Best Lead Generation Forms: 23 TOP Examples From Websites That Convert!
For anyone in marketing, getting a solid lead generation mechanism should be top on your goal list.
And for the right reasons…
When customers come to your website, they want to see a ready-made, easy-to-use, well-thought-out lead form that actually works.
And that is why the best lead forms have been optimised to take note of all the user’s needs and point them in a direction where everything is just as effective as they need it to be.
For example, if your lead generation forms do not contain valuable questions regarding your sales process, you could be dealing with a clogged, irresponsive funnel with poor-quality leads.
So if they are not done right, they can throw your leads away as fast as they came in– either your website visitors start ditching your lead forms mid-way or the information gets collected but doesn’t lead to any actual conversions.
What is a lead?
A lead is any potential customer– a prospect– someone who has indicated an interest in your product or service in some way.
What is lead generation?
Lead generation is then the process of identifying, attracting and nurturing prospects to your business, increasing their interest as you aim to convert them into customers.
What is a lead generation form?
A lead generation form, on its own, is a web form meant for collecting emails and other information about potential customers on your website.
Lead generation forms can be in one of two groups:
1) Lead generation forms for list building: These lead forms are designed to collect email addresses, usually to build an email list.
2) Lead generation forms built for lead qualification: Forms like this try to capture high-intent leads that you can then follow up with your killer sales/marketing strategy.
What makes a good, high-converting lead generation form?
This is basically a summary of the top tactics that consistently appear on many effective, high-engaging lead forms:
- Make sure your landing page is free from distractions
Does your page have too much information or design elements that shift their attention away from the action you'd like them to take?
Weak stock images (that clearly do not communicate the copy's intent), inconsistent copy, weak testimonials, long feature lists and multiple CTAs can drastically reduce the effectiveness of your lead forms.
- Break your form into multiple interactive steps, especially if it has to be long
When you have too many fields, visitors are more likely to get intimidated and eventually abandon your lead form.
So you want to make sure you prioritise the most important information, use clickable buttons, make the user progress visible and provide a clear value.
- Incorporate UX-friendly features
Unique and effective user experience principles definitely apply if you're trying to capture your visitors in a competitive marketing space.
Use big buttons, progress bars and fields with autocomplete functionality.
You can also avoid error frustrations by making your instructions clear, so users are not left to guess what works and what doesn't.
- Use gamification and discounts to get your leads involved
People really like themselves. So first of all, get personal with games or conversational quizzes that encourage them to interact with your brand.
You can also add attractive benefits like a reward in exchange for a name, email, phone number or sharing to social media.
What tools work best to generate lead forms?
The best lead generation tools will help you collect leads automatically– easy for your website visitors to use and not require any serious manual effort on your end.
Easy to use and flexible.
That’s why we’ve compiled our own list from ~1000+ analysed reviews.
Our top picks are in this post.
They offer easy ways to set up most of the lead generation form tactics in the examples below.
On top of that, they integrate with all the best CRM and email marketing services so they make it incredibly easy to capture and manage your leads (so you can start making more money online).
Here are our top 23 lead generation forms from several niches and the key tactics we think you can learn from each example:
1. HubSpot: Marketing and B2B/SaaS
Hubspot just makes it easy for users to sign up. Once you land on the site, you see an incentive that really makes sense– free forever software offers for filling out a simple form.
The form on the landing page provides a range of useful tools to convert visitors into organic leads by collecting information intelligently.
Nothing too serious. Just simple, straightforward field requests.
The visitor is compelled to say ‘Yes’ because it seems Hubspot is offering a little more than they’re asking for.
The icing on the cake is that small text right where you can see it– ‘100% free. No credit card is needed, plus a comfortable option to continue with Google.
Key Tactics
- Free CRM platform and a huge range of free software solutions for any business
- Easy signup and personalisation for increased engagement
- Upselling and cross-selling free CRM to capture leads
2. Slack: Communication and Messaging Software
First of all, did you notice how conspicuous this form is? It’s right there in the hero section on the home page, at the very top, in the very middle. Hard to miss, isn’t it?
In the mix of that organized and direct form, Slack has incorporated a beautiful, playful animation that perfectly captures their brand’s aesthetic and encourages visitors to go ahead with the form.
Slack does a great job by keeping things simple– a simple Call to Action that again makes it easy to say yes.
Then they go the extra mile to convince the visitor by listing recognisable big brands that use their platform (social proof).
Then there’s also the option on the actual form to sign in again with Google or Apple- great options that the visitors rarely ever miss.
Key Tactics
- Straightforward and extremely simple form with clear CTA
- The form is divided into multiple steps to get more information
- Fun animation that doesn’t distract from the task ahead
- Option to sign in with Google and Apple
3. Dropbox: Backup and File Sharing
Dropbox has you locked in from the very beginning. They know what they want and they immediately go for it.
From the signup page where the form is located at the right of the page– a natural place for the visitor’s eye to notice. They give that psychological cue for a good consideration to fill that lead form.
Don’t forget the option to sign up with Google. Classic style.
And who said short CTA’s don’t convert? Something like a direct ‘Sign up’ makes the visitor sure of what to do. No extra unnecessary language or coercion. But Dropbox is so big, they’re just so certain they want serious users.
Well done, Dropbox!
Key Tactics
- Sign up form placed on the right-hand side of the signup page
- Clear CTA
- Clean white space on the page
- Optional sign-up using Apple or Google account
4. Optimizely: B2B and Content Marketing
Before you get in too deep, there’s a landing page you just can’t ignore. Optimizely does the big, bold, beautiful work of getting you to notice the CTA. And you do, because it leads you directly to the form.
Again, the actual form is located on the right-hand side of the page– a good strategy if you really want that extra attention from visitors.
Optimizely isn’t sloppy when it comes to their lead generation form- no, no. You see how there are two columns?
It makes the form appear shorter to the eyes that it tricks visitors into thinking there are fewer questions and makes them answer the required fields without thinking twice.
But Optimizely is really just getting all the information they need to create a solid lead.
Key Tactics
- Simple and catchy dark blue and white theme
- A bold CTA on the home screen- hard to miss
- Two-column form style– like a short notecard
5. Lemonade: Insurance
Lemonade starts by asking if the visitor already has a Lemonade account. And not in the usual boring manner of most platforms, it looks like an actual quiz– inviting and super sleek.
They go on to confirm what type of insurance is needed. This is where the visitor gets a personalised, conversational message that lets them know a price quotation is coming.
But before that, the actual form begins with an easy, ongoing conversation asking for information such as name, address etc., depending on the type of insurance.
There’s even a face on the page that makes it feel like you’re really chatting with an interested person. You’re guided into the whole lead generation process one by one, but it feels like a breeze.
It’s just similar to what you get when you use our ultimate quiz builder here at Marquiz to slowly but confidently guide your users into a deep, trusted relationship with engaging quizzes that have a conversion reputation.
This eases the site visitor into giving more details about the insurance purchase. Lemonade has gone the extra mile to get to know you– with multi-step but simple forms per page.
It’d have been perfect if there’d been a progress bar to let the user know how far along into the form completion journey they’ve gone, but other than that, great job, Lemonade!
Key Tactics
- Personalised, conversational guide-through
- Low-friction and early assurance
- Engaging, inviting form
6. Uber: Ride-hailing
Uber doesn’t waste time. They know they have different types of leads– those who want to start driving with Uber, those who’d like to order rides and those who just want to order delivery with Uber Eats. And they quickly make that distinction.
Even on the login page, they’ve incorporated the same tactic by separating the leads and making sure they get a personalised direction for just what they need.
Then, there’s the actual form. Uber makes its sign-up form as clean as possible by asking just one question and even giving an option to put in either an email address or a phone number.
The form doesn’t get too complicated or confusing with multiple choices.
And if the visitor is interested, our tested and trusted Google, Apple and Facebook sign-up options are right there to make things even easier.
Great job, Uber!
Key Tactics
- Instant lead form segmentation (This is something any company serving two different leads should consider– make the distinctions early and let the users be sure of the next steps.)
- Clean, simple sign-up form with useful options
7. Medium: Online Reading
No need to say much. Medium makes everything so smooth and simple.
From the website giving a really simple cue to start reading, Medium sure knows how to invite its readers and creators to dive into what they truly love.
Then it goes on to a straightforward, self-explanatory page of the tested and trusted sign-up options (socials and email).
You then have to get through the routine verification page, and you’re all set!
Plus that extra friendly reminder to come in if you are already part of the community– Sign in if you already have an account.
Key Tactics
- Simple, direct CTA from the landing page
- The easy and clear sign-up process
- Custom campaign for returning visitors
8. Lyft: Ride-Hailing
The Lyft lead generation form is so obvious on the website once you come in.
You can easily notice that lead distinction again– the visitor can still decide to either sign up for a ride or apply to become a driver.
By clicking on any of these options, either from the direct view on the landing page or from the menu bar, the actual form shows up.
And it gets even better because you need just one piece of information to complete the sign-up journey– a phone number.
A total no-brainer. It’s like Lyft is saying, “Sign up and get started already. What are you waiting for?!”
Key Tactics
- Simple visuals and bold CTAs
- A clear distinction between two leads types
- Multi-step form with an easy first step
9. Airbnb: Vacation Rental
Once you get into the website and proceed to the signup CTA, Airbnb asks the initial necessary question to confirm your location and phone number (because this just aligns with their hosting niche and will help to personalise suggestions in the future).
Then they show the visitor the different sign-in options on the same page to speed up the process to some extent.
This is when they go on to ask multiple questions to gather necessary information about potential hosts and capture everything they need.
Airbnb then incorporates buttons with question marks next to specific form fields that explain why Airbnb requires certain information.
This step-by-step process assures the user that this is an organized process.
The last noticeable feature is that tiny option to confirm whether or not to receive marketing messages by email. This is great UX.
Key Tactics
- Different sign-up options (from Facebook, Google, and Apple)
- Explanations for required information
- Multi-step questionnaire form (Especially useful for brands that need to get a lot of information up-front)
- Option for marketing emails
10. Netflix: Streaming Service
Netflix's lead generation strategy is direct and straight to the point.
Everyone (well, almost everyone) knows what Netflix is about and what it can do for them. So it’s just easy to bank on that trust and sell the pricing.
There is a bar that shows how long a 30-day free trial will last the user with an estimated time for the next billing.
This gives the visitor a feeling of surety– they know exactly what they’re getting into and when. No shady dealings– a full comprehensible pricing chart with all you need to get started.
This is what leads you into a multi-step form right there on the landing page, with a clear and actionable call to action.
Key Tactics
- Clear CTA with the necessary information that makes users comfortable with going forward
- Pricing embed in the first few stages of the sign-up process (Useful for brands that already have a well-known offering)
- Clearly labelled steps within the multi-step form (STEP 1/3)
11. LinkedIn: B2B Professional Social Network
At the first view of LinkedIn’s sign-up page, the visitor can quickly see that they mean business. Here, they are encouraged to fill in just their email and password removing that initial friction.
LinkedIn states that by signing up, the user agrees to all the terms and conditions and the option to speed things up by using Google is also available.
LinkedIn also makes use of gated content to make sure visitors can only view content after they are logged in.
This lead generation strategy works for LinkedIn because it can engage leads and encourage close contact.
Key Tactics
- Integrated social media and more registration methods
- Branded colours are used to instil create trust and familiarity
- Encourages visitors to share their business email address
- Free and easy signup
12. Hulu: Streaming Service
First of all, Hulu’s lead form captures the essence of minimalism. No extra colours here and there– just a clean design putting focus on what information the visitor needs to provide.
The form fields are as direct as can be (Email, Password, Name, Birth date and Gender).
This form is, however, also a multi-step form that allows you access to another landing page with even more fields once you click ‘Continue’.
This multi-step form makes the whole sign-up process seem less daunting and the user goes through it without it feeling like a waste of time.
Key Tactics
- CTA is visible with a clear direction
- Design is minimalistic with little or no use of colour
- The multi-step form makes the experience less daunting
13. Zendesk: AI Software
Zendesk takes the multi-step form approach to a beautiful new dimension. You can easily notice the step count (1 of 3) giving a clear description of the visitor’s progress through the lead form.
From the very first form field that requires just a work email to get started, Zendesk removes all the friction that could come with facing multiple questions at once.
The next page, although still a traditional field format, breaks the form into two columns making it shorter and easier to scan through.
Zendesk also does a great job of creating curiosity for the visitors with the form’s pop-up box and a faded, dimmed background with more text.
Key Tactics
- The multi-step form makes the experience less daunting
- Bright and bold CTA button on the company’s landing page
- The form appears in a popup box and the entire background fades out
- The form is grouped in two columns to trick the eye and make it appear shorter
14. Oracle: Cloud Services
Oracle’s lead form makes a huge difference by giving actual descriptions of the email and password fields to prevent users from making mistakes because of wrong choices.
They also try to perfectly explain which fields are necessary and which aren’t by placing asterisks next to required fields to avoid any confusion about any information that needs to be submitted.
Then there is that clean clear CTA button that tells the user what it does – ‘Create Account’ after they’ve listed carefully their privacy policies for all potential users.
Key Tactics
- Option to sign in or out of the brand’s marketing service
- Asterisks help guide the user on which fields are necessary
- Clear and bold CTA at the end of the form
15. Xero: Accounting Software
Best of both worlds. That’s exactly what Xero does when it comes to its field forms.
Apart from the usual placeholder text within the form fields, Xero makes sure there is also a title above the field box to allow the user still see the title even after they’ve started typing.
Xero also uses the power of incentives to encourage their visitors to fill in the form by stating how many people already know and trust their brand along with more advantages to signing up right there and then.
Then there’s also reCAPTCHA to confirm you’re not a robot, plus boxes to tick if you’ve read the privacy policies or if you don’t want to get any marketing messages in your mail.
Xero’s lead form incorporates a multi-step format (really two steps) and lets you know that you’ll be moved over to the next and final step once you’ve completed this first page.
Talk about certainty– the user goes through this quickly and has something to look forward to.
Key Tactics
- Form field titles are also inside the fields to better guide the user
- Descriptions are included about the reasons you should sign up
- reCAPTCHA allows only quality leads to submit forms
16. Mailchimp: Email Marketing
Mailchimp’s lead form gives an impressive first look. The colour choice is excellent and the experience is even better with a quirky, inviting, personality-driven website.
The actual form to ‘Create a free account is then strategically placed on the left side of the page with simple questions.
Mailchimp also gives the lead form page a split-style template with only 3 simple form fields and a tick to opt-out of the automatic email marketing service (a major part of Mailchimp’s sales strategy).
Key Tactics
- Great first impression with a bright and colourful appearance
- Simplistic look that makes the form easy to complete
- Opt out of marketing messages
17. Grammarly: Writing Assistant
The landing page that leads to Grammarly’s lead generation form provides all that’s necessary to convince the average user to try out the product.
From smooth copy that reflects social proof to a clean animation featuring multiple product use cases, Grammarly demonstrates how intuitive its product is.
With a compelling CTA, the visitor is led to the actual lead form where they are welcomed by an impressive aesthetic with corresponding brand colours.
Grammarly uses best practices by using a single field requiring just the user’s email plus a few different signup options to ease the process.
Key Tactics
- Software demonstration animation (Great for brands that want to show how their software works without doing a full-blown demo video)
- One field is seen at a time
- Clear, compelling CTA
18. eHarmony: Dating Site
eHarmony launches its lead generation form when the visitor comes into the website with checkboxes that fit the brand’s aesthetic and brings an intuitive way to get started.
Even though serious users will be both willing to pay eventually and put in more information, eHarmony still gives an incentive saying that signing up is free.
Then the main lead form contains only five form fields making the process easier for intending users.
eHarmony also tries to reduce typing friction as much as possible by creating quiz-style multiple-choice questions that require just a touch button selection for responses.
Key Tactics
- The form is front and centre when you enter the site
- Unique form design matches the company’s branding
- Sign up incentive
19. Toggl: Time Tracking Software
Toggl’s beautiful, but convincing landing page leads right to this lead generation form from the actionable and bold CTA right there on the Hero section of the page.
The Toggl Track lead form page first provides a value proposition and assures the user that they can use Toggl for free even without using a credit card.
It also offers the viable option of signing up with Google or Apple. Then there’s a really simple two-field form that requires just an email and password to get in.
Toggl wants to make sure you’re really convinced to try out the product so it provides social proof with an awesome review and 5-star user ratings from different platforms.
Key Tactics
- An awesome colour aesthetic that fits the brand's personality
- Minimal fields on the form to make the form seem less daunting
- Convincing social proof to capture the audience’s attention
20. Crazy Egg: Optimization and Heatmaps
Crazy Egg shoots the ball in the net the moment you walk into the landing page! The incentive to sign up and ‘Make your website better. Instantly’ stares right at you, forcing you to make a decision to move on.
Not more than one second in, you also notice the big bold CTA-optimised lead generation form that convinces you, the visitor, to provide your information.
You’re then convinced with a really confident social proof right at the top of the page— that ‘over 300,000 websites use Crazy Egg to improve what’s working, fix what isn’t and test new ideas.
The user is completely drawn into typing in that email– it’s a no-brainer actually. That’s the only thing they’re asking for.
The CTA is actionable and assures the visitor of what to expect while the 30-day free trial offer with an option to cancel anytime just makes you say a sure ‘Yes please!’.
Crazy Egg has finally locked you in from their impressive lead form. So yes, great job Crazy Egg!
Key Tactics
- Incentives and CTA are so bold and noticeable on the landing page
- One form field encourages the visitor to go ahead
- Convincing social proof with listed clients that use the product
- A different lead for visitors who are not yet ready to try Toggl out (Moves them to another page with more information about the product to prevent a loss of those leads)
21. Ancestry: Geneology
Because many people are invested in finding out things regarding their genealogy, Ancestry makes the most of the visitor’s initial curiosity to sell the product.
Once the user comes to the landing page, they already have an idea of what they can get from it. They are encouraged to take a short test that teases their interest and makes them want to go on.
This is when Ancestry comes on to offer a free trial after stating clearly that it is a paid product.
The actual lead form is in a two-step format, with an indication of which step the user is currently on, which is, of course, great practice.
Ancestry’s lead form requires only name, email address and password fields with a clear CTA on the button.
Key Tactics
- Great use of initial friction to drive user’s interest
- The multi-step form keeps the visitor engaged
- Clear and actionable CTA
22. Zebra: Digital Solutions
Zebra start engaging their leads from the word ‘Go’.
Right there on the landing page, after a well-designed video on the right side of the website, Zebra starts with a short form that requires the visitor to immediately choose what matters to them.
Zebra then decides to go in-depth, explaining their business solutions depending on the answers of the visitor to provide keen interest.
Only then does the user see a lead form that is already tailored to their specific needs. This way Zebra can collect more leads with a lead form that is just perfect.
From the two-column format to simple, clear fields and drop-down options, Zebra makes sure the user is not experiencing any difficulty with this form.
Key Tactics
- Social proof and incentive on the landing page
- Fields in double columns to make the form appear shorter
- Asterisks to indicate which information is necessary
23. Chamaileon: Email Creation Platform
As Chamaileon presents its lead form here, it does something special by simultaneously providing the user with reasons to go ahead with their decision.
They list the benefits of their product in easy-to-read points and on the right slide of the page where users can easily notice them.
Then the actual form incorporates the usual tactics for any good lead form– the necessary fields, checkboxes for marketing emails, privacy policy and of course, to prove that you are not a robot.
Key Tactics
- Option to sign in with Google for quicker onboarding
- Sign-up incentive on the right to encourage users
- Password confirmation to make sure the account is created correctly
Conclusion
Lead generation forms are the real deal!
They have the potential to boost conversions by a significant percentage while helping your users have a great experience on your website and still giving you the information you need.
We hope you’ve learnt all you need from our top 20 lead generation forms so you can now implement the tactics to build lead forms that actually convert.
To get the most out of your marketing strategy, you can craft better lead generation forms by exploring lead generation tools like our online quiz builder at Marquiz (We’ve acquired more than 24,316,679 impactful leads!).
These solutions can apply perfectly to your brand once you consider your niche and the specific needs of your website visitors.
It’s simple.
Create a realistic user persona and tweak the available tool features to create something that’d work perfectly for your brand and give you all the information you need to follow up your leads with your well-built marketing/sales funnel.
Just keep in mind that quizzes can be extremely effective forms of lead generation and are always worth using at the top and middle of your funnel to gain, qualify and engage more leads.
So don’t sleep on it. Try out our top-of-the-league web quiz builder and start engaging your top leads without breaking the bank or formulating a new unachievable budget. We’ll meet you right where you are.
Also, see our complete list of top lead-generation tools here. If you’re interested in getting a free call to improve your lead generation strategy, here’s a free invite for a strategy call with our top operators.
If you're a conversion enthusiast like us, we're sure you will have a swell time exploring this: Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO): The Complete Guide (2023)
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