What makes a high-converting form in 2025 in emails and websites? (Trends & tools for marketers) — Stripo.email

Imagine that you’ve poured your heart into crafting an email campaign, from eye‑catching design and a killer subject line to spotless copy, only to watch your subscriber list grow at a snail’s pace. It’s a familiar sting for many marketers: the moment someone clicks through your email and lands on your form can make or break the relationship you’ve worked so hard to build. 

A high‑converting form isn’t just about aesthetics or fancy tech; it’s the bridge between curiosity and commitment. In this article, I will peel back the layers on what really drives people to fill out that final field, cut through the hype around new tools, and spotlight the UX fundamentals that still hold true when you’re chasing those precious opt‑ins.

What high-converting forms look like in 2025?

When it comes to forms’ user experience, it’s not enough to just chase the latest trends. Successful forms typically share three core traits: laser-focused relevance, friction-free interactions, and micro-optimizations informed by data.

Here are some things to pay close attention to:

• Dynamic field relevance, especially in survey forms
  Rather than one‑size‑fits‑all surveys, the best forms today use conditional logic to show or hide questions on the fly. In one study, forms designed with conditional logic, especially multi‑step flows, saw completion rates as high as 53%, according to the Interaction Design Foundation, simply because users were only presented with fields relevant to their answers.

  

  (Source: Interaction Design Foundation)

• Micro‑interactions for smooth interaction with form fields
  Inline validation (checks that happen the moment you leave a field) can drastically cut error correction and keep users moving forward. According to the Baymard Institute, real‑time inline validation can reduce form errors by up to 42% and even decrease overall completion time by 28%.

  

  (Source: Baymard Institute)

• Progress indicators rooted in psychology
  Beyond simple dots, leading forms now break steps into subtasks (e.g., Account > Profile > Review) and use animated tooltips to explain each task’s value. Visual cues like these can boost task completion rates by up to 30% because users feel a sense of momentum and know exactly where they are.

  

  (Source: Emirates)

• Data‑informed trust signals
  It’s not just “secure” badges anymore. Smart microcopy, like “we’ll never share your data” beneath an email field, can be a powerful trust-builder. Multiple studies by the Baymard Institute strongly suggest adding such trust signals to avoid form abandonment. 

  

  (Source: Baymard Institute)

Cognitive load and bounce rate: What to pay attention to when creating forms?

As humans, we have so many things to think about, and the last thing on this list is forms, or, in particular, putting effort into filling them in — especially when they come via email, which we can receive so many of each day. This leads us to another topic — cognitive load: in simple terms, how much energy it takes to fill in and interact with forms.

Let’s explore this a bit deeper. 

What is cognitive load in forms?

Cognitive load refers to the mental effort required to process information. When fields are unclear, questions jump around without logic, or you stack inessential requests (let’s say, “What’s your mother’s middle name?” and other weird ones), users feel like they’re solving a puzzle and not signing up.

Statistics by Zuko show that users abandon forms in proportion to their complexity and confusion. Every extra bit of mental gymnastics translates directly into more bounces. I love mental gymnastics, but when it comes to the efficiency of your business, I guess, it’s not the right place.

Also, let’s take into account the fact that your visitors came ready to engage, not to think. The easier you make it for them to process each step, the smoother their journey — and the fewer will bail midway — at least reducing the number of form fields. The less your customers have to think, the more energy they have left for actions, right?

How to reduce cognitive load?

1. Chunk fields into digestible steps. What is an easy conversation? Probably a chat over coffee, where you wouldn’t ask for someone’s life story all at once but break it into small, effortless, and logical questions. Use multi-step flows with clear headings, so users tackle one mini-task at a time.
2. Progressive disclosure. Only show what’s needed when it’s needed. If someone selects “Business Account,” reveal the company-related fields; otherwise, keep them hidden. This “show-as-you-go” approach reduces on-screen clutter and keeps people focused on what’s immediately relevant.
3. Use plain language and helpful hints. Swap technical jargon for everyday terms and add concise micro-copy or tooltips to clarify why you’re asking for info. When users know why, they’re more willing to share.
4. Leverage smart defaults and autofill. Pre-populate fields when you can: detect the user’s country from their IP address to set the right phone code or suggest addresses as users type.
5. Visual simplicity and consistent layout. Align labels and inputs cleanly, use white space generously, and choose high-contrast fonts so every field stands out.

(Source: Email from Stripo)

Emails and web forms combined: Best practices 

When an existing or potential customer receives an email, a form allows them to actively interact with the content, serving as a two-way street for engagement: it provides marketers with valuable insights such as zero-party data while giving customers a direct way to share their opinions and preferences. 

Here are the most common forms that can be used in emails:

• NPS or satisfaction surveys with a quick star rating or emoji scale embedded in the email, leading to a short form with follow-up questions;
• product recommendation quiz forms that collect preferences and return tailored results;
• event registrations that allow you to sign up directly from the inbox, which is great for webinars, demos, or local meetups;
• feedback requests that can be used after purchase, with a form asking “How was your experience?”;
• re-engagement campaign forms to ask lapsed subscribers what they want to see more of or which bonuses they would like;
• onboarding preferences to ask new subscribers to select what particular services, bonuses, or just emails they want to receive via a form embedded in the welcome sequence.

The list can go on, as there are hundreds of ways to use forms creatively in email campaigns. However, building them without the right tools is either a challenge or a time-consuming mess — from handling responsive layouts to connecting forms with your CRM or email platform. Here, dedicated tools are what make these forms not just functional but actually effective.

Top 3 tools to make your forms perform 

With all that’s been said above, emails by their nature can’t handle much dynamic content or be really complex. In this case, the best solution is to guide the client to a website where they can fill out the form. Considering all this, here are the top three tools for sleek and effective forms for your email campaigns. 

Stripo

Stripo is the drag-n-drop email builder, also powered by AI, for creating efficient emails. Can you create forms using it? Sure! Moreover, emails require clean and simple HTML and CSS, so it’s not the place to play some fancy JavaScript tricks, but we still need the forms to look and perform great, right?

(Source: Stripo Interactive module generator)

Well, this tool can do the job — either by creating cool drag-n-drop forms inside emails, by using the Stripo plugin to embed forms into any form application, or with the Interactive module generator. Regarding templates, Stripo has a Brand Guidelines tool, which means they will not be generic but crafted specifically for your brand. 

JetFormBuilder by Crocoblock

WordPress is the most popular CMS in the world, and with good reason — it’s super flexible, intuitive, module-based, and cost-effective. That leads to another fact — most probably, the website you want to lead your potential customers to will have been made using WordPress.

So, powerful WordPress form plugins are a must here, and JetFormBuilder can blow your mind with the number of tools and amount of functionality it offers — even in its free version. However, the Pro version can take you to another level, while you can save hundreds of dollars per year compared to other similar tools. For example, multi-layered select fields, custom PDFs, webhook triggers (to connect any third-party platform), create new posts, users, update existing, and much more — as a result, you can not only integrate it as a typical website form but also create a custom CRM-like dashboard to handle customers’ feedback, responses, user data, or user-generated content.

This plugin focuses on dynamic data, allowing it to fetch data from other form fields or anywhere on the website. When combined with JetEngine, it can also work with REST APIs, enabling data collection from other apps or websites.

SurveyMonkey

Feedback is extremely important, but it takes effort to convince people to spend their precious time doing it voluntarily. So, it makes a lot of sense to try to make this experience fun. And SurveyMonkey is the tool created specifically for this purpose.

This tool is not just a fancy form or a survey but a way to make professional, fully customized market research due to its various tools: custom survey paths, over 500 templates, a bank of questions, a custom URL ending, and more.

It’s a SaaS platform, so it’s quite universal, and forms are an integral part of the ecosystem. You can drag and drop the fields, engage your custom audience, or even use the Audience Panel service. 

Wrapping up

High-converting forms aren’t about simply collecting data but about crafting a seamless, intuitive, and almost invisible experience for your subscribers. It all boils down to respect: for your audience’s time, attention, and cognitive load.

Remember, whether it’s a quick email opt-in or a comprehensive survey, your goal is to make the process feel less like a chore and more like a natural part of their journey. With so many powerful tools available, prioritize recipient experience above all else. By doing so, you’ll likely not only get more conversions but also build strong, long-term relationships.