How to Create High-Converting Multi-Page Forms in WordPress (2023)
Are you looking to collect more leads and signups on your WordPress site? Do your forms have daunting long lists of fields that scare visitors away?
If so, you should consider breaking up those lengthy forms into user-friendly multi-page forms instead. Splitting forms across multiple pages makes them feel more digestible, leading to higher completion rates.
In this in-depth guide, we‘ll show you how to easily create multi-page forms in WordPress using the best form plugins. We‘ll also share some advanced tips and techniques to make your multi-step forms as effective as possible.
Why Use Multi-Page Forms in WordPress?
On the surface, multi-page forms require more clicks than single-page forms. So why bother with them? Here are a few key reasons:
- Less Intimidating
A long form with dozens of fields is daunting to your site visitors. It requires a bigger commitment to start filling it out.
Breaking that same form into multiple shorter pages makes the process feel more manageable. Users can tackle it in small bites without feeling overwhelmed.
- Higher Completion Rates
Multi-page forms almost always get higher completion rates compared to stuffing all those fields onto one page.
When a user has already filled out the first page or two of a form, they have some momentum and are more likely to see it through. This is due to the psychological principle of commitment and consistency.
- Collect More Information
Because multi-page forms get more completions, they allow you to collect more data from your visitors. You can ask additional questions without tanking your conversion rates.
Multi-page forms work great for lead generation, complex surveys, user onboarding flows, and any scenario where you need to gather a lot of information.
- Better User Experience
Breaking up your forms improves their usability, especially on mobile devices. Large forms can look awkward on smartphone screens, requiring lots of scrolling.
Well-designed multi-step forms are easier to interact with, since they present information in small, logical chunks. A prominent progress indicator also helps users know where they stand.
The Best WordPress Plugins for Multi-Page Forms
To create multi-page forms on your WordPress site, you‘ll need the help of a capable forms plugin. Here are some of the best options that support multi-page forms:
- WPForms
WPForms is the most beginner-friendly WordPress form plugin. Its drag-and-drop builder lets you effortlessly create forms and add page breaks with no code required.
WPForms offers advanced multi-page form features like progress bars, conditional logic, and partial form submission. It‘s an excellent all-around choice.
- Gravity Forms
Gravity Forms is another powerful WordPress form builder with multi-page form support. It lets you create multi-page forms with a variety of progress indicator formats.
It also supports conditional logic, so you can show or hide fields based on previous answers. This helps keep your multi-page forms streamlined and relevant.
- Formidable Forms
Formidable Forms is a feature-rich form builder that offers multi-page forms, conditional logic, and tons of form field options. You can create forms with as many pages as you‘d like.
It also includes calculators, user-submitted post forms, quiz makers, and other advanced features that can enhance your multi-step forms.
- Ninja Forms
Ninja Forms offers an intuitive drag-and-drop interface for building multi-page WordPress forms. It lets you choose from various types of progress bars and form field layouts.
It integrates with popular email marketing and payment platforms so you can use multi-step forms for newsletter signups and online ordering.
How to Create a Multi-Page Form in WordPress (Step by Step)
For this tutorial, we‘ll use WPForms to build a multi-page form, since it‘s the most user-friendly WordPress form plugin. Here‘s how to set it up step by step:
Install and activate the WPForms plugin. You‘ll need at least the "Pro" plan to access multi-page form features.
Go to WPForms > Add New to launch the form builder interface.
Select a template as a starting point or choose the Blank Form option to build from scratch.
Drag and drop the form fields you want to include from the left panel. You can add anything from simple text and dropdown fields to more advanced fields.
To split your form across pages, drag and drop a Page Break field from the Fancy Fields section between the form fields where you want to start a new page.
Click on the Page Break field to customize the label. This appears as the text on the button that takes users to the next page of the form.
Click on the First Page / Progress Indicator field at the top to choose a progress bar style. Options include circles, a rectangular progress bar, and connectors.
If desired, set up conditional logic rules by clicking on a field and going to the Logic tab. This lets you show or hide fields based on how a user answered a previous question.
Once you‘ve built out your complete multi-page form, click Save.
To add your form to a page or post, click the Embed button and select Create New Page. Give your form page a name and click Let‘s Go.
Alternatively, you can embed your form manually by placing the WPForms block in the WordPress editor and selecting your form.
Publish your page or post and visit your site to see your multi-page form in action!
This is just a quick example of how to create a multi-page form with one form plugin. The other WordPress form plugins mentioned earlier in this guide use a similar drag-and-drop process.
Advanced Tips to Optimize Your Multi-Page Forms
Want to make your multi-step forms as user-friendly and high-converting as possible? Here are some advanced tips:
- Use a Question-at-a-Time Format
The typical multi-page form presents a few form fields on each page. But an even more engaging approach is to display one question at a time.
This makes your form feel more like an interactive conversation than an impersonal set of boxes to fill in. You can set this up with the WPForms Conversational Forms addon.
- Enable Partial Form Submissions
About 81% of people who start filling out a form never complete it. That‘s a lot of lost leads.
Partial form submission lets you capture a user‘s progress even if they abandon your form partway through. You can follow up with them later to recover those partial leads.
WPForms and other plugins make this easy with form abandonment addons that save partial entries.
- Make It Mobile-Friendly
Over half of all internet traffic comes from mobile devices these days. So if your multi-page forms aren‘t optimized for smartphones, you‘re losing out on a lot of potential conversions.
Make sure your forms are fully responsive and easily clickable on mobile. Keep font sizes large enough to read on small screens. Use large buttons for "Next" and "Previous".
- Design for Accessibility
About 12-20% of people have some form of disability that can affect their internet use, whether visual, hearing, cognitive, or motor impairment.
Build your forms with accessibility in mind, following the WCAG guidelines. This ensures that all visitors can easily understand and interact with your multi-step forms.
- Keep Forms Focused
The more focused and relevant your forms are, the better they‘ll convert. Resist the temptation to stuff your multi-page forms with every field you can think of.
If a question isn‘t absolutely necessary to accomplish your form‘s purpose, consider leaving it out. Use conditional logic to hide fields that don‘t apply based on a user‘s previous answers.
- Test and Iterate
Don‘t just build your multi-step form and forget it. For the best results, you should continuously test and optimize your forms based on real-world usage data.
Try A/B testing different form lengths, page break placements, and progress bar designs to see which combinations get the most completions. Analyze where users are dropping off and streamline those steps.
Conclusion
Multi-page forms are a powerful tool for boosting signups and gathering in-depth information from your WordPress site‘s visitors.
By breaking up long forms into bite-size chunks, you‘ll make your forms more welcoming and improve completion rates. The multi-page format is ideal for any form that requires more than a handful of fields.
Follow the steps in this guide to build an effective multi-page WordPress form with a plugin like WPForms. Then implement the optimization tips to make your forms as user-friendly and high-converting as possible.
With a well-crafted multi-step form, you‘ll be able to collect more leads and useful data while providing a better experience for your visitors.
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