Ways To Optimize Website Forms For Better Leads

In 15 years, I've worked on 400+ websites. This contact form formula has generated >50K total leads. For brands like: – BetterCloud – Harmony Bay – HITT Today, I'm breaking down this exact strategy so you can use it for yourself or your clients. Let's get into it 👇 1] Form Labels ❌ Hidden ✅ Visible Do not hide these for a “slick” look – it will only hurt your user experience and in return, your conversions. 2] Field Width ❌ Multi-Column ✅ Single-Column Avoid placing form fields left and right of each other whenever possible. By maintaining single, full-column form fields, the visitor can easily glide down the form and complete it quickly. 3] Placeholders Use placeholder text to inform what goes where and how it should be formatted. For example: ❌ Email ✅ yourname@yourwebsite.com ❌ Phone Number ✅ 1 (888) 888-8888 ❌ Website Address ✅ www.yourwebsite.com 4] Input States ❌ One default style ✅ Clear Inactive State ✅ Clear Active State ✅ Clear Error State Make it obvious how users are engaging with form fields at every step. They should never have to guess what went wrong if something does. 5] Total Fields Keeping forms short improves the rate at which they’re completed. Each contact form should have at most 7 fields. Fields to always include: ✅ First Name ✅ Last Name ✅ Email Address Fields to include most of the time: ✅ Phone Number ✅ Company Name ✅ Message Field ✅ How’d You Hear About Us? Fields to avoid: ❌ What’s Your Budget? ❌ What’s Your Timeline? Fields to never include: ❌ Address If you’ve used budget or timeline qualifiers in your forms, you probably know this information is often incorrect. Instead of asking questions about the budget or timeline in your contact form, use an automation or sales follow-up to qualify based on that information. Asking people for address information creeps them out. Avoid it at all costs. Again, use automation or sales to explain why you may need that information to further qualify or route them appropriately.

Most website forms leave users frustrated and heading for the exit. Great form design, on the other hand, can boost conversion rates and create happy customers. What makes a form truly effective? It starts with priming. Set clear expectations about the form's purpose and length before users dive in. Next, focus on error prevention. Use constraints, clear labels, and smart defaults to minimize mistakes. But when errors do occur, make recovery a breeze. Real-time validation and clear messaging help users quickly identify and fix issues. Feedback is crucial. Provide immediate, actionable responses to user inputs. This builds confidence and keeps them moving forward. Proximity matters. Group related fields logically to ease mental processing and navigation. Stick to conventions. Familiar design patterns reduce friction and help users complete forms intuitively. Momentum is key. Visually reinforce progress to encourage users to keep going. Build trust with proof. Security assurances, testimonials, or recognizable logos can reduce hesitation. Demonstrate value. Highlight the benefits of completion so users feel their effort is worthwhile. Finally, manage perceived effort. Design forms to appear simple and manageable. Break longer forms into steps and minimize visible fields. By applying these principles, you'll create forms that users actually want to complete. And that means more conversions for your business. Remember, a well-designed form isn't just a data collection tool. It's an opportunity to showcase your commitment to user experience and set the tone for your entire customer relationship. So take the time to get it right. Your users (and your conversion rates) will thank you.

One simple change that got 67% of qualified leads to book immediately: > Embedding Calendly right into a typeform Here’s how it works👇 1. Ask only the questions we need for lead routing and context Old: Ask for state if someone was in the US. New: Only ask for country which removes a field. And make sure every question is needed rather than creating extra work for the prospect. 2. Route prospects to different ‘thank you’ pages Old: Send everybody to the same thank you page and route leads on the backend. New: Route leads in real time so companies in our ICP can book immediately with the SDR who owns their territory. Other prospects go to a thank you page and then get email followup. 3. Use the Calendly scheduling question Old: Send the Calendly link in an email. New: Embed SDR calendars to allow qualified prospects to book without leaving the form. 4. Use the Calendly<>Salesforce integration to send meeting data Old: Only see meetings in Salesforce but no reporting on outcomes. New: Pull the data directly from Calendly to report in Salesforce on meetings booked, canceled and rescheduled. Share Salesforce records across teams for tighter alignment. (BONUS) 5. Add a Partial Submit Point right before the Calendly embed Old: Prospects had to submit the whole form for us to collect their data. New: Partial Submit Point in Typeform captures all data in the step before we show the Calendly embed in case a prospect doesn’t book a time. Then our team can still reach out to book the call. The result? 67% qualified leads booked while filling out the form while total lead volume has stayed consistent.