If your website conversions are low, have you carefully planned out the forms on your website? You could be experiencing web form abandonment. I will discuss just three common places where Just-In-Time web design is needed in your website forms.

What is Just-In-Time design? Take for example the envelope I opened yesterday. I opened this piece of mail to pay a bill. And right where I stuck my thumb in to rip it open, it read “Wouldn’t it be nice to open less mail?” My eyebrows went up, and I almost said “Yes!” out loud. That was the only statement that grabbed my attention on the entire mail item (including the Amount Due). The key was: Timing and Placement. Let’s apply this design principle to your online forms.

But first, please take about 15 minutes going through the main contact forms or e-commerce forms on your company’s website. Have you ever done this? I am surprised by how many business owners have never sat down and gone through the basic steps taken by their website users every day.

Make a note of pieces of information that are just perfect, helpful, missing, out of place, or not useful. Go back a page and then forward a page in your browser. Is the information still there? Do you need to input it all over again? Type in the wrong information or skip a required field. Click “Submit.” What happens? Are you frustrated yet? So are your website visitors. And frustrated customers will quickly abandon your site and surf elsewhere.

Using Just-In-Time Website Design for Effective Online Forms:

1. Handling Form Errors. Many forms on the web are extremely long with many required fields and special formatting requested. When these demands are not met, users get errors and become frustrated.

• If a field is required, let the user know at that point in the form, on the same line as the form field (not at the beginning or the end of the form).
• Don’t use color coding or asterisks. Who has time to read the fine print to figure it all out? It’s better to permit the user to enter less information (only what is actually necessary to process their request) and to allow for spaces, no spaces, and parentheses in account and phone numbers. But if that’s not possible, tell the person right where it’s relevant. For example: Enter your social security number (Ex: 123-45-6789).
• Ask your web designer to do dynamic error checking. That way, if the person makes a simple error, the user will be alerted to their mistake immediately at the appropriate location in the form before they go through the trouble of submitting it.

2. Offer your privacy policy when they need it. Do you read privacy policies for pleasure? No. It’s usually when you need to establish trust and figure out what on earth a company wants your home phone number and middle name for. When you ask a person for any personal information, you need to prominently link to your privacy policy right there. Let the user know up front that you won’t be selling their email address or sending them spam. Even if no one reads it, the link lets them know you care about their privacy and helps ease their mind during the form submission process.

3. Offer registration after you get users’ information. You’ve visited a beautiful website, found an amazing product, and want to quickly buy it before you have to run off to an appointment. Time is tight, and BAM! You are asked to register. You may not plan on revisiting this site, so you don’t actually want to register. This is another place where the Just-in-Time design principle comes into play.

• When a person wants to purchase a product, they should be able to enter their payment information and make the purchase quickly. After that is finished, then ask if they would like to register on your website. At that point, you already have their information, and it can automatically be applied to their registration.
• This is a much simpler, more natural and polite way to solicit registered users and your customers will appreciate you for it. They may even come back to visit your website.

These were just 3 common places where your online forms can be improved. There are dozens of places where this principle could be applied in online forms in order to improve the user experience and to drive sales.

Jamila Vaughan of Mindspring Design is a web & graphic design consultant for small businesses making your brand work for you. Contact Mindspring Design today at info@mindspringdesign.com for a consultation or analysis of your website.

As a small business owner, you are an expert in your field. You have passion, knowledge, and valuable talents to share. But how do you keep potential customers from skimming past your well-thought-out advertising, or how do you compel a past client to come and try out a fabulous, new offering?

There’s a plethora of advice on sales & marketing strategies for business owners, but I will discuss five simple ways you can visually improve your marketing materials. Educate yourself before a graphic designer proposes a new flyer. And take ho-hum, snooze-inducing brochures and posters from “Zzzzzz” to “Wow!”

1.    Choose your weapon.

First, you must choose the medium that best fits your audience. What will attract the most attention and remain in their memories? Does your industry regularly print hundreds of tri-fold brochures for customers? Print them at an irregular size with a cool fold, add more color, change the paper. If people usually gloss over your hand-written sign, try an eye catching POP display. Try placing your message on an object that is related to your business. Or, use an item that showcases your competition’s weakness and send it through the mail. Think outside the box and have fun!

2.    Make it readable.

What’s the point of a catchy tagline, well-written copy, or tempting incentive if no one can read it? I was horrified when I received a postcard from a local beauty salon – it featured a very faded photo of the salon premises covered over with light colored text. So, not only was it hard to make out the photo, but the card was completely illegible. Extremely small type, all uppercase letters, and very scripty type can also put a strain on the eyes. You want to convey personality and style, but not at the expense of good taste or readability.

3.    Choose a focal point.

A great way to induce stress and confusion in customers is to have too many things going on at once. Whether you’re ordering a business card or a three-story mural, you need a single focal point. Otherwise you risk losing a person’s interest or worse yet their business, because of pure exasperation. A skilled graphic designer will be able to draw the eye to the most important information using an amazing photo, dynamic shapes, etc.

4.    Limit font usage.

Choose a versatile typeface that reflects your business style and stick with it. You may also choose a separate typeface that offers a nice contrast. If there are 6 different typefaces, 11 different sizes, and 19 different colors going on, you will come off as very unprofessional and disorganized. Don’t do it. A graphic designer will be able to suggest appropriate typefaces and the best ways to emphasize all the important parts in your text. This will strengthen your message and unify your look.

5.    Drop the clichés and show your personality.

Gather together all the brochures, ads and flyers you can find from your competition. Do you see an underlying, cookie-cutter image or color? You may find an extent of homogeneousness because people need to instantly recognize who you are and what you do. However, don’t be afraid to drop the clichés and let your unique approach or style come through (appropriate to the context).

These are just a sampling of guidelines you can use to assess your current marketing collateral, or when creating new marketing collateral for your business. Mindspring Design has a comprehensive 62-point system for creating your customized print materials. Contact Mindspring Design today for a consultation and let your brand start working for you. And remember, you are reinvesting in your business when you take time to consult with a knowledgeable graphic designer.