Forms

"Lowering the barrier of entry" should not be equated with "one form or many"

When considering registration/sign-up with clients, there is a spectre floating about the room, the "Lower the barrier of entry in order to prevent drop-offs" spectre. This is a very good thing. Just ten years ago, I remember being told in no uncertain terms that we had to "force" users to give us as much information as possible. What is interesting to me now though, is that this "how to lower the barrier of entry" question has started to become synonymous with "should we do one long form or multiple short forms".

Don't Lose Sight of the Single Most Important Principle

Before I give my answer to that question, I would like to take a moment to remind folks that the single best way to lower the barrier of entry is to -- ask only for the absolute minimum amount of information you need. Honestly, every other form consideration is secondary to that single guiding principle.

Think you already are? Try looking again. Or have a relative or neighbor look with you. None of my relatives create websites. They are very helpful for seeing sites with fresh eyes..

Common Reasons Folks Use Form Processes

Now, back to one form versus multiple.... Let's start by looking at the thinking behind using multiple short forms rather than one longer form.

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I have often been asked by clients about the better order for the OK and Cancel buttons. Finally, Jakob Nielsen has published an 'official' answer To sum up:

• Either is perfectly fine.
• The question is not of great concern as neither poses a big threat to usability.
• If you need a tie-breaker, go with the platform convention that most of your users are known to use.
• Generally on the web, most users are on Windows, so "OK" then "Cancel" is the platform convention to follow.

Lastly, and perhaps, most importantly, he points out:

• There are questions in usability that are, perhaps, not worth the time spent debating them

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