Ah, the humble form: the unsung hero of the digital landscape. Whether you’re building your email list, gathering petition signatures, or raising money, well-designed forms can be one of the most important tools your organization has at its disposal. The good news: Building a powerful form doesn’t have to be difficult — especially when you have tools (for example, the BSD Tools) that will meet you halfway.
Here are five easy ways to improve conversions on your BSD Tools forms:
1. Don’t get in the way of “Submit”
Multiple studies on form conversion have shown that the more you get in the way of a supporter clicking “submit,” the more you decrease the likelihood of getting that coveted conversion.
In practice, this generally means you should make your forms shorter. While that might sound easy, it can be tempting to get overzealous on the data collection when you’re eager to learn more about your supporters. How can you optimize for shorter forms while still getting the information you need?
It’s time to Marie Kondo your forms. Look at each field, and ask yourself critically: Does this field spark joy? Does it need to be a required field? If the answer is yes, keep it. If the answer is no, consider whether it’s valuable to keep on the form at all. You might consider capturing further information on your users in Step 2 to lower the barriers in Step 1.
You can also speed up the user experience by enabling QuickDonate on donation forms. When supporters enroll in QuickDonate, BSD Tools will save their information and offer express checkout options on all future donation forms. With a QuickDonate link in an email, the supporter doesn’t even need to land on a form to make their donation.
2. When your form can’t be shorter, make it smarter
You can’t always make your forms shorter. In cases where you need that extra information, there are ways to add those extra form fields without killing conversions.
The good news? A few best practices — and a good form building tool — can make your forms smarter without much extra work.
- Use tools with a good memory: The BSD Tools will always remember user data after a form submission so that we can continue to autofill that data on all future forms opened in that browser.
- Use a layout that’s easy to navigate: Using a clear layout can increase conversion rates upwards of 30-50%. Try the premade layouts included in the BSD Tools, including a version that breaks up fields into separate tabs.
3. Create a sense of urgency
Creating a sense of urgency is the oldest trick in the book when it comes to online conversions — for good reason. It has been proven time and time again to carry supporters over the line from “maybe” to “yes.” Here are some tricks of the trade to encourage supporters along:
- Answer the question, “Why now?”: Are you trying to prevent a piece of legislation from getting passed? Do you have an event coming up? Is one of your projects temporarily on hold until you can raise more money? Give supporters the context of why you need their participation today.
- Show the clock ticking: Showing a countdown clock on your form is the perfect tool to communicate key deadlines to your supporters. Luckily, a countdown clock is one of many features built into the BSD Tools Formbuilder.
4. Prioritize a mobile-friendly experience
It’s no secret that your supporters are hooked to their phones. Whether you’re linking out to your forms on social, email, or your website, a large percentage of that traffic will be mobile.
We know how important this is, so we’re here to support you with a few of our fan-favorites:
- Cross-Device Previews: We have form preview modes for desktop, tablet, and mobile so that you can check out your forms all in one place.
- Mobile-Optimized Layout: The BSD Tools layouts featured in the formbuilder all come optimized for mobile out-of-the-box without any additional development work.
5. Provide your supporters’ preferred payment options
Services like Apple Pay can turn a lengthy checkout or donation process into a matter of just a few clicks. More and more organizations are looking into these mobile payment options to improve conversions and expedite checkouts. As more organizations and retailers build these tools into their checkout flows, customers and supporters will increasingly expect these payment options to be available.
Fun fact: Starting this spring, all donation forms built in the BSD Tools formbuilder will be automatically packaged with mobile payment options. Our forms will automatically detect donors enrolled in Apple Pay and offer a custom layout to expedite checkout.
The BSD Tools would love to help your organization make your forms more effective. Click here to schedule a demo and learn more about optimizing your forms today.
