Typically when interacting with a website or web service, users have a particular task in mind that they need to accomplish. If the website has been designed well, it will support the user in accomplishing that task and will help to deliver on business objectives for the website as well.
However, it’s not uncommon to find a barrier between the task that the user wants to accomplish and the way in which the business wants that task to be accomplished. Those barriers can be web forms.
Indeed, despite the importance of web forms in terms of website usability they are often overlooked and given only passing consideration towards the end point in web development projects. In addition, it is not unusual for multiple forms to be developed in isolation, leading to a lack of coherence in how they are presented. This in turn can add to end user frustration.
As expectations of what a website can do increases, the features that are added to websites often become unavoidably complex. Forms are used for all types of online user interaction from e-commerce to interaction with government. Still, ‘ease of use’ is often not considered adequately. One question that should be asked is if ‘progressive engagement’ can be used. That is to say, do you need all information upfront from the user, or can they augment their data over time as and when it is required by the system for particular transactions/interactions?
Much of what we would recommend is also premised on the kind of thinking enshrined in the Government Digital Service (GDS) Design Principles. We would recommend reading these in conjunction with this document.