Lead Form Field
Abandonment
John Shum.,
Web Usability Consultant
FormAlive, Inc.
Lead form field logging can
provide a detailed view of how users
navigate through your Web site and will
uncover invaluable insight on factors
contributing to your conversion rate.
Web user behavior was often revealed
through server logs, which calculated
user activity from one page to another,
but behavior within the page was always
a mystery. Now with form field event
logging, precise behavior can be tracked
such as mouse movements, clicks,
scrolls, and even keystrokes.
Field field event logging has existed
for years, but the tools to analyze the
data and produce analytical reports was
missing from the puzzle to the
mainstream commercial world of lead form
conversion. Event log insights can
increase sales tremendously while
improving the overall usability and
customer satisfaction.
Server Logs Versus
Page Logs Versus Event Logs
Some Web servers produce
"Event Logs," often viewed in the Event
Viewer. These logs show system logs from
where the pages are served. The Web
server also produces Page Logs recording
actions when pages are viewed by a
browser. Within a single page, there are
event logs that can be displayed to show
mouse attributes from the XHTML
attributes. These logs can be:
onkeydown
The onkeydown attribute activates when a
key is pressed down. This and the other
key related events can often be
difficult to activate over specific
elements other than the entire body of
the document.
The onkeydown attribute works with all
elements but applet, base, basefont, bdo,
br, font, frame, frameset, head, html,
iframe, isindex, meta, param, script,
style, and title.
onkeyup
The onkeyup attribute activates when a
key is released.
The onkeyup attribute works with all
elements but applet, base, basefont, bdo,
br, font, frame, frameset, head, html,
iframe, isindex, meta, param, script,
style, and title.
onkeypress
The onkeypress attribute activates when
a key is pressed and released.
The onkeypress attribute works with all
elements but applet, base, basefont, bdo,
br, font, frame, frameset, head, html,
iframe, isindex, meta, param, script,
style, and title.
Focus Related Events
onfocus
The onfocus attribute refers to when the
focus or attention of the browser is on
that element. This would be in a form
field when the cursor is blinking in
that field, or when an anchor element is
highlighted. Scripts are kicked off when
that element gains the focus.
The onfocus attribute works with the
following elements: a, area, button,
input, label, select, and textarea.
onblur
The onblur attribute is the opposite of
the onfocus attribute. It kicks off the
script when the focus leaves the
element, such as when the next form
element is activated or some other
portion of the screen is clicked.
The onblur attribute works with the
following elements: a, area, button,
input, label, select, and textarea.
Form Specific Events
onchange
The onchange attribute takes effect when
the element value was changed.
The onchange attribute works with the
input, select, and textarea elements.
onselect
The onselect attribute takes effect when
some text is highlighted within a form
field.
The onselect attribute works with the
input and textarea elements.
onreset
The onreset attribute takes effect when
the form is reset (ie. the customer
clicks on the reset button).
The onreset attribute works with only
the form element.
onsubmit
The onsubmit attribute takes effect when
the form is submitted (ie. the customer
clicks on the submit button).
The onsubmit attribute works only with
the form element.
Page and Frame Related Events
onload onunload
onload
The onload attribute works when the page
or frame is completely loaded into the
browser. Note that some browsers execute
this event when the page is first
loaded, and others wait until every
element of the page is loaded.
The onload attribute works only with the
body and frameset elements.
onunload
The onunload attribute works when the
page or frame is exited.
The onunload attribute works only with
the body and frameset elements.
Conclusion
Server logs perform
well for their original purpose of
system administration, yet lack the
Web page usability analytics required to
make informed decisions about natural
behavior. By harnessing the power of
event logs, designers and developers can
dramatically increase conversion.
For a consultation on
leveraging lead form conversion,
contact:
john@shum.net
Related Web Form
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