Welcome!

[vrish88]

Hello everybody,

I have a form that requires the user to enter a lot of information in order to register for our service. I was wondering, from a usability standpoint, would it be better to split the form up between several different pages or to simply divide the form into sections on one page?

Thanks!

[JoranQ]

Break it up in several pages, I would say.. As long as you display a summary of inputs before submitting. I'd hate to scroll, but I'd also hate to fill in one thousand questions and randomly submit it, if you know what I mean...

[Lethalogica]

I'd say get rid of some of your required information. Nobody likes filling out pages and pages of information just to see something on a site. It's discouraging users to register. I don't know exactly what the service is or why it would need so much stuff to just register, unless it's paying for it. In which case go with multiple pages, it's the standard. But if you have 3 pages worth of form inputs for a simple user registration you're doing something wrong.

[vrish88]

Nobody likes filling out pages and pages of information just to see something on a site

I completely agree. But I have to get all this info from the user because it is a registration form for a summer sports camp. So I am have just been trying to make it as painless as possible.

But thanks for your suggestions, it does make sense to go with several pages to help to break things up.

[Lethalogica]

Ah okay that makes more sense then. Yeah multiple pages is better.

[Glnn]

Less is, ofcourse, still more in form usability...
Splitting up in multiple pages could be a good solution, as long as you give users an indication of how much more info they have to fill in (reversed breadcrumbs might be a good solution), divide all required info into topics and use some sort of javascript to verify input data..

Because I hate retyping a whole page when I forget one character.. Who doesn't..

[GabiClayton]

Here is one good recent article on the topic by Jayne Craven:
Is your online form dreadful or delightful?
http://blogs.forumer.com/jcravens/43543/

[hayley]

Do you definitely need the information on sign-up?

I've just been testing a load of accounting apps (like curdbee.com and lessaccounting.com etc.) and one of the things I've noticed is that a lot of them just ask for an e-mail address and a password, then ask the rest of the Business name etc. once you've signed up.

I found that way of doing things much more appealing. In the long run, I filled out the same amount of detail but as I'd already done the simple sign-up there was more incentive to fill it out rather than giving up and going elsewhere.

[Peter Caddy]

Depends on the form and context of the page.

Are you able to post a mockup of the page so we can see?

[popbogdan]

Forms are very complex, and should be treated accordingly. First of all, you should try to remove some items in the form, to make it as light as possible.

Next, you need to know how hard it will be for a user to type the info in there. Are you asking general information anyone would know, or some questions may require the people to look over contracts, documents etc.

If you find yourself in the second case, you should try to provide the user with a small description of the form just as they are going to it. Nobody would like to end up on the last page and see they have to input god knows what information located on a piece of paper at home, while they are on vacation 3000 miles away from home.

Now, there's always a good thing to group related content. So, if there's a few related fields, group them. If the group contains more than 15 elements, perhaps each group of the form should be separated on a different page, otherwise I don't think a multiple page design should be implemented.

If you do decide to go with multipage design, you should provide the user with a progress bar. Very important, do not lie in the progress bar. If there's 3 major steps, each requiring smaller ones, let the user know about the smaller ones before getting into your form. If you don't, most of them will drop the form for sure.

There's plenty of scenarios, and ways to make the form. The best way would be to create a few designs, and display them randomly to users for a few months. (user X sees variant X of the form. User Y sees variant Y of the form, etc). Important, is to track how many users use each type of form, and the success rate. After a couple of months, you can choose the one that provides best results.

Cheers!

[Nitin Garg]

Shorter the form is better it is.

But still, if you cant cut the content, i suggest take care of two things.

1. Find out the logical default options to speed up the process.
2. Create slight groupings in form elements itself, for e.g personal information, account details, additional info and so on, this will help user focus at one kind of information at a time and will reduce the cognitive load.

[Kaypearl]

From a potential member point of view, I hate registration. Make sure you really do need all the fields to be filled in. If not, full name, e-mail, password and DOB are the essential ones.

[Marianna]

I agree with all the above suggestions.

1. Get rid of any information that are not necessary
2. Split the form into steps and either separate the form in tab sections or from page 1 to the next pages
3. Make sure to have an indication of how many pages will follow as it is frustrating for the user not to know when this process will end!

Thanks,
Marianna