Believe it or not, there is a science to contact and sign-up forms. Assuming everything else on your website is the same, you can win dramatically more or fewer customers depending on your sign-up or contact form design. So, what exactly should you do or not do? Well, it all depends on your goals.

If you want to engage with as many customers as possible, make sure it’s quick and easy to fill out your form using the fewest fields possible. Or, perhaps you’re looking to engage a specific type of customer. This is most likely the case for business-to-business companies and requires a more extended form that includes more fields.

This will help you understand more about your customer, but only those with a solid interest in what you’re peddling will take the time to fill out the form. In this way, you spend more time talking to the right kind of customer rather than weeding through oodles of prospects to find who you’re looking for.

Now, let’s discuss some specifics:

1. Fewer Than 5 Fields = More Customers

Five is the magic number concerning sign-up/contact form fields, as those boasting fewer than this draw a ~20% conversion rate. If you’re business-to-consumer, trim your form accordingly.

2. Offer Sign-Up Rewards

This works for both B2B and consumer customers. The incentive may vary, but the concept works no matter what. Either way, email list subscribers will become your best customers—as only those who love your business will likely join. In other words, lists are a reliable source of recurring profit (usually for years to come).

You can offer consumers a 10% discount on their next purchase or free shipping. For businesses, you might offer exclusive content or a how-to guide on gleaning more value from your products or services.

Concerning incentives, dozens of approaches exist—and you won’t know which works best until you test and compare! What does not work, however, is merely saying, “Subscribe to our blog!” or “Join our email list!” Neither will motivate your website visitors in any way.

3. Make Sure Your Form Allows Autofill

Regardless of your form length, customers don’t want to waste precious time filling out information if they don’t have to. After all, do you know how often they’re asked to do this daily?

With this in mind, ensure your form allows browsers to auto-populate information where available. It’s a small thing but one that will genuinely make a difference when it comes to customer patience and conversions.

Wrapping Up

While these suggestions might seem trivial, paying attention to the small stuff makes a big difference in forms and the business they can win.