Should we use narrative web forms?

I present to your attention the translation of an article entitled " Should We Use Mad Libs Style Form? " By Cynthia Savard Saucier . Translated in the company UXDepot specifically for users of Habrahabr with the approval of the company Yu Centrik .

One of the main tasks that needs to be achieved when designing web forms is to help the user accomplish their tasks quickly, while gaining a positive impression. Usually we design forms, trying to make the user spend less time filling them out: we simplify them, try to keep the sequence. This reduces the cognitive load on the user and makes it possible to quickly scan the text. Despite this, it seems that over the past ten years, web forms have not changed much, and we continue to create typical web forms that have worked well.

Recently, however, we saw a new type of form appear. Usability praised by expert Yared Spool and form design guru Luc Wroblewski, narrative forms ( originally Mad Libs ) have become very popular. Let's see what it is.
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Where do the ears of narrative forms grow from?

The designer Jeremy Keith, who created the Huffduffer audio site in 2008, spoke about them for the first time. He then wrote in his blog : “Luke Wroblewski stated that the registration forms must die in terrible agony. I can’t kill them, but I’ll definitely make them as user friendly as possible. "

In such forms, the user enters all the same information. Only the form of the form is different: instead of the usual fields and their names, the user sees a form in which the fields are connected by the text from which the sentences are built.

Vivid examples of such forms can be found on these sites:

• Huffduffer
• Crowdfavorite
• Vaultpress

It should be noted that in many desktop programs this approach has been used for a long time, in an attempt to give non-programmers the opportunity to use programming languages. Just look, for example, on the form for creating a smart mailbox in Apple Mail:



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Do they really work better?

Although this format goes against all classical usability rules and regulations, it seems that it provides a higher level of conversion in the examples discussed below. To date, we know only four studies comparing narrative forms with traditional forms in conversion rates, and there are drawbacks in the methodology of almost every one of them.

Vast.com example
The hype raised the post of Luke Wroblewski, in which he wrote about Ron Kurti's application on the website Vast.com of the narrative format for the “contact me” form. A / B testing of both types of forms showed an increase in conversion of 25% -40%.

The narrative form here creates a sense of the present letter. In addition to the format change, also small changes were made to the phone input field and the comment input field.

http://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?1007



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Example Kalzumeus.com
The example can be found in the post "Lesson from the study of narrative forms: Do your own research." The opinion of the author on narrative forms can be understood from the tone of the article. He calls them "a very interesting, but stupid, design decision."

According to his research, the use of these unusual forms leads to a decrease in conversion by 22% (from 27.5% in classical forms to 21.7% in narrative forms).

This example was strongly criticized for the text and the appearance of the form. The author of the article says that he created the form in 10 minutes, and in general, it shows. In any case, the conclusion was made correct - conduct your own research!

http://www.kalzumeus.com/2010/02/27/lesson-from-madlibs-signup-fad-do-your-own-tests/



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Netmedia group
After reading the material Wroblewski, the guys from the Netmedia Group decided to conduct their own research. In his post, JR Farr wrote about the results of A / B testing on one of their landing page. They worked well on the design and the text, and as a result they got a page with a certain sense of individuality.

After a week of testing, the Netmedia Group reported a 25% conversion increase. More specifically, the new form received 4.3% conversion versus 3.4% of the old form. Unfortunately, they did not provide data on the sample number.

http://www.netmediagroup.com/blog/25-percent-lift-using-the-mad-libs-form-for-lead-gen/



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CFD Group
The CFD Group also heard about interest in new forms, and, despite their skepticism, they also decided to conduct their own A / B testing on the landing page of one financial service.

Their study was the most complete - it contains data on 1,800 visits in 20 days. According to the study, narrative forms give a 12% increase in conversion (11.8% for new forms versus 10.5% for classic forms). This, of course, is not such an impressive increase as in the first study, but still a significant improvement.

http://www.cdfnetworks.com/mad-lib-form-style-testing-results/



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So you advise them to use?

Despite the fact that the first studies speak about the effectiveness of narrative forms, there are a few more points that need to be taken into account. Looking through the articles on the Internet, searching for examples and information, we identified a number of pros and cons of using such web forms. Here are the results of our work:

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Pros:

1. This is a new, unusual, funny, eye-catching.
Even if you do not take into account changes in the conversion, attention and interest to your site is provided. Just look at the examples on the net!

2. This helps the user to read the text.
In many cases, especially for repetitive tasks, it is better to avoid forcing users to read long instructions. However, in the registration process, when transmitting a small amount of information once, providing hints that the user will read is a good way to prevent errors. For example, saying “My name is _________, and my last name is _________”, you will help users not to interchange the first and last names. The context and logical sequence inherent in the conversation, help to understand what information you want to enter.

3. It is fascinating.
Like the JR Farr of the NetMedia Group, we believe that a user who has started filling in a narrative form is more likely to complete it. Farr writes: “A good text and competent construction of a narrative form gives the user a sense of belonging and attracts him.”

4. This form is closer to the user. It is like talking to another person, not just gathering information. You are a person who lives somewhere, and not “First Name, Last Name, Address”.
Instead of requesting information in the form in which the company needs it, the narrative form presents it as it is familiar to the user from communication. This form allows you to set the tone of the dialogue you need - for example, the tone of a telephone or a live conversation. An example is the registration process by phone. It is much nicer to hear, “Good morning, may I know your name?” Instead of “Hello. Name?". It changes the tone of the conversation from "we ask you" to "you tell us about yourself."

5. The narrative form is more flexible.
In eastern Canada, most people speak two languages ​​- English and French. When translating forms from English to French, the names of some fields become too long, which makes the designer either leave a lot of space between the name and the field to make sure that in the translated version all the text fits into the space allotted to it, or to create another grid for the French option. The narrative form does not rely on the grid, and therefore the length of words in different languages ​​does not have a significant impact on its appearance.

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Minuses:

1. Reduced perception rate
Even if we do not like classic forms, we must admit that information from them is read much easier and faster. Plus, in them the field names and the fields themselves are well distinguished, reducing the likelihood that the user gets confused. With the narrative style of the form, it is difficult to estimate the number of fields in which you need to enter information, and the novice user may become confused.

2. Narrative form may not be appropriate.
The narrative form offers itself in an informal style, and therefore may be irrelevant in some situations. For example, it is difficult to imagine such a form on the website of an organization providing state insurance services. Some users may think that this form looks like a little nursery. Despite this, one bank uses this form on its website, so that possibly narrative forms can be applied in more industries than expected.

banksimple.com
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3. There may be problems with the translation
Localization can turn into a real problem. For example, if the text looks great in English, then where is the guarantee that it will look no worse in other languages? Each language has its own syntax, and the order of the fields may vary from language to language. Of course, we can paraphrase and pull the code, but traditional forms are more easily localized (however, this also has its problems, as we wrote above).

4. Narrative forms are harder to create.
For these forms, you will need extra-class text, written in a friendly style and taking into account the possibility of perception of the form by people from different countries. It should be beautifully served. On the other hand, traditional web forms are so simple and standard that even a programmer with a lack of design skills can create a good registration form.

5. This is something the user does not expect.
Forms are usually found at critical stages of user interaction (registration, ordering goods). Creating something unusual at these stages, you can lose a client or user. People can be confused when they see something they are used to, presented in a different form. Just look at the commotion that occurs at the slightest change in the Facebook interface.

6. Narrative form requires a good level of literacy.
Since there is more text there, some people may have difficulty reading and understanding such forms. This problem may exist if the user reads the form in a language that is not well known. This can even happen to those for whom the language in which the narrative form is written is native. In Canada alone, about 6 million people do not even have school skills in understanding their native language.

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Conclusion

After our research, we still have a lot of unanswered questions:
For which users is it better to use this type of web form?
In what context is this form appropriate? (business, entertainment, games)?
What restrictions do narrative forms have?
What information can be obtained with the help of narrative forms, and what - can not?

So, although this method looks promising, it requires more in-depth and detailed research and study, including using international experience.

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PS from translators : I hope you enjoyed the article. We will be happy if you point us to errors in the translation so that we can correct them promptly. Write me in PM, please :)
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