There is a lot more to a web form than blank boxes that need filling out.  A web form is an important information gathering tool that needs careful construction. For starters, too often the content explaining the purpose of the form is omitted.

People need to understand the reason for the information collection, as well as be given instructions on using the form.  It's important to expand a little on these two points within your forms. Depending on how you are using a web form, you may start with just stating its purpose, either in the form of a title or sentence.  For instance, a title like "Event Registration" is pretty self explanatory.  Next, you may wish to add the reason for filling out the form, ex.,  "In order to hold your seat for the next event..." - and follow with instruction - "...fill in the form below."

The samples I have used are simple, short, and sweet however, you can write a longer more enticing message above or beside your web form to help give it more substance.

Many advertisers, who link from banner ads or contextual ads, often create landing pages that further explain what was promised in the ad.  In addition, logos, icons, images and other supporting materials are often added to increase the confidence of the visitor and  entice them to fill out the form.

There are many different ways of organizing your web form page, so don't stop after the first draft.  Experimentation and trail and error with different aspects of the page will help you identify which factors contribute the most to the effectiveness of your form and improved conversion rate.

Happy web form building.

Just as much as the length of your web form can effect how many people complete it, so can the order in which you ask for the different pieces of information.

First, it's important that you ask only for the information you absolutely need to know. Refrain from asking stuff you merely think it would be nice to know.  Don't ask for the color of a person's pants unless you really need to know. The less you ask the shorter the form, the more people will fill it out. It's that simple. You may want to experiment with different degrees of detail to determine at which point the number of web form submissions declines.

Asking simple, generic questions first, gradually increasing to complex queries, saving the most personal questions for last, is a common approach for collecting data that traditional direct marketers know very well.  Most people will see a form and start filling it out from beginning to end.  By the time they reach the last few questions they tend to be more willing to bare with the more personal information requests. Having already committed some time to filling out all the other fields, they are less likely to abandon the form at this stage.

The basic rule is this - put yourself in the shoes of the visitor.  Don't make your web form complicated, don't ask too many questions and keep the most personal ones for last.

Happy web form building.