Hey there,

A lot of forms look simple, because everything lives inside the field as a placeholder. Something like this:

At first glance, the form looks clean. But the moment someone starts typing, the placeholder disappears—and now they have to remember what the field was for. That extra cognitive effort leads to drop-offs

Placeholders work best as gentle hints. Labels should sit outside the field, staying visible to anchor the meaning. It's a small change that removes uncertainty and helps users complete forms without second-guessing.

Here's how the same form looks with labels and values:

If your form is using inline placeholders, this is a quick fix worth trying.

//Cole
Cofounder, Formspree.io

Unsubscribe