Creating an order form for your online store in Multiply

An order form is an indispensable tool for online sellers, especially for those with online stores in Multiply. It facilitates smooth transaction between the seller and buyer if done right. Buyers can provide the seller necessary information such as her name, contact info and products to order in a breeze, requiring little effort while sellers can receive and manage online orders easier.

Take for example a buyer who is already sure of what he is going to order. If there is an order form,  what he will do is 1) click the order form link; 2) enter the necessary information in the order form; and 3) click the submit button. He will then wait for the confirmation of his orders.

Compare this scenario without the order form. Most often than not, the sure buyer will have to 1) copy the questions from the seller’s website ; 2) open his email account; 3) paste it to the message field of his email; 4) insert the necessary info; and 5) click the email button OR send the seller a private message in Multiply following the same steps OR create a lengthy text message containing all the information that the seller wants to know. You get the picture, eh?

Less internet savvy sellers need not fear creating order forms. There are many free (and paid), online form builders you can use to make your own order form that you can tailor fit to your business needs. Here are some options:

• Freedback (I use this to create an order form for my Multiply store) - “Put an HTML form on your site in about 8 minutes. No programming required. (Not even a little bit.) Designed for people who want HTML forms without learning HTML.”
• Email Me Form- "Email Me Form is a free online form generator service that helps you create HTML forms for your website, with no programming required.”
• Form Stack - “Our easy to use , drag and drop online form builder allows you to build any type of web form to help your organization collect data online. No programming or HTML experience needed.”

After creating an order form using any of those mentioned above or other HTML form builder, you will get an HTML code which you will copy and paste on your website. To display it on your Multiply store, follow these steps:

1. Create a new album in your Multiply store.
2. Add a related photo to the album.
3. Click “Upload”.
4. Title the new album “Order Form” or other related phrase you want.
5. Copy the HTML code generated by the form builder.
6. Paste the HTML code on the “Description” field of the new photo album.
7. Click “Save and Publish” and you’re done!

You will receive an email (you'll specify this when you sign up in any HTML form builder) every time a client submits an order form.

Tips:

• Include only the necessary questions in your order form. Don’t make it look like an online “slumbook” or “autograph book”.  A typical order form have the following questions/fields: full name, home/shipping address, contact number, email address, products to order, and payment and shipping preferences.
• Use short and simple words in composing your questions. Instead of putting one field each for the buyer’s last, middle and given name just put “Full Name”.
• Use tick boxes or radio buttons whenever possible.
• Add the summary of your store policies or a link to it at the end of the form so that the buyer can see, and hopefully, reads it. Let’s face it; some buyers are too lazy to read store policies (usually written via blog posts in Multiply) and end up bombarding sellers with soooooo many questions that are already answered in the store policies section. At least, as a seller, you have done your part to inform the buyer that you are implementing some store policies.

Do not make ordering a product a tedious task for your clients. Modify your ordering procedures to make it convenient and hassle-free for them, and not only for you as a seller.

Have you tried selling or buying anything online? 


* photo from gettyimages.com