As a WordPress expert with over 15 years of experience, I‘ve seen many site owners struggle with form abandonment issues.
After troubleshooting hundreds of sites, I‘ve discovered some easy ways to properly track and reduce form abandonment.
In this detailed guide, I‘ll share everything I‘ve learned to help you boost conversions.
Contents
What is Form Abandonment and Why Care About It?
Form abandonment is when a visitor leaves your site without completing a form. This could be a contact form, email signup, checkout form, or any other call-to-action.
According to Baymard Institute, the average shopping cart abandonment rate is a whopping 69.57%.
This means over two-thirds of potential sales are lost due to users abandoning forms.
The numbers are likely similar for other important forms like email newsletter signups. If your form abandonment rate is high, you‘re leaving a ton of money on the table.
By tracking form abandonment and optimizing your forms, you can recover many of these lost conversions. Just a small improvement in form completion rates can massively impact your bottom line revenue.
Step 1: Track Form Abandonment Rates in WordPress
In order to reduce form abandonment, you first need to track it. Here are two easy ways to monitor form abandonment rates in WordPress:
Use Google Analytics and MonsterInsights
The best way is with MonsterInsights, the most popular Google Analytics plugin.
With the MonsterInsights form tracking addon enabled, you‘ll get detailed reporting on:
- Form impressions
- Form conversions
- Form abandonment rates
- Pages with the most abandoned forms
This will shine a light on exactly which forms need to be optimized.
Check Form Plugin Entry Data
If you use a form builder like WPForms or Gravity Forms, check the raw form entry data.
Look for partially completed entries where users exited prematurely.
The form plugin itself may also provide reporting on abandonment rates. WPForms has a form abandonment addon for example.
Now that you can identify forms with high abandonment rates, it‘s time to dig into why and optimize them.
Step 2: Identify Reasons for Abandoned Forms
There are a many reasons users may abandon forms, including:
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Slow page speed – Even 1 second of delay causes up to a 7% drop in conversions according to Google research. Use a tool like Pingdom or GTmetrix to test form page speed. Optimize images, caching, CDNs etc to improve performance.
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Long forms – The longer your form, the more likely users will abandon it. Try limiting forms to only essential fields. You can also break up long forms into multiple pages.
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Distractions – Eliminate distractions like ads or unnecessary content around your form. Use distraction-free form landing pages when possible.
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Design friction – Difficult navigation, confusing headings, and poor layout cause friction. Simplify your form‘s design and make key actions obvious.
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Lack of trust – Users may distrust giving up their data without knowing who you are. Add trust indicators like security badges, testimonials, or a privacy policy link.
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Technical errors – Buggy forms, validation issues, and error messages will quickly drive users away. Thoroughly test forms and fix any technical problems.
Knowing exactly why users are abandoning each form will let you pinpoint issues and optimize effectively.
Step 3: 7 Ways to Reduce Form Abandonment
Here are my top tips for dramatically reducing form abandonment rates on your WordPress site:
1. Improve Page Speed
Faster loading forms will get more completions. Here are some ways to speed up form landing pages:
- Optimize images – compress, resize, and lazy load images
- Enable caching – a caching plugin can significantly reduce load times
- Minify CSS/JS – condense CSS and JS files using a plugin like Autoptimize
- Use a CDN – distribute assets globally via a content delivery network
- Limit redirects – eliminate unnecessary redirects on form pages
- Upgrade web hosting – faster hosting improves site speed
Test different speed optimizations until you find the right combination for each form page.
2. Shorten Long Forms
Long forms increase abandonment rates. Here are some ways to shorten forms:
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Remove unnecessary fields – Only include essential info you absolutely need from users to provide your offering.
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Break into multiple pages – Split long forms into shorter, more manageable pages with clear progress bars.
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Only ask one question per page – For extremely long forms, try paginating each question separately.
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Offer guest checkout – Eliminate account creation to remove extra steps from checkout.
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Progressively profile – Only ask for essentials upfront. Gather additional info later once the user is more engaged.
The shorter you can make forms, the better conversion rates you‘ll see.
3. Reduce Form Friction
Any point of friction where users struggle will cause more abandonment. Here are some ways to reduce form friction:
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Simplify navigation – use clear next/back buttons so users always know where they are.
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Improve page flow – arrange form pages in a linear, logical progression.
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Reduce cognitive load – avoid complicated language and excessive questions per page.
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Prioritize key fields – place the most important info you need at the top.
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Auto-advance for short pages – don‘t make users click next on single question pages.
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Prefill info when possible – prefilling emails or locations reduces typing.
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Offer form saving – allow users to save progress and return later to complete.
The more seamless you can make form completion, the better conversion rates you‘ll see.
4. Build Trust
Users need to trust you before handing over their information. Some ways to build form trust include:
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Add a privacy policy – explain how user data will be handled.
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Use security badges – display visual trust indicators like McAfee SECURE or Norton.
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Show testimonials – display social proof from happy customers.
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Introduce your team – photos, bios and a contact page builds rapport.
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Explain value – clearly tell users what they‘ll get by completing your form.
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Limit required fields – only make essential info required to reduce friction.
Giving users signals that it‘s safe to complete your form makes them more likely to convert.
5. Fix Technical Issues
Bugs, validation errors, and other technical issues will quickly drive users away. Be sure to thoroughly test forms and confirm:
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Mobile friendliness – form works smoothly cross-device.
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Validation – appropriate real-time validation and error messages.
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Confirmation – users see a success message upon completion.
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Notifications – you receive submissions without issues.
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Data capture – form info integrates with your CRM or email marketing system.
6. Use Conversion Optimization Tools
Conversion optimization software provides powerful tools to reduce abandonment:
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Exit-intent popups – display targeted offers as users are leaving.
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Form analytics – track user behavior to identify drop off points.
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Heatmaps – see where users are clicking to pinpoint issues.
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A/B testing – try variations to determine what converts best.
Tools like OptinMonster give you the insight needed to continuously improve forms.
7. Follow Up with Abandoned Leads
Recover leads who previously abandoned your forms by following up:
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Send an email reminder – entice them to return with special offers.
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Retarget with ads – dynamically display ads to visitors who abandoned.
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Call high-value leads – a personal call may convert those close to purchasing.
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Offer live chat – invite them back with an instant messaging prompt.
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Send direct mail – physical mailed offers can grab more attention.
With multiple channels of outreach, you can still capture some conversions from abandoned form submissions.
Conclusion
By tracking and optimizing abandoned forms, I‘ve been able to improve conversion rates tremendously for both myself and my clients over the years.
I hope this guide gives you a methodology to start identifying and troubleshooting form abandonment issues on your own WordPress site.
Please feel free to reach out if you have any other questions! I‘m always happy to help fellow site owners increase their conversions and revenue.
