So you've set up some forms on your site, and leads are trickling in. But is your HubSpot Form actually pulling its weight, or just taking up space? If you're running marketing or sales for a small business, agency, or SaaS product, you can't afford to guess. You need to know what’s working, what’s not, and how to fix it. This guide is for people who want real, practical ways to get more out of their forms—without drowning in vanity metrics or marketing fluff.
1. Start with the Data You Actually Need
Before you get lost in charts, get clear on what matters. For most forms, the goal is simple: more (good) leads, less friction. Focus on these metrics:
- Views: How many people saw the form?
- Submissions: How many actually filled it out?
- Conversion rate: Submissions ÷ Views. This is your north star.
- Drop-off rate: If you’re using multi-step forms, where are people bailing out?
- Field completion rates: Are there fields everyone skips or leaves blank?
You can find this stuff in the HubSpot Forms analytics dashboard. Ignore the fluff metrics like “impressions” or “average time on page” unless you have a specific reason to care.
Pro tip: Don’t obsess over the absolute conversion rate. What matters is improving it over time.
2. Pull Up the Right Reports in HubSpot
Here’s how to get your hands on the data:
- Go to your HubSpot dashboard and click Marketing > Lead Capture > Forms.
- Pick the form you want to analyze.
- Click on the “Actions” dropdown, then “View submissions” or “View performance.”
You’ll see:
- Total views, submissions, and conversion rate over time.
- A breakdown of submissions by page (if your form appears on more than one).
- Funnel analytics for multi-step forms.
What’s worth your time:
- Look for trends over time, not just one-off spikes or dips (which might be from a campaign or a bot).
- Compare forms against each other if you have similar ones on different landing pages.
- If you see a form with high views but low submissions, dig deeper.
What to ignore:
- Don’t sweat over “average time to submit” unless your form is unusually long.
- Don’t panic about small dips—focus on patterns.
3. Diagnose the Bottlenecks
If your form’s not converting, there’s usually a bottleneck. Here’s how to find it:
- Low views: The issue is traffic, not the form. Fix your landing page, ads, or SEO.
- High views, low submissions: Something about the form (or the page) is turning people off.
- High drop-off at a certain field: That field might be too personal, confusing, or just annoying.
- Mobile vs. desktop: Check if your form is broken or harder to fill on mobile devices.
How to check field performance:
HubSpot doesn’t give field-level analytics out of the box. If you’re serious, export submissions and see which fields are consistently blank or garbage. Or, use a tool like Hotjar to watch session recordings and see where people get stuck.
Pro tip: Test your own form. Try to fill it out on your phone, on a slow connection, with a fake email. You’ll spot issues fast.
4. Ruthlessly Simplify Your Forms
Most forms are too long. Every extra field drops your conversion rate—sometimes by a lot. Here’s how to trim the fat:
- Only ask for what you actually need. If you never use the “Company Size” field, ditch it.
- Make optional fields truly optional (and mark them clearly).
- Use smart fields to hide questions you already know (HubSpot calls this “progressive profiling”).
- If you’re tempted to ask for a phone number, remember: most people hate giving it out.
What works:
- Short forms almost always convert better. If you need more info, get it later (after you earn their trust).
- Use multi-step forms for complex processes, but only if you see a real benefit.
What doesn’t:
- Tricks like hiding fields with CSS or using misleading labels. People notice and get annoyed.
- Forcing users to create an account just to get a download. That’s a fast way to tank conversions.
5. Test, Don’t Guess: A/B Testing Forms
If you’re not sure what to change, run an A/B test:
- Clone your form in HubSpot.
- Make one change—shorter form, different button text, different headline, whatever.
- Split your traffic between the two versions.
- Watch the conversion rates over a week or two.
What to test:
- Number of fields
- Button copy (“Submit” vs “Get My Free Guide”)
- Order of fields
- Social proof (testimonials or trust badges near the form)
- Layout (single column vs. side-by-side)
What not to bother with:
- Changing the color of the submit button unless your current one is low-contrast or hard to see.
- Micro-copy tweaks that only marketers notice.
Pro tip: Only test one thing at a time, or you won’t know what made the difference.
6. Don’t Forget the Context: The Rest of the Page Matters
A form doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Sometimes the problem isn’t the form—it’s the landing page:
- Is your offer clear? If people don’t know what they’re signing up for, they won’t fill out the form.
- Are there big distractions? Too many links, popups, or auto-playing videos will kill conversions.
- Is the form above the fold? If users have to scroll to find it, many won’t bother.
- Does the page load fast? Slow pages = lost leads.
Fixes: - Write a clear, honest headline above the form. - Remove unnecessary distractions. - Make sure your form looks good and works on mobile.
7. Segment and Follow Up Smarter
What you do after someone fills out the form matters too:
- Use HubSpot’s automation to send a confirmation or follow-up email.
- Route high-value leads to sales, and lower-priority ones to nurture campaigns.
- If you get a lot of obvious spam, add a reCAPTCHA or simple validation—but don’t overdo it, or you’ll annoy real people.
Don’t:
- Hammer new leads with daily sales emails. That’ll just make them unsubscribe.
8. Watch for Diminishing Returns
It’s tempting to tweak forms forever, but at some point, you hit a wall. If your conversion rate is already solid (say, 20%+ for a gated content offer), don’t waste weeks chasing a tiny improvement. Redirect your energy to driving more targeted traffic or improving what happens after the form.
9. Rinse and Repeat
Form optimization isn’t a one-and-done deal. Set a recurring reminder to check your analytics every month. Small, consistent tweaks beat big overhauls once a year.
Keep it simple. Most high-converting forms are short, clear, and easy to use. Don’t let “best practices” or endless advice paralyze you. Look at your data, make one change, see what happens, and repeat. That’s how you actually move the needle.