Here are a few simple ways to help you get started with form testing:
1. Ensure Form Readability
You must ensure that each detail in your form is eligible. Check for font size, color contract, background color, and the overall theme of the form. The style of your form should be simple, easy to read, and eye-catching.
2. Check for Form Functionality
It is also important to check form functionality. Start by checking validation by setting requirements for each field on your form. The forms won’t be submitted if the users fill out fields containing errors. This allows businesses to gather accurate information.
Ensure that you don’t overuse validation and requirements because the last thing you want is to annoy the users. For example, there is no need to limit the number of characters users can use in the “country field.”
3. Review Form Design, Copy, Call-To-Action, and Requirements
It is also important to test the effectiveness of forms in form testing. This can be done by taking into account four key elements of a form that are as follows:
- Design: The overall design of the form should be modern and easy to understand. The length of the form should not be too long. There is no standard size for building a form. It should simply fit your requirements and allow you to gather meaningful data from potential customers.
- Copy: Ensure that you have a clear purpose and simple instructions for filling out the form. The form copy should set the expectations.
- CTA: Call-to-action is a design element that prompts users to respond immediately and encourages them to take the desired action. This is one of the most important elements of an online form which can be enhanced by choosing the right design elements such as size, color, and form copy.
- Requirements: While building a form, you might be tempted to set all the elements as “required .” However, this might not be feasible for your audience. So. it is important to test the pre-filled fields and form requirements suitable for your audience.
4. Check for Form Usability and Accessibility
The next step is to check form usability and accessibility, which involves ensuring that each actionable form detail is functioning properly, such as tick boxes, input fields, pre-filled fields, question fields, etc. Website owners must ensure that there are no aspects of the form hindering the visitor’s ability to fill out the form and that they can fill out the forms as intended.
The form should be mobile and desktop friendly and easy to comprehend and navigate through. You must also check out what the form sounds like on a screen reader. There are various free screen reader tools available online for this purpose.
5. Ensure that the Form is Free of Technical Errors
The next step is to ensure that there are no technical errors in your form, which involves checking that each area of the form is working and does not malfunction when a visitor clicks on a particular option. Any errors found should be fixed before the form is released. You must also test error messages which are notifications informing the reader that they have missed a required field or added incorrect information.
6. Test Conditional Questions on Your Form
Conditional questions or fields are present to make the form-filling experience convenient for the users. Conditional form fields are fields that appear or hide based on the user’s response to particular fields within a form. For example, if a customer selects “no” to a question asking them if they would like to be contacted, the subsequent field requiring email details would automatically disappear.
7. Ensure that the Submission Message or Thank You Page is Working
It is important to have a submission thank you message at the end of the form-filling process to thank the users for taking the time to fill the form and confirm that the website owner has received the form. This message should also inform the visitor about the next step of the process.
8. Test Email Notifications
If you have enabled email notifications to the users filling out the form, it is important to ensure that these notifications are being sent properly. It is also essential to review the subject line and the body of the message itself.
9. Test Form Submissions or Trial Run of Your Form
After you have checked the functionality of all the elements of your form, it is time to conduct a trial run from the user’s perspective. This is just a step to ensure that each detail is present and that there are no errors or issues you have missed.
10. Check Third Party Integrations
Third-party integrations in online forms transfer the data from your online form into another tool; for example, you can integrate the form with an email marketing platform, transaction processing tools, etc. If you have set this up, it is important to ensure that they are working and your information is being passed on as required.
If the information is transferred to another tool based on the answers provided by the user in the online form itself, you must ensure that you have tested each of these fields by submitting different answers. For example, if you are checking a donation form that you have integrated with a third-party transaction processor, there may be several payment options for the user, for instance, one-time donations or monthly donations. In this case, you will have to check the form for one-time and monthly donations and ensure that all the information is being pulled through as required.
11. Clearing Test Submissions
After ensuring that all of your fields are working properly, the last step is to clear out all the submissions you have made while conducting these tests. This involves clearing up any emails from your list, refund payments made while testing, or any other information you have sent to conduct the test.