Forms Online: Improving Accuracy and Conversion of User-Entered Data
Full-Day Tutorial
Online forms can be a very important part of your website. They represent a basic form of communication
between your company and your user, and can involve important tasks such as enrolling, buying, applying,
registration, servicing, data collection, and feedback. Forms can have a major impact on how your user
views your website and your company.
Unfortunately, well-designed forms are not that common. This tutorial helps you identify some of the
pitfalls in developing good forms while also exposing you to some helpful best practices. Best of all,
it’s based on results from hundreds of hours and hundreds of users in the usability lab,
and includes numerous video clips and screenshots.
This tutorial assumes no expertise on your part. It includes plenty of interaction and exercises
that can help you answer questions and hone your skills.
What You’ll Learn
- How users think of online forms
- The basic elements that make up forms
- Basic principles of layout and design that work for forms
- How users navigate forms
- How users react to the information that appears on forms as well as the information they are asked to provide
- How users process support mechanisms like online help and error messages
- What users expect from forms that are made up of multiple pages
- Tips on testing forms
Course Outline
- Philosophy
- Definition of a form
- Users’ conceptual models for forms
- User personas for filling out forms
- Elements
- Headers and labels
- Radio buttons
- Checkboxes
- Dropdowns
- Instructions
- Buttons
- Layout / graphic design
- Chunking of information
- Information density
- Signaling of hierarchy
- Proximity
- Typography
- Screen navigation
- Sequencing of information
- Tabbing
- Progressive disclosure
- Pop-ups
- Information
- Amount
- Type
- Required
- Default
- Reuse
- Support
- Series of forms
- Before you begin page
- Terms and conditions
- Confirmation and verification
- Closure
- Orientation
- Saving and returning
- Contact info
- Alternate methods
- Security
- Marketing
- Testing forms
Format
This full-day tutorial includes lectures, video highlights from user testing, extensive exercises and discussions, and plenty of real-life examples.
Handouts
Copies of the presentation slides
Who Should Attend
This session is intended for anybody who designs online forms. Although there are no prerequisites, a general knowledge of Web design and usability is useful. The course will cover basics and more complex issues.
Instructor
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