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People don't like filling out forms in the real world, either paper or online. Forms are complicated, distracting, and take control away from the user. That is, unless they're designed and used effectively.

Some forms are long and complicated, frequently aren't clear and force users to answer questions that are just not required for its purpose. If users don't understand why they are forced to answer a list of questions, in a very particular way, they are going to have a negative experience. That might cause them to simply leave the website, or to miss out on the positive benefits that await them if they fill out the form correctly.

A particularly good use of forms are for 'call to actions'. This is apparent and has been used very successfully by one of our clients:

"We have launched two new websites recently with the help from the team at Fastnet Web Design, www.roomten.co.uk and www.theivoryboutique.co.uk . Roomten makes bespoke suits and shirts and the ivory boutique sells designer wedding dresses, so the look and feel of the websites are really important. Both sites are designed for two main reasons, firstly to provide a great shop window for our company, providing as much relevant information as possible and secondly and most importantly, to create new appointments and new business! It is this second point which has proved really successful, we now have a stream of appointments coming in from the website's on a daily basis and new business and sales are up! Our customer's have told us they like the look and feel of the websites and how easy it is to make an appointment. We have already managed to get a return on our investment in just 2-3 months and we are planning to further develop both websites with further informative/easy to use forms & other functionality".
David Groves - Manging Director

Here are some guidelines that Fastnet kept in mind while working with the above client to design the forms:

• KISS - 'keep it simple stupid'.
• Only ask questions that are required - nothing more.
• Determine the minimum information necessary for collection.
• Make sure the user remains in flow and doesn't become frustrated with the form.
• Ensure that the user will never have to provide the same information twice.
• Test the form with the recipients of the information to make sure its contents are practical, and to eliminate anything that isn't practical.