A customer wants to get prices from a few companies to move house or renovate a kitchen. They open your site, press "Get a Quote", and face a form with eighteen boxes: first name, surname, phone, email, address, square meters, budget, date, number of floors... By the third box they're bored, close the page and call the next company. You never hear from them again.
On another business's site the form may be the opposite: just a single "Your message" box. This time the messages that arrive are one-liners like "How much does it cost?", with no clue what job it's for, and you have to call back and ask questions every time. In this article I explain how a quote request form should work for your business, what a "step-by-step form" is, and what to ask your designer for.
Why does the quote request form matter so much?
The quote request form is one of the most valuable pages on your site, because it's where the visitor moves from "just looking" to "I'd like to work with you". If you've spent money and effort on ads or Google rankings and then lose customers at this point, the last step of all that effort is wasted.
A good form does two things at once: it's easy for the customer to fill in, and it brings you enough information to quote. These two goals pull against each other. Ask too little and the inquiry is useless; ask too much and no inquiry arrives.
Single-page form versus step-by-step form
A single-page form shows all the questions at once. A step-by-step form splits the questions into small groups: first "what do you need", then "where and when", finally "how can we reach you". A progress bar shows the customer how far they have left to go.
| Single-page form | Step-by-step form | |
|---|---|---|
| Suits | Jobs needing little information (name, phone, short note) | Quotes that need a lot of detail |
| How it feels to the customer | Quick, but daunting if long | Lighter, in small pieces |
| Your advantage | Simple and easy to set up | More qualified, detailed inquiries |
| Risk | Abandoned if it gets long | Abandoned too if there are too many steps |
So a step-by-step form isn't magic; it makes a long form feel less tiring but doesn't remove unnecessary questions. Adopt this rule: first cut the questions, then split what's left into steps.
How do you assess the form on your site?
You can run this check yourself:
- Try filling in the form on a phone as a customer would. How many seconds or minutes did it take?
- For each question, ask: "Could I quote without this information?" If the answer is "yes", it can probably be dropped or asked later by phone.
- Are there too many required fields? Every starred box is a barrier.
- What does it say when there's an error? A meaningless "Invalid input", or a sentence that tells you which field to fix and how?
- What happens after sending? A screen saying "Thank you, we'll call you today", or a page where nothing seems to happen?
- Do inquiries from the form actually reach you? Send a test in your own name and check.
The last one causes more trouble than you'd expect. A form can be broken for months and you only notice when a customer complains.
What should you ask, and what shouldn't you?
At first contact, ask only for what's needed to start the quote:
- Which service or job?
- Rough scope (for example home or office, approximate size)?
- When, or by what date?
- How should we reach you: phone, WhatsApp or email?
You can leave detailed information (budget range, exact measurements, file uploads) for a second step, and making them optional is also a good approach. Be careful with the budget question: some customers find it rude and abandon the form. If you must ask, make it an "approximate range" and optional.
What should you ask your designer for?
- "Let's go through every question on the form and remove those that aren't really needed."
- "It should be comfortable to fill in on a phone, with the right keyboard opening (such as a number pad for phone numbers)."
- "If it has steps, the customer should see which step they're on and how much is left, and be able to go back."
- "After sending, a clear thank-you screen should appear and I should get a notification."
- "The form should be tested automatically every day, or at least manually once a month."
- "Let's measure how many people start the form and how many finish it."
That last one shows where the form loses customers. If many people give up at step two, for instance, the question there is the problem.
What happens after the form?
Even a perfect form loses customers if your reply is slow. A person requesting a quote has usually written to more than one company, and the first to reply has the advantage. So make sure you're notified immediately when an inquiry arrives and aim to respond the same day where you can. Rather than promising it, state an honest timeframe: "We usually reply within one working day."
Frequently asked questions
Does every business need a step-by-step form?
No. For jobs needing little information, such as a hairdresser appointment, a short single-page form is enough. A step-by-step form makes more sense for quotes that need detail, such as removals, renovations or business services.
Are a phone number and WhatsApp enough instead of a form?
For some businesses, yes, especially urgent local services. Still, not everyone wants to talk on the phone; a form or message option lets you reach more people.
Is there a guaranteed way to increase form completions?
There's no guarantee. But removing unnecessary questions, making it easy on a phone and giving a clear response after sending usually help. After the change, compare the number of inquiries over a few weeks with the previous period.
Does spam make forms harder to fill in?
You do need ordinary protection against bots, but methods like making customers pick pictures or answer tricky questions drive people away. Ask your designer for protection that is invisible and doesn't tire the customer.
Closing thoughts
Your quote form is like the till of your website: when the customer has come this far, keep the door open and the process easy. To make your form simple, comfortable on a phone and reliably working, take a look at my website design service.