254% boost from better words on a button...

The words you put on a submit button can make a huge difference to your conversion rate for a form.

Best practice is:

• The submit button should look like a button: it should be 3-D and look similar to buttons on every other site.
• The text should describe what will happen when it's clicked.
• Don't have a cancel or reset button nearby. Some people will click on it by mistake.

Here's a great add a blog comment button - from user experience site UXBooth.com. Clear words, clear 3-D design.

This (faked) button commits 3 crimes:

1. It doesn't even look like a button.
2. It's very hard to read.
3. It's not clear what will happen. This is even worse than the vague but common word 'submit'

This real life button has the vague word Submit and also has the dangerous Reset button right next to it with equal prominence. This is so 1998.

MeetUp.com have a button describing exactly what you are doing. Top marks.

Very clear wording and very buttony from GrokDotCom.

Google used to say just 'Search'. They still have the cryptic 'Feeling Lucky' button. This is clicked by 1% of their users.

I'm Feeling Lucky is bad practice because it doesn't say anything about what is going to happen next. Do not try this on your own website.

'Submit' is not the best either. Think of a better word or words to spell out to your site visitor what is going to happen.

Finally a button from the father of usability, Jakob Nielsen. This is a page on his own site where you can sign up for his fortnightly newsletter.

Jakob criticised the 'Reset' button in April 2000:
"This button almost never helps users, but often hurts them..."

Blogger Willy Franzen describes a 254% boost by changing from
'subscribe by email' to
'get jobs by email'

On your own site you should follow best practice as described here to get some easy wins, then do A/B split testing of different words for another boost to conversion rates of your forms.