Form Problems

Form problems can frustrate your site visitor into leaving, or make them distrustful of your company.

Forms have their advantages, no doubt. They can help you to solicit information of a specific type, and they can make it easier for people who are using the internet from a computer that is not their own. But they are not foolproof, and they often have problems.

I have been on a website that was not functioning properly. I wanted to give feedback and let the web designer know what the problem was. So I clicked the Contact button, and was sent to a form, which did not work either! This was on a HUGELY prominent site, and I was shocked that they had not insured that the form actually worked.

There was no email address. No phone number. No mail address. The only way to contact them was through the form, which did not work. They effectively silenced everyone who could have informed them that the reason they never got feedback was because it did not work!

It is wise to offer more than one means of contact, just in case one does not work for some reason. A form is ONLY a convenience IF it works properly.

Some web designers will tell you that you should put in a form instead of an email address, because it will reduce spam that comes in to you from your site. That is not strictly true, and forms have security problems that your email address does not have. A spammer can use your form to send spam to other people, which will then appear to have been sent by you. This will eventually result in suspension of your hosting account by your hosting provider. Not good business. The vast majority of easy to access forms have security vulnerabilities which allow spammers to misuse them, so it is important that you only use forms that have good security. After all, a flood of spam in YOUR inbox is an annoyance. Having your server shut down because someone else abused it in your name is a serious problem.

I also have a pet peeve about companies that use shipping forms that do not allow P.O. Boxes. If they only ship UPS, or some other carrier besides the postal service, this is ok. But some will prohibit P.O. Boxes because they feel that a high number of businesses conceal their identity behind a post office box number.

The problem with that logic is that there are many many small businesses and individuals who live in rural areas, who do not HAVE street delivery. And the Post Office can refuse to deliver mail that has only the street address on it. These honest people, when faced with a form which requires a billing address or postal mail address, but which prohibits Post Office box numbers, are told in effect, to go away, that they are not welcome there.

The best solution is to ask for a billing address and a shipping address, OR, a street address in addition to a post office box. To prohibit Post Office boxes just because you don't like the way some people use them, sends a negative message to many people who have no choice.

Use forms wisely, and choose them carefully. A badly constructed form, or one that is too simply written, can cause problems for your site visitors, or problems for your business.

Written by Laura Wheeler