7 Of 10: Nobody Wants The Low-tech Anything, Or To Fill Out Long Forms; About Navigation:

July 8, 2007

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by israelrothman

When was the last time YOU clicked a pop up banner or a sponsored link? What makes you think anybody is going to fill out a long form with many required fields when you would not?

Nobody wants to refine a search by making complicated decisions, fill out a long form with required fields, go back when they missed one, or have anything pushed on them! So why do so many of you build requirements like this into your website?

If you want to have effective lead capture, you need to have a clear message, a clear call to action, a clear reason to inquire, and user-friendly navigation: NOT A COMPLICATED MAZE OF REQUIREMENTS, DECISIONS AND SURPRISES!

It seems so obvious, but it needs to be said; treat your visitors the way you like to be treated, and you will increase lead capture, decrease bounce rate (the rate at which people immediately leave your site after finding it), and people will spend longer receiving your message.

Clean, uncluttered pages, simple, intuitive navigation, simple, short lead capture forms, and a clear reason to use them are more effective than the former.

Think about it: suppose you actually get a few geeks from hell, or worse: competitors to fill out your long forms; what does that tell you, really, and what good is it.

If you are not going to harvest any email addresses (even when that is all you can get), or make any sales, or get any leads, why bother?

See this related forum post with examples: click here!