How to design a quote request form

The short version

Ask for the type of job, a description, the area, rough timing and a way to reply. Make everything else optional or leave it out. Put a visible label on every field. Write error messages that say how to fix the problem. Keep buttons large enough to tap. Next to the submit button, say what happens next and what you do with people's details.

Start from what you need to reply

Before deciding on fields, write down what you need to send a useful first reply. For a building or trade business, start from this list:

1. What kind of job. A short list of your services, chosen from a menu.
2. What it involves. A free-text box where the person describes it in their own words.
3. Where. The suburb or town, so you know whether it is in your area. Not the full street address at this stage.
4. When. A rough timeframe: as soon as possible, within three months, later this year, just planning.
5. How to reply. An email address or phone number, with a choice of which they prefer.

That is five fields. Anything else should earn its place.

Fields to think twice about

• Full address. You need it before a site visit, not before a first reply. Asking early can feel intrusive.
• Budget. Useful to some businesses, meaningless to others. If you ask, make it optional with ranges, and include "not sure yet".
• How did you hear about us. Interesting to you, not to the person enquiring. Optional at most.
• Company name, title, fax. Leftovers from generic templates. Remove them.

Each field you cut is one less thing to type with a thumb. The quote form planner helps you go through your current form and decide.

Photos

For some trade jobs, a photo answers questions a description cannot: the age of a switchboard, the state of a roof, the layout of a bathroom. An optional upload is worth offering if your site can handle files safely. Limit the file types to images, set a size limit and say how the photos will be used.

Labels and instructions

WCAG 2.2 success criterion 3.3.2 asks for labels or instructions wherever content requires user input. For a quote form that means:

• a visible label above or beside every field, not only placeholder text inside it
• format hints written into the label before someone makes a mistake, such as "Phone (we will text first)"
• required fields marked in words, not only with an asterisk or colour
• a short line at the top saying how many fields are required

Placeholder text vanishes as soon as someone starts typing, which leaves them guessing what the field was for. Browsers show placeholder text in a pale grey by default, which can be hard to read.

Errors that help

When something goes wrong, say what and how to fix it: "Enter an email address, such as name@example.com" is more useful than "Invalid input". Keep what the person has already typed. Put the message next to the field and at the top of the form, and move keyboard focus to the first error.

WCAG 2.2 also added success criterion 3.3.7, Redundant Entry. If information the person has already given in the same process is needed again, it should be filled in for them or available to select. In a single-page form that rarely arises, but in a two-step form it means not asking for the email address twice.

Phones

Build and test on a phone first. Use the right input types so phones show the right keyboard: email for email, tel for phone numbers. Make the submit button wide and easy to reach.

WCAG 2.2's target size criterion, 2.5.8, sets a minimum of 24 by 24 CSS pixels for pointer targets, with exceptions. Treat that as the floor. A submit button closer to the height of a fingertip is kinder.

What happens next

The confirmation message is part of the form. Tell people:

• that the message arrived
• who will read it and roughly when you aim to reply, if you can stand behind it
• whether the first reply is a quote or an estimate

The Commerce Commission treats a quote as a fixed-price offer and an estimate as an honest best figure, so pick the word that matches what you will send.

The privacy notice

The Privacy Act's information principles expect you to tell people, when you collect their information, why you are collecting it, who will receive it and how to ask to see or correct it. From 1 May 2026, IPP3A adds similar steps when you collect information about someone from another person, for example when a tenant gives details about a landlord's property.

A short notice beside the submit button covers the first case. An example you could adapt:

These details are used to answer your enquiry and, if the job goes ahead, to prepare your quote. They are read by our team only and kept for up to two years. You can ask to see or correct them by emailing us. See our privacy notice for more.

Change it to match what you actually do. If enquiries pass through a booking system or another company, say so.

Keep the information secure, too. If a privacy breach is likely to cause serious harm, the Privacy Commissioner expects to be notified, and has said it expects that within 72 hours of the business becoming aware it is notifiable.

Marketing emails

If you want to send newsletters to people who enquire, New Zealand spam law requires consent, accurate information about who sent the message and a working unsubscribe facility. Ask with a separate checkbox that is not ticked in advance.

Spam protection

Use a hidden honeypot field and server-side checks before reaching for a puzzle. Image puzzles slow down real people and can be impossible for some to complete.