Tips for effective custom fields

Keep these grammar and style rules in mind when writing customer-facing copy.

• Avoid filler words; keep things short. Instead of asking “Would you like to add additional time to your ride?”, just say “Add additional time to your ride?” or even “Add additional ride time”. Practice scanning fields as you write them to see how they will sound to a new visitor.

• Avoid using phrases like “click here”, “check this box”, or “type here”.

• Try not to use the “&” character in sentences. Write out the word “and” instead.

• Avoid jargon or phrases that are too informal. Instead of saying “Are you driving out?” ask “Are you driving yourself?”.

• Avoid the words “you” or “I” when possible. Remember that bookings are made for multiple people, and having a per-customer field that is repeated many times on the page using “you” or “I” may be odd.

• The prefixes “ex:” and “e.g.” mean example. “i.e.” means in other words and should not be used to preface an example.

• Descriptions and titles that are short phrases or non-complete sentences do not require a period at the end. (For example, a description of “Additional 15 minutes” should not end in a period.)

• Avoid characters like “½”, as they may not be rendered correctly on all computers. Say “half” instead, or “1/2” if necessary.

Of course, you can choose to disregard any of these guidelines if you feel they’re not in line with your specific setup or company brand. You know your customer best!

If your title is only a few words long, it’s best practice to either use sentence case (only first word is capitalized) or title case (important words are capitalized – here’s a handy guide.) Some examples:

• Additional hours (sentence case)
• Add gear rental (sentence case)
• Shoe Size (title case)

If your title is more than a few words long or a question, use sentence case and end it with either a question mark or a colon (:). This is more natural to a reader and minimizes distraction.

• How did you hear about us?
• If you have any special needs, please let us know:

Capitalization and punctuation may seem minor, but they can have a big impact on a title’s clarity.

When possible, keep titles of text entry fields short and sweet (a few words or less). However, in some cases, it may be better to use a short sentence or a question to re-enforce or further explain what a field is for. In these cases, use the title formatting guidelines above.

Since you are asking customers to enter text in these fields rather than choose an option, be as clear as possible about what they should type:

• If a field is not required, a customer should not feel they need to type anything in it if it does not apply to them. (This can be accomplished by starting titles with “If”, rather than “Do you”.)

• If a field is required, avoid asking customers to give “no” or “N/A” responses. Consider making the field optional instead.

• If asking for other information, provide examples in the description where helpful.

Examples of bad titles:

• Type your height here:
• What is your shoe size?
• Are you visiting Oahu? If so, where are you staying? If you are a resident please leave blank or enter “Resident”

Examples of good titles:

• Height
• Shoe size (or Shoe Size)
• If you are visiting Oahu, please let us know where you are staying:

Note: Though your Dashboard may have custom fields with a “hint” field option, it is recommended to add any details about a custom field in the title or description for a more accessible booking experience.

Checkbox titles should be a short declarative statement stating what will be true when the box is checked.

In some cases it may be helpful to add a word at the beginning of the title such as “Add” or “Upgrade”, or to phrase the title in the customer’s voice, such as “I understand” or even “Make my”. Avoid writing checkbox titles as questions, as this is nonstandard and can be confusing. Do not say “Check this box to” or “Check here to”.

Checkbox titles should always be sentence case. (“GoPro was lost or damaged beyond repair”, rather than “GoPro was Lost or Damaged Beyond Repair.”)

Examples of good checkbox titles:

• Upgrade to a two-hour ride
• Add baby seat
• Make my carriage ride one hour long!
• I understand the dive gear policy
• I am kama’aina

Ideally, customers should not have to read the description of a checkbox to know what checking the box will get them. Use descriptions for important extra information. If the title of a field is “Make my carriage ride one hour long!” the description may be something like “Additional 15 minutes”.

Remember that the internal name of checkbox custom fields is used as a prefix before “Yes” or “No” in various places around the Dashboard. Make sure what you pick for an internal name is descriptive enough. In the example above, a good internal name might be “GoPro fee”, rather than just “GoPro”.

Titles of dropdown fields can be either statements or questions, but statements are generally recommended. You may want to use guiding words to make dropdowns more user-friendly, such as “Please select”, “Options”, or “Upgrades”.

Examples of good dropdown titles:

• T-shirt size
• Sandwich choice
• How did you hear about us?
• Please select where you are staying:
• If you need transportation from Waikiki, please select the number of people to be picked up:

Dropdowns should be used to offer a list of options. If you find yourself making a dropdown with only “Yes” and “No” options, consider using a checkbox instead.