Forum Moderators: not2easy
Our signup form is one page consisting 4 sections stacked vertically down the center of the page that ask for 3-7 pieces of information in each section. We are asking for the usual: email, password, address, and then some subject specific information about the user.
Before we started tinkering with the page, 2/3 of people who saw the page completed it. When we finished tinkering with the page, 2/3 of the people who saw the page completed it. We ended up lowering the % of people who got an error by 33%, and the number of times people errored on the page fell. This was done by grouping related questions together, and by eliminating some unnecessary questions on the form. All in all better user experience but no pickup in conversion.
I am now designing a signup form for a different website, and I want to spread the questions out so that instead of being on one page, they will be in three. Part of this is functional (we have to validate some information before they can continue), part of it is aesthetic (less information per page looks better and is less confusing).
Has anyone changed from one approach to the other? Did they see any improvement or not? Also any general opinions on which approach is better would be appreciated.
Alternately, if it's all on one page and appears too long, people will get bored, and not bother finishing.
I have also filled out forms and abandoned it half way through the process because it will ask for only one or two things on each page - and twenty pages later, you are still being asked for further information. This is overkill, IMO. But the three pages you mentioned is good, especially for validation reasons, if it is split into logical sections.
Another thing to consider: More people are concerned with privacy on the internet, and like being able to see how invasive a particular form is before beginning to fill it out, so contact details should be on the first page if you decide to split it up into multiple pages.
We found it works a lot better for our users when we have one long, scrolly page. When we had multiple pages there was never a clear indication to the users of when they'd actually be done with the sign-up process; it seemed like you could just keep clicking and clicking and clicking and never be finished!
I think we cut our drop-off rate on signup by 10% or so ... which is pretty significant.
I think you can do it either way and be successful, if you set the expectations appropriately for a user. For example, I've seen very successful sites that have multi-page signups - they use a navigation 'status' bar that shows users how much further they have to go. (E.g., Almost done! You're on step 2 of 3.")
The less you ask up-front, the more likely it is that someone will follow through the first step, which is the most critical one. Effectively I try to sign the person up to the service on the first form, and the extra info on subsequent forms is important but not critical.
Whenever I design shopping carts or signup forms, I try to get only critical info from the person up-front, and save the less important things for later, or after the process is completed. Sometimes its nice to say "your order is now complete, click here to fill out our site survey and recieve your free bonus ebook".
I like this approach, it gives people closure, so that it doesn't feel like one long process but rather several smaller tasks that they have made the choice to complete.
I think we cut our drop-off rate on signup by 10% or so ... which is pretty significant.
I think that is a very significant difference. It is great that you were able to track the change in sign ups and link it to the use of a multi-page form versus a longer single-page form. I personally like a single page form myself - and when you need to go longer, make use of the "page 2 of 3" feature so that people actually know how much more is needed of them, and when they can hit that submit button for the final time ;)
And I think the "action" buttons need to be specific, too. "On to Next Step" or "Submit Information" or "Signup!" versus "Next". This helps give users a subtle flavor of where they are in the process, if you're doing multipage stuff.
