Forms that Work – Interview with Caroline Jarrett (podcast)
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Length: 11 min.
In this podcast, Caroline Jarret talks about her new book, Forms that Work: Designing Web Forms for Usability, which she co-authored with Gerry Gaffney. Forms she discusses go beyond merely the type of IRS forms you fill out at tax time. Every website usually has some online form to collect information from users, from registration information to subscription information to purchasing information.
Caroline talks about the perceived value users must feel in order to part with their precious personal information. She explores why people dislike forms, and how companies can get around these dislikes to increase the usability of their forms, moving beyond appearance and layout and instead focusing more on relationships and conversation.
See the companion website to Forms That Work.
Buy Forms That Work: Designing web forms for usability from Amazon.
About Tom Johnson
I'm a technical writer / API doc specialist based in the Seattle area. In this blog, I write about topics related to technical writing and communication — such as software documentation, API documentation, visual communication, information architecture, writing techniques, plain language, tech comm careers, and more. Check out my API documentation if you're looking for more info about that. If you're a technical writer and want to keep on top of the latest trends in the field, be sure to subscribe to email updates below. You can also learn more about me or contact me. Finally, note that the opinions I express on my blog are my own points of view, not that of my employer.