8 Ways to Improve Your Montessori School’s Online Form Page

We often underestimate the importance of optimizing the online form page on a Montessori school website. After all, what more can you do here besides add a form and hoping people will fill it out? Most schools will focus on optimizing other pages on their website to drive people to the online form page. They forget if a prospective parent sees something that discourages them from filling out the actual form, it will render their efforts pointless. So, what can you do? How do you create online form pages that encourage conversion? Let’s find out.

1. Keep the Form Simple

A website visitor who arrives on your contact form page is clearly interested in learning more about your Montessori school. However, they are also in a rush, and you don’t want to drive them away with an overly complicated form. The more fields your form has, the fewer people are likely to fill it out.

You should narrow things down to what’s essential and only ask for the information that you need to move to the next step. Once a parent has provided you with their contact information, you can always ask for more details later.

2. Highlight What Is Required

It’s also important to highlight the mandatory information that a parent is required to provide. This would typically include their name, address, contact number, and email address.

You can ask for other information like their profession and where they heard about your Montessori school, but keep it optional. There’s a good chance a parent may not be willing to provide this information, and you don’t want to lose them over something you can find out later.

3. Create a User-Friendly Error Message

Filling out a form only to get an error message can be very frustrating. A lot of the time, the prospective parent may not want to go through it all again and will abandon the form altogether. Creating a user-friendly error message can be helpful here.

Instead of leaving a message like “you must fill out all required fields,” consider using something more specific. For example, if the parent did not fill out their email address, the error message could say, “please fill out your email address.” This way, the parent would know what they missed and can easily complete the form.

4. Cache the Form Data

When you create online form pages, it is helpful to introduce a session or cookie variable that allows the page to save the data inputted into the form. Most online forms can be prone to user errors and introducing a way that allows the inputs to get saved can offer a better user experience.

Some common errors include a parent’s web browser malfunctioning or the parent accidentally exiting the page. In such cases, they may need to revisit your website and fill out the form from scratch. Some parents may not want to do this. However, if the page has saved the data they provided earlier, it can improve your chances of the form getting completed.

5. Add a Strong Call to Action and Avoid Cancel Buttons

Most forms have an option that says “Submit” at the end. This can be ineffective, and you should consider adding a stronger Call-to-Action in the end. You could add something like “Sign Up Now” or “Join Our Newsletter.”

If you are offering a free resource in exchange for a parent’s contact information, you can also add something like “Get Your Free Download.” This type of subliminal messaging motivates the parent to complete the form.

Some forms also have a “Cancel” button. This can have a negative impact on the parent, and they might opt out of filling the form instead. As we mentioned earlier, even if a parent has landed on your online form page, a slight nudge in the wrong direction can cause them to abandon the idea altogether. That’s what a Cancel button does, and we suggest you avoid using it.

6. Ensure User Privacy

You should add a message, in the end, clarifying that any information shared in the form will be protected and won’t be shared with anyone else. You can add a 2-line disclaimer here or link parents to your privacy policy that helps them understand how your Montessori school will use their data.

7. Link to a Confirmation Page

It often happens, when you fill out a form, there’s no confirmation message. Even if the information went through, a parent ends up feeling confused if they spent all that time over nothing. This hurts their overall user experience and delivers a bad impression.

That’s why, when you create online form pages, you should link it to a confirmation page that tells parents they have filled out the form successfully. It can say something like, “Thank you! We have received your request and will be in touch with you as soon as possible!”

You can also send a confirmation email.

8. Optimize Your Online Form Page for Mobile

Your online form page needs to be optimized for mobile users. Given that mobile devices have generated 54.8% of global website traffic in 2021, missing out on this will cause you to lose out on several potential leads.

To avoid this, we recommend testing this page by opening it on an iPhone or an Android phone. Are you able to see the complete form? Can visitors see all the information clearly? Is the form easy to fill out and submit? Is the user experience the same as what you’d expect if you fill out the form on a desktop?

Create Online Form Pages: Key Takeaways

If you want to create online form pages and do it effectively, we suggest you keep the form simple and easy to fill out, protect user privacy, and cache the form data to improve the submission rate. You should also use user-friendly error messages that let parents know if they missed filling out a required field. Finally, we suggest making sure the online form is easy to fill out on mobiles, desktops, and tablets. Always add a strong CTA at the end of the form too.

If you need help creating an effective online form page, contact our team and let us help you out!

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