CRO hack #06: Minimizing drop-offs on longer forms

CRO hack #06: Minimizing drop-offs on longer forms



If you've run form analytics on your website pages, you would have gotten insights about the worst and the best performing fields—the ones that are filled the most by your visitors and the ones that generally lead the visitors dropping off the page.

However, analyzing longer forms can get a bit tricky. Most often, the drop-offs are not because of just a particular field. They also might be because the visitor doesn't have the time to finish entering their details, their first glance at the length of the form turns them away, or they feel the questions don't match the purpose of filling the form. 

While keeping track of the worst performers in such a case is great, a deeper look into the design and layout of the form might give you a clearer idea of what the visitor wants. Unlocking this knowledge can increase the number of form submissions, and consequently, increase your conversions!

What do you do?

There are three things you can do to increase the chances of a visitor submitting a longer form:

Motivate the visitor via the CTA

Make sure that the CTA's message is compelling and direct. Providing a clear path to the visitor is helpful in preventing distractions that might lead to them navigating elsewhere. 
Say you're using a signup form for whitepaper downloads as a form of lead generation. Instead of having the CTA say "Submit Form to Download", go with an option that motivates the visitor to fill the form and adds value to their experience. For instance, you could say, "Download the whitepaper now".

Breaking down the length of the form

Sometimes, visitors might drop off a particular field not because they don't want to fill it, but the sheer length of the form demotivates them. So, instead of modifying the field, you should consider making the form a multi-step one. This will create the illusion of a shorter and more digestible form, ultimately enhancing user experience.

Add a progress bar in the form

A spin-off of the previous step is adding a progress bar to the form. This becomes intuitive cue for the visitor—keeping them engaged as they fill out the form and drives them to stick till the last field and successfully submit the form.

You can A/B test these changes against your original form to see which one works best for your visitors and drives them to convert!

So, if you're looking to decrease form drop offs, you should definitely consider: