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Higher education websites can become a maze of links leading key audiences to various calls to action — information requests, campus visits, and applications, to name a few. Too many of these calls to action dead end in the download of a PDF form that gets printed, emailed, or even faxed to ultimately complete the “action”. Putting business processes online means more than putting a PDF on the website, but its easier said than done. Learn more about the challenges higher education faces putting forms online, and see some real world success stories of institutions using Formstack as an online forms solution.
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Putting Web Forms Online (Beyond the PDF)
Chris Lucas and Greg ZgutaDec. 2, 2014
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#mStonerNow
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@chris_c_lucas@gzguta
@mStonerInc
#mStonerNow
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Let’s get started.• Forms in Higher Ed
• Brand Problems
• Conversion Problems
• Form Solutions
• Examples
• Questions
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Form Usage in Higher Ed
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Technology in web projects• Content Management System
• Website search
• Web event calendaring
• Analytics
• Forms
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More PDFs, more Problems• Paper, paper, and more paper (and faxes
and emails)
• Not really “online” forms
• Old forms are never removed from the site
• Search results filled with PDFs instead of web pages
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CMS Form Tools• Work directly in the CMS
• Typically don’t have stellar ease of use for content editors
• Form features are limited
• Work best for simple forms
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Custom Web Forms• Require web development resources
• No access for content editors (unless you build it)
• Often require back end solutions to work with other databases/systems
• All features must be built from the ground up
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Best of Breed Forms Tools• Offer administration tools and utilities to
manage forms and data
• Provide options for how forms are hosted on pages
• Are purpose-built to make form creation easy for content editors
• Advanced features like integrations, custom branding and analytics
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Key Decision Criteria• Self service ability for content editors
• Technical support for form creation
• Increase in higher ed websites hosted externally
• Cost versus capabilities
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Brand Problems
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Low utility for form owners and users
• Confusing—”Is this the right place?”
• Uncertainty and low confidence
• Users more likely to abandon unbranded forms
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Conversion Opportunities
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What Can Help?
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Field Bottlenecks
• Help you optimize your form
• Reveal trouble spots
• Minimize form abandonment
• Increase user satisfaction
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Example:Berkshire Community College
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Problem Overview
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Form optionsCustom web form
• Unlimited customization possibilities
• Connect form directly to Datatel export/import process
• Use server-side code to help deliver required features
Custom Formstack form
• Built-in administration tools for form submission/review/approval
• Ability to create additional forms based on the theme
• Less code/more configuration
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Solution Requirements• The form needed to have multiple pages
• Ability to have conditional steps
• Must be mobile friendly
• Must have proper required fields to ensure valid data
• Admissions needs an approval step to review submitted applications
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Design Process• Review of the existing PDF form
• Wireframe proposed new steps and fields based on new website design
• Development of HTML/CSS for a theme within Formstack
• Quality assurance with web team and Admissions prior to launch
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Implementation• Mapping of fields to Datatel Colleague
database
• Development of CSS and Javascript to style and enable form elements
• Creation of application form steps in Formstack
• Creation of a custom theme in Formstack
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Impact (so far)• 481 Conversions (applications!) in the first
three months
• 21% conversion rate
• Additional forms created which inherit the theme/styles:
• Request Information
• Schedule a Tour
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Example:University of Nevada, Reno
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Takeaways• Web forms are a core component of web
infrastructure
• There are three primary paths for implementing forms:
• CMS forms
• Custom web forms
• Best of breed third party form tools
• Tools like Formstack provide highly customized, highly useable solutions
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Questions?
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Thank You!
For more information about mStoner:773-305-0537 | [email protected]
Want to work with us? Contact Mallory Wood at 802-457-9234 [email protected]
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