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While Address Line 2 is never the sole reason shoppers leave before buying, the friction it creates can certainly be a factor in the decision.

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Have sầu you ever been filling out a khung online, or checking out in an ecommerce shopping cart, & bypassed Address Line 1, entering your info in Address Line 2 instead?

Did you wonder whether that would cause a problem? Better yet, did you wonder “What is that line actually for anyway?”

Address Line 1 vs Address Line 2 is an issue everyone has run into lớn, but few are doing anything about. It’s a seemingly small issue that can have sầu big consequences.

Errors and confusion around it can lead lớn validation failures and user frustration. These Line 2 problems violate a cardinal rule of smart user experience design: Always seek to lớn remove friction; never to lớn create it.

The good news is that small changes in your data-collection forms can help keep your visitors smiling, make sure they complete the order, và leave them with a better opinion of your br&.

The little amount of time và effort your team will need lớn invest is minimal. Your adjustment will pay for itself many times over.

Looking for ways to improve the fillable forms on your site?Sign-up for our insight emails khổng lồ receive weekly tips on how to optimize the thiết kế of your ecommerce site.

What does “Address Line 2” mean?

Address Line 2 isn’t a mystery or a problem lớn ecommerce managers and online super-shoppers. That may be the primary reason why optimizing the field is seldom considered.

Why fix it if it isn’t broken?

Like the fish in water, it’s tough to lớn see something that’s right in front of your face. If I instinctively know exactly what lớn vì chưng & when to vì it, shouldn’t you know too?

Many of your ecommerce website visitors, though, struggle when two separate address lines show up, asking:

“Do I need to fill in the second address line?”“Can I still check out if I leave the second address line blank?”“What should go in ‘Address Line 2’ anyway?”

Confused visitors have sầu a tendency khổng lồ freeze, và that can push your shopping cart abandonment stats through the roof. And while this second address line is probably never the sole reason shoppers leave before buying, the friction contributed by confusion there can certainly be a factor in the decision.

Often times, the people who kiến thiết the forms aren’t even sure what it is about. They include it, since “everyone else does,” but they’re as confused as the rest of us about why it’s there and the kind of information it should contain.

Here are examples of the types of information the Address Line 2 field is typically meant to hold:

Apartment numbersSuite numbersFloor numbersRoom numbersPO Box numbers

Simple enough, right? If you live sầu in a house at 623 Elm Street, you probably don’t need Address Line 2 at all.

If you’re at 623 Elm Street (Line 1), Apartment 2 (Line 2), you vì chưng need the extra field.

In comtháng practice, though, many other things kết thúc up in Address Line 2:

Secondary addressesAttention designationsC/O (in care of) addressesSpecial instructions

Not only that, but there are times when Address Line 1 is the logical place to lớn put other information. For example, let’s say you want merchandise delivered to lớn you at your workplace. In that case, your address may best be rendered lượt thích this:

Your name and titleYour departmentThe name of your companyThe mailing address of your companyUnless the size has fields for (và most don’t) company information, your mailing address would be pushed to lớn Address Line 2!

Do you see where confusion can enter the picture?

Here’s something else: some shippers or shipping software are finicky about Address Line 2. They don’t like it when your customers try to lớn slip in something like “Leave on the porch around back.”

You can’t cover every possible scenario, but you can make sure your customers & vendors are well-served by your Address Line 2 requirements & instructions.

That is, if you decide lớn keep using Address Line 2 at all.

Examples (see screenshot above) of questions being asked about Address Line 2 at Quora.com.

The proper use of Address Line 2 fields on forms

When configuring the address entry part of an online size, we’ve found it wise to refer baông xã khổng lồ the UX design rule quoted earlier: Always seek khổng lồ remove friction; never to create it.

Typical advice for your address info is to look at your customer base and determine the information most of your shoppers need to lớn enter, then focus on optimizing your forms for those users.

We disagree.

If 80 percent of the people you sell khổng lồ don’t require Address Line 2, does that mean you should vày your best to lớn drive away the other đôi mươi percent?

At The Good, our team believes all customers should be served at a high level. While your decisions should certainly be informed by your particular audience, you’ll want khổng lồ make your forms easy to use for all of your prospects, not just some of them.

Xem thêm: Cách Chơi Ekko Mùa 11: Bảng Ngọc Bổ Trợ, Lên Đồ & Cách Chơi Ekko Mid, Rừng

We’ve sầu studied best practices for the Address Line 2 field from every angle. When the smoke clears, your choices are really only two plus a hybrid:

Use special descriptive copy lớn guide the visitor through the formHide Address Line 2 initiallyUse a combination of the above two methods

The worst thing you can vì is include a field for Address Line 2 và expect the visitor will figure it out alone.

Standard best practices for Address Line 2

First, we’ll cover the advice normally given for Address Line 2. Then, we’ll suggest a better way.We’ve already mentioned the first, but we’ll danh mục it again và amplify a bit:

Look carefully at your current mailing danh sách. What fields does your audience most need? What would the optimum size for your best prospects look like? Use this data khổng lồ inform your chosen layout, but not to dictate it.Consider hiding Address Line 2, but providing a way for it to lớn expand when needed. The user could cliông xã a “more space needed” button, or only expand the field when it’s detected that their address likely requires further details (apartment number, building, floor, etc).Make sure your visitors understvà Address Line 2 is optional. One good way khổng lồ vì chưng that is to put an obvious notice there “This field is OPTIONAL.”Include instructions on the khung. It’s helpful lớn provide examples of the information that should go in each field.Never label the Address fields as “Address 1” và “Address 2.” That’s a confusion trap. Including “Line” in the term (Address Line 2) is a minimum requirement. Leave no doubt about what should go in each field.

The best way to lớn prsự kiện Address Line 2 confusion, though, may be lớn stop using the term altogether.

Here’s a two-fold tactic you can implement và test:

Include a separate field for each piece of information your audience will most likely need, based on the fields your customers have sầu historically used.Rather than naming the spillover field “Address Line 2,” try “Additional Shipping Info,” or “Additional Address Information.” The main thing is that you provide accurate, clear, & appropriate labeling to explain exactly what should go in each field.

Let’s look at some examples.

How lớn effectively use the Address Line 2 field

Notice (below) that Amazon opted to drop Address Line 2 designation altogether. The field is still there, but only the descriptive sầu labeling is shown. This is an excellent way to lay out the size.

Amazon doesn’t designate the spillover field as “Address Line 2.” chú ý the inside field instructions khổng lồ help prsự kiện confusion. Source: Amazon.com
L.L. Bean opts to lớn use Address Line 2 with the “optional” designation. The descriptive copy above sầu the Address field is helpful, but bởi vì you see how this type of layout gives more room for confusion than does the Amazon method? Source: L.L. Bean

Bolt has a great solution for clearing up any Address Line 2 issues you may be experiencing in your checkout process. First, they opted to lớn label the Address Line 2 field as “Apartment, building, floor (optional)” which immediately lets the user know what that field is meant for.

Bolt has created a responsive checkout khung that eliminates any Address Line 2 confusion.

Second, they added the ability khổng lồ detect when a customer is likely missing an apartment number through an address verification service. If it’s detected that the customer will likely be required lớn provide an apartment number, the field is expanded and asks the customer lớn verify that there isn’t an apartment number associated with their address.

We’ll forego embarrassing anyone needlessly & not display any bad examples of Address Line 2 deployment. Having read this article, you’ll notice examples – both good & bad – more often, and you can use them to lớn learn more about the possibilities.

What vì chưng your address size fields look like?

Have you taken a look at your size fields lately? Have sầu you included certain fields just because everyone else does? Do your visitors underst& which information khổng lồ include?

While we don’t have sầu the final answer for everyone, it’s important lớn take a closer look at your Address Line 2 và other khung fields with an eye toward greater usability.

Are you removing friction?

Have more questions about address forms or other size usability? Leave us a comment!