Hello guys, I need your opinion on designing a form for a web application. I have tables personal_info, educational_background, and other_information, which currently each have their own dedicated form for creating data they're all on different pages. However, recently, I've started to think this gives off a bad user experience because the user has to go to three different pages to completely finish their account. Would it be better to compile them all together as one big form with one save button? Or should I just stick to this one? Thanks in advance.
To me, this sounds like a good use for a multi-step (or "wizard") style of form. You can then show some sort of progress bar so the user knows which step of the form they're on ("Your Details", "Your Background", "Additional Details", etc).
@jj15 thanks, that's an awesome idea
@j_watson How you present the form(s) depends on how necessary the data is.
If the data in each “step” is required, then consider saving in-progress submissions. You can then prompt the user to complete their profile if they get part-way through and don’t complete it. You can then send them a link to pick up where they left off.
You could use one form with an accordion to show each section as they complete the previous. Pressing next would collapse the first section and show the next.
Anything else is the same as you have now. Call it a wizard or multi-step form, its the same thing.
The advantage in doing it in steps is to make it safer for the user in that they don't lose everything if something goes wrong. You can drop them back in at incomplete sections. They also get validation errors in the section they are completing now and not waiting until the whole form is complete.
The original thinking on this is the book "Don't Make Me Think" by Steve Krug which should be essential reading for all web developers.
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