How is your mobile design going? Well, there are either two scenarios. The first is that you have a tremendous conversion rate and you’re gaining subscribers, boosting sales, and seeing greater newsletter subscriptions. The second is that users are abandoning your mobile forms, dismissing your brand, and going to the rival.
Obviously, the former is superior to the ladder, but what can you do?
Well, it may have to do with the form itself, which needs to be improved. But how? The one thing you need to do is make it look like it is from 2019. The other thing is to adapt to what the consumer wants. This means fewer fields, less complicated inputs, and faster speed times.
What else? Here are the seven best elements of form design for mobile devices:
1. Number of Form Fields
As the old saying goes, less is more and the same logic applies to the elements of form design.
It is already hard enough trying to complete a mobile form on your smartphone, so when there are endless forms, inputs, and pages to complete, it can infuriate customers and lead to higher abandonment rates, which then infuriates the company hosting the form.
Ultimately, you should have as little form fields as possible. This will please users, reduce your abandonment rates, and simplify the process that benefits all parties involved.
2. Automate When Possible
Automation or autofill can be annoying at times, but they can also be useful for users and developers when they work and are suitable for the occasion.
The primary reason for this feature is to speed up the process and even make the form completion a bit more accurate. Indeed, oftentimes users misspell a word or a name; hey, not everyone is a great speller and not everyone has thin thumbs!
3. Single Column Layout
Although this is finally dying a slow death, a lot of mobile apps behave as if the forms are being filled out on a tablet. This is why you sometimes see a landscape form instead of a portrait. Moreover, some forms act as if everyone has all the time in the world when they are on the go.
Moving forward, the main goal should be a single column layout. This is when all the inputs are essentially lined up in one column rather than on multiple pages and scattered all over the screen.
4. Clear & Precise Call to Action
When completing this form, what is being accomplished exactly? If the user doesn’t know or remember, then you are not doing your job.
That said, your form needs a clear and precise call to action button at the beginning and end of the mobile form. Here are some examples:
- Create Account Now
- Register Here
- Get Your Free Newsletter
- Click Here for Savings
All these buttons convey a particular message and are crucial elements of form design.
5. Form Tracker
Some forms require a couple of moments. Some forms need a few minutes to complete.
Whatever the case may be, a great complementary feature on your mobile form is a form tracker.
By monitoring the user’s progress, they do not have to worry that the form will take longer than they had initially anticipated. Also, they know how far they have come along and will not exit the form if it shows that the individual is 93 percent complete.
So, add a progress tracker and you will have more patient users!
6. Appropriate Input Methods
One of the most annoying things of filling out digital forms on a mobile device is when you need to switch keyboards. For instance, if you are entering your credit card information, you need to manually convert from QWERTY to numerical. Isn’t it time your forms automatically adjusted by, as the example shows, immediately switching from letters to numbers?
It may not seem like much, but it is the little things that can make the impression on users.
7. Ditch the Dropdown Menu
The dropdown menu has become a nuisance. What was first a great tool has now become the bane of our existence. Since its invention, there have been so many improvements made to forms that make the dropdown menu obsolete and inefficient.
Here are some examples of successful alternatives:
- Triggers
- Sliders
- Radio buttons
The dropdown function should be your last resort when all else fails.
Mobile forms are becoming more important to the online retail landscape. Heck, mobile forms are even becoming integral to everyday administrative tasks, from medical forms to job applications. Like everything else in the economy, it is about satisfying the customer. With this in mind, it is imperative to get the user experience right, otherwise, it will lead to frustration and, worst of all, abandonment. You don’t want that to happen, so ensure it doesn’t by getting it right the first time!
