Sign-up forms and free content
Many web sites offer free content in the form of videos and podcasts but before allowing the user access, some ask for an email address or a whole load of personal information. In this video I look at BankInfoSecurity.com's web site and how they get the process completely wrong.
You can watch the video here. (26.2mb, 7 minutes 35 seconds)
You will need Quicktime to watch this video.
In my opinion it is much better to allow people in and consume your free content without asking for any personal information. If they are disappointed by your content or it was not what they were looking for then they can click away without having invested the time in filling in your registration form. Also they will leave secure in the knowledge that they haven't given you anything, so won't be getting any emails that they are really not interested in.
If you are creating a sign up form then you need to ask for the barest minimum of information needed and if you can stream line the entering of the information so much the better. It is possible to determine with a high degree of accuracy where an internet user is in the world, so this part of the form can be pre-filled. Also there are tools that can take a post code and fill in most of the address fields. Usually the user only needs to enter their house number.
Other sites are making the effort to keep users happy. Even if these other sites don't compete directly with you, user expectation is growing each day. Once they have had it easy, a hard to fill in form sticks out and annoys. Don't be that annoying site.
At Hidden Agenda Ltd we can take the pain out of form filling and stream line the process of capturing users and converting them to repeat customers over many years. You can contact us here.