Designing complex user forms: 12 UX best practices

Tips on how to make something complex look simple

It’s been a few years that I’ve been taking interest in designing complex user forms, where a lot of information is requested from users. Here are a few industries where you regularly find such flows:

• 🏡 Real estate / Accommodation (e.g. publishing a listing on Airbnb)
• 💰 FinTech (e.g. sending money with TransferWise)
• 👩‍💼 LegalTech (claiming a compensation with AirHelp)
• ☂️ InsurTech (e.g. getting a quote on Lemonade)
• 🛠 Any kind of repair / home improvement services (e.g. booking an appointment with Puls)

Designing such flows is tricky but important, because while asking a very extensive set of data to the user, the experience must look like it’s effortless. Here are a few principles that are worth following in order to design the right flow:

• 🏎️ Reassure users on the duration of the flow
• ️🍹 Make users feel like they’re not working
• 👌 Present all steps in a clear and understandable way
• 🤝 Explain why you’re asking for each piece of information
• 🕹 Remove distractions