Advice right at the product
Articles that need explaining generate questions. If the question comes through a contact page, the one thing it is about is missing.
Nine forms from practice
Not eight variants of the same contact form, but eight jobs that show different things: conditions, assignments, limits on the field, and uploads.
Before the purchase
A volume enquiry for business customers
Volume pricing on request is common. What is uncommon is a request containing everything a quote needs.
An appointment request with fixed time slots
A preferred appointment is only usable once it fits the opening hours. That can be set on the field instead of sorted out afterwards.
Uploading artwork
Personalised goods need a file from the customer. The email route works until somebody sends a 40 MB file.
After the purchase
A query about an order
With queries about an order, most of the time goes on finding out which order is meant. In the customer account the form already knows.
A revocation form with an order reference
Revocation has to be possible, and it should be traceable. Both get easier when the form sits where the order is already known.
Alongside the shop
A contact form that asks for the order number
Half of all contact requests are about an existing order. If the form does not ask for it, the first reply does.
An application through the careers page
A careers page with a mail address on it is not an application process. A form with an upload is at least the start of one.
Registering for an event
A tasting, a workshop, a factory tour: registrations are not a purchase. They still need reliable numbers.
What the eight have in common
None of them needs a line of source code.
One of nine: product advice, with two conditions and the twelve-column grid in two splits.
The same building blocks
23 field types, 8 content elements, 2 structure elements. The difference between the eight forms lies in the selection, not in the tool.
Fields that listen
Most of these forms show or hide something. That is the difference between a short form and one that only looks short.
Three routes to the page
Block in a shopping experience, assignment on the product, assignment on the order. Which route fits is decided by the job.