Is a confirmation screen necessary for an order form?
- by abeger
In a discussion about how to streamline an order form on our site, the idea of eliminating the confirmation screen. So, instead of filling out the form, clicking "Submit", seeing a summary on a confirmation screen and clicking "Confirm", the user would simply fill out the form, hit "Submit", and the order's done. The theory is that fewer clicks and fewer screens means less time to order and therefore the ordering experience is easier.
The opposing opinion says that without the confirmation screen, user error increases and people just end up canceling/changing orders after the fact.
I'm looking for more input from the SO community. Have you ever done this? How has it worked out, compared to a traditional confirmation screen setup? Are there examples of a true "one click and done" setup on the web (does Amazon's 1-click have a confirmation screen? I've never been courageous enough to try it)?
EDIT: Just to clarify, when I say "confirmation screen", I mean a second step where the customer reviews the order before placing it. Even if we did do away with it, the user would still receive a message saying "your order has been placed".