What is a sign-up form?

A sign-up form is a way to gather basic information, such as email addresses and phone numbers, from website visitors. Subscribers complete sign-up forms to receive newsletters or promotions, access services, or get exclusive offers.

How to create an effective sign-up form

Follow these guidelines to build a sign-up form for your website:

1. Choose your offer

It’s no secret that incentives are the best way to grow your email list. But if your economics don’t allow for massive discounts, you can get creative about the type of incentive you offer in exchange for audience data.

Consider offering:

  • A promo code for a coupon
  • A gift with purchase
  • Access to exclusive content
  • The chance to win a prize

2. Choose the right type of sign-up form

Select which sign-up form style makes sense for your audience, website, and brand:

Each style has its advantages and potential drawbacks. Choose the one that aligns with your goals and provides a smooth experience for your audience.

3. Create your form

Follow these best practices to build your sign-up form:

  1. Emphasize the benefit of signing up in the header.
  2. Keep the form short and with as few fields as possible.
  3. Introduce the form with a sentence about what people can expect after signing up.
  4. Customize the form depending on its location (for example, your blog versus your store).
  5. Opt for multi-step forms to collect more information than an email address.

4. Configure your sign-up form’s settings

Determine when, where, and to whom the forms will appear. To decide on the location and timing, consider the entire customer journey, including the content and actions that precede and follow the form.

5. Test and optimize your sign-up form

Conduct A/B tests with different versions of your sign-up form to reveal what your visitors respond to the best. To prevent confusion, change only one variable at a time, such as:

  • Incentive
  • The number of questions or fields
  • Copy
  • CTA copy
  • Design
  • Triggers or timing
  • Placement

Turn to analytics, such as opt-in or conversion rates, to determine the winner. 

6. Use a double opt-in to confirm the sign-up

Include a Thank You screen or pop-up to show your appreciation.

If you’re collecting phone numbers for SMS initiatives, ask new subscribers to confirm their choice with a keyword opt-in reply (usually “YES”). For email, send a follow-up message that asks them to confirm their email address by clicking on a link. Not only does this show respect for your audience, but it also reduces hard bounces by making sure all the contact information on your lists is valid.

After a person signs up and confirms, send a welcome email or initiate a welcome flow. To streamline these processes and improve efficiency, choose a marketing platform that automatically sends messages based on a set of criteria. 

Klaviyo is a marketing automation platform with over 50 sign-up form templates and a simple drag-and-drop form builder. With Klaviyo, you can quickly build an impactful sign-up form with AI-powered form display optimization.

Sign up for Klaviyo today and create sign-up forms that convert.

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