The Benefits of Using a Multi-Step Form to Increase Conversions in WordPress
The ultimate goal of web forms is to effectively capture leads while making the user experience of your visitors as smooth and seamless as it can get. And of course, there are tons of form plugins that can help you create fully functional and professional forms for your WordPress site and achieve user experience greatness. This applies regardless if your aim is to create a sign-up/subscription form, an eCommerce checkout form, or something else entirely. That being said, sometimes deciding whether you should go for a single-step or multi-step form can be tricky.
For this reason, we’ve decided to talk more about multi-step forms and explore their many benefits. In addition, we will also mention when you should (and when you shouldn’t) use multi-step forms to help you achieve the best possible results for your business and get those leads rolling in.
Here goes:
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In a nutshell, a multi-step form is any kind of form that is divided into different sections. Unlike single-step forms that are usually all located on a single page, multi-step forms are often created by placing portions of text into separate steps or even page views. You can use multi-step forms to create anything from a sign-up form to event registration and shipping forms.
Now, you might be wondering how creating a multi-step form benefits you exactly. Basically, since multi-step forms are broken down into simple pieces of text, they will allow for a much smoother user experience by appearing cleaner, simpler, and better organized as a whole. Forms that offer multiple steps allow users not to feel too overwhelmed while answering questions or adding data and prevent them from feeling like they’re completing too many steps at once. Plus, if you place a progress bar in your form, you can even indicate to users how far they’ve come in the form-filling process which lets them know how long they will take to finish it.
Aside from simplifying things for users and a better visual experience, multi-step forms can even help boost their engagement. By doing things one step at a time, users can also be encouraged to take further action and start the next step to complete the desired process as soon as possible.
Another big benefit of using multi-step forms is the fact that they allow you to use the so-called customer-first approach which, more often than not, you cannot really do with single forms. What this means is that you can easily use the initial steps in your multi-step form to ask customers specific questions meant to make them feel more understood and appreciated as a customer. You can ask them more about their expectations and requirements before you move on to asking about sharing their personal information, which can make them feel more inclined to complete all the steps. Plus, you can further personalize their journey by offering multiple choices in the first few steps.
Once they select a specific choice, they will be sent to another relevant step that would be different than the one they would get if they were to select something else. All these steps only have the potential to create an overall positive impression on users and can boost your conversions in the long run.
Say that you offer house-related services and want to create a multi-step form to help users request an appointment online. You can create multiple steps that allow them to choose whether they need house cleaning, garden services, handyman services, etc. Then, once they pick the desired service, they can personalize their needs even further. For example, if they picked handyman services, they may be able to pick from plumbing, drywalling, painting, etc. Each new step can help further instill trust in users while improving your chances of scoring new customers and making the entire journey simple and user-friendly for them.
Uber’s website is a good example of a simple but practical multi-step sign-up form. This form pops up as soon as you enter their site. You can choose between “I have a Car” or “I Need a Car” and fill in your contact info from there. Then, once you’re done, you can click on the Next button which indicates there’s more to the process than simply filling in your contact information.
We’ll cut straight to the chase – whenever you need to create a form that requires tons of information, using a multi-step form is a good idea. This includes event registration forms, order forms, checkout forms, and many others. Companies that rely largely on lead generation – healthcare services, insurance companies, and consulting firms – can all benefit from implementing multi-step forms on their sites. This also includes businesses that organize different kinds of events and want to accommodate the needs of potential attendees in the best possible manner.
Even food-related businesses (i.e. restaurants and fast food places) and eCommerce sites can also opt for using the multi-step solution, depending on the number of fields they may want to have, the variety of products and/or services they offer to their customers, etc. Health and fitness websites can also turn to a multi-step solution to provide different types of nutrition or BMI calculators, for example.
In short, any business that would do well by encouraging user engagement, interactivity, and product/service personalization can and should turn to multi-step forms.
While there’s no denying the huge practicality and sheer conversion potential of multi-step forms, there are definitely instances when using a single-step form is a much better option. For one, if you only need the simple type of information from your visitors, it might be a good idea to use a simple single-step form on your site. In other words, you can opt for this simpler and shorter form type every time you only need basic contact info from users, such as their name, email address, contact number, and/or an optional message.
This usually includes simple contact forms that can be found on Contact pages, eCommerce checkout pages that don’t require that many steps to complete, shorter client feedback forms, and the like.
Wrapping Things Up
Multi-step forms can be a great asset to pretty much any kind of business. They are practical, they can make your website design appear clean and uncluttered, and allow users to feel less overwhelmed when filling in their data. By letting potential customers add all required information in smaller, readable segments, you open the potential to personalize their journey way more than any single-step form does. As a result, you can enhance their overall user experience and can boost their engagement, which can only lead to increased sales and conversions in the long run.
Of course, with all this being said, there’s no one-size-fits-all rule when it comes to whether you should use multi-step forms or go for a single-form approach instead. After all, it all depends on the kind of forms you want to create, how many steps they should have, as well as what you’re making them for. In the end, you can always engage in customer feedback and perform some A/B testing to figure out which option works better for you and your business.
