opportunity (20)
Keywords: internet marketing, internet business, multilevel marketing, mlm opportunity, advertising, marketing, sale Internet marketing has come a long way in just a few short years allowing numerous multilevel marketing opportunities to spring up and grow.