3 long form design tips

A common rule of thumb in creating digital experiences for customers is to keep the user’s journey as simple and straightforward as possible. Too often, user experience becomes mired in excessive detailing or design mismanagement, leaving people feeling overwhelmed and making them lose interest in whatever attracted them to your site in the first place.

The average online user is overstimulated enough as it is. According to Statista, the amount of data interactions per person per day was right under 300 in 2010, but that number has since ballooned to nearly 1,500 in 2020. As people start to feel bombarded with information at every digital turn, you have to work hard to stick out in their minds.

One area where this is particularly key is designing long forms with multiple pages. Long forms — when designed correctly — are excellent tools for gathering complex information and details over simple surveys with five to 10 questions.

With these three tips for long form design in mind, you’ll have the building blocks for a top-tier form that gets you the information you need without your users dropping off or complaining about the interface. These simple solutions free you to focus more on exciting elements such as branding, design, and analysis.

1. Group input fields by category

As you consider your long form design, think about the clearest way you can show your user the information you need them to know and how you can get the responses you’re looking for. These forms shouldn’t feel disjointed or sporadic — rather, you’re looking to collate distinct information so the person filling your form can reasonably follow its flow.

This is why categorizing input fields is particularly important. When creating a long form — a survey or questionnaire, for example — you should ask questions in groups that are contextually related or at least logically follow each other.

For example, if you’re building a survey for loyal and repeating customers, you need to gather a few standard pieces of information. Start with demographics, then customer satisfaction, and then questions on purchasing patterns or behaviors. Try to identify what makes your business so attractive to them before asking if anything needs improvement.

These questions should progress in a natural order in distinct sections. If you jump back and forth between categories — like asking for personal information after you’ve delved into the shopping experience — you’ll create a messy survey, causing users to drop off and ultimately rendering your form moot. Take the time to consider the user’s journey with your long forms.

2. Make progress visible

With GPS, people like to know where they’re going and how long it’ll take for them to get there. Knowing where you are in a process goes beyond driving a car — it’s also an essential part of long form design.

When a user fills a long form, the length of the experience can start to be a drag. If they feel there’s no end in sight, they may just give up altogether, especially if they feel like the experience isn’t worthwhile. To combat that, include a progress indicator on the form to show what remains, which sections are upcoming, and what information they’ve entered so far.

In the customer survey example, you can list categories in a progress bar at the top of the form. Try numbering each section or step of the process, indicating how far along the user is at each stage. This will also be helpful for your form building in the future — if you notice a high bounce rate at certain stages, you’ll know which section you need to condense or improve or where progress is stalling overall.

3. Add guiding text

Finding ways to be concise should always be the goal of long form design. The aim is to be brief without creating confusion for the user. Adding guiding text is a seamless and effective way to make filling out long forms feel like a doable, breezy task.

You can configure guiding text depending on the form type. With multi-step forms containing open-ended questions, it’s helpful to include a simple note under each with an example answer. In the customer survey example, if you’re asking, “What did you like about the service?” include text below the fill-in box — like “e.g. ‘The representative who assisted me was very helpful.’” As obvious as a question may seem, providing additional clarity is always a good way to show the customer you’re thinking about them.

This is even simpler with prefill forms, which are forms you prepopulate with certain details to make the experience smoother. Often, the information will repeat in these forms, so having features that autofill or providing suggested text where appropriate can speed the process along even more, helping the user understand the purpose of what they’re entering and of the form overall.

Jotform for long forms

Beyond knowing the essentials for long form design, you should take advantage of good visuals and identifiable branding. A great way to make the most out of your long forms is through Jotform’s customizable form templates.

Among these templates are multi-step forms designed with user experience and retention in mind. They break up forms into individual pages to increase customer engagement and conversion. Jotform’s drag-and-drop Form Builder makes for easy customization — no matter what your forms are for — without the hassle of coding. You can even incorporate conditional logic, creating unique user journeys based on their answers to previous questions to develop a more personalized experience.

Jotform’s prefill forms also make sending well-designed and effective prepopulated forms a snap. You can use these forms in your marketing process automation, as they streamline the way you generate leads or gather information from existing customers. You can share these prefilled forms easily and securely, protecting user information with token-generated URLs.

Long form design can be tricky — you don’t want to create friction that causes people to jump ship early. With these tips — and with the help of Jotform templates — you have the foundations to create excellent long forms that convert users, get you the information you need, and make your business stand out.

Photo by Tim Gouw