Forms can frustrate users and can lead them to abandoning the form—and website—altogether. This can be disastrous for your digital product if it relies on forms to move users to the next level of engagement.

When the website is not meeting the goals of a specific action, organizations too often focus on getting more people to the website. This path ends up being a numbers game the organization is destined to lose for one key reason: the website is not meeting even the most basic of user expectations.

I’ve talked to hundreds of agencies and product teams and only a handful incorporated a process that involved interacting with the people who would actually use their digital product or website. Spoiler alert: it’s not due to lack of time or budget.

Effective website navigation should be like a well-designed map—it provides a “you are here” anchor and gives you a sense of where you could go and how best to get there.