Seven form fields that quietly cost you sign-ups

1. Confirm password

Typing a password twice protects against typos, and doubles the effort at the moment patience is lowest. A show-password toggle does the same job with one field. So does a magic link.

2. Phone number

Customers read a phone field as a promise of sales calls. Unless you need it to deliver the service, drop it, or ask later and say exactly why you want it.

3. Company size

Sales teams love this one for routing. Customers often don’t know the answer, or don’t want to give it. Infer it from the email domain, or ask in onboarding once the customer has seen the product.

4. Job title

A free-text job title invites hesitation. If you need it for personalization, offer a short list of roles in onboarding, where it visibly changes what the customer sees.

5. Full address

For a free trial of software, an address is almost never necessary. For a purchase, autocomplete from a postcode or the first line, and put the second address line behind a link.

6. Separate first and last name

Two fields look tidy in a database and confuse customers whose names don’t split neatly. One “Full name” field is faster and more inclusive.

7. “How did you hear about us?”

Attribution is valuable, but self-reported answers are unreliable and the question sits between the customer and the product. Move it to the welcome email or the first week of onboarding.