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I got a free online order form and now I'm going to customize it for my store. What are the general best practices for designing forms?

Designing free online order forms

Free online order forms can be a great starting point if you are just starting out. When you are creating online order forms, make sure you simplify it as much as possible. Make it easy for the customer to fill out and don't try to gather too much information at once. As soon as possible let the customer know about any shipping charges, taxes, and any other charges so they can keep an eye on their balance as they purchase more items. Make sure required fields are indicated somehow and try to help the customer avoid errors by making sure your field lables are clear. If the customer does make a mistake, make sure the error messagse are polite and indicate what needs to be done to fix the error. Keep your web site order form as clean as possible and don't put any other distracting elements like banner ads on the page. Some free online order forms don't understand these basic rules so you are wise to customize yours.

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