Tattoo studio booking system: the request form

The person asking for a tattoo has a reference photo, a sketch in their notes app or a picture they saved. They send it from the phone's camera roll, and the file may be far larger than a desktop upload would be. Some request forms set a size limit without saying so, then show a message such as upload failed, and may clear the rest of the form. The client starts again, or sends the request by direct message, where the studio has no record of their placement or the artist they wanted. The studio sees fewer requests, not the upload that broke.

• Does the form accept a photo straight from a phone, and say what size and format it takes?
• When an upload fails, does the message say why, and does the rest of the form keep its answers?
• Does the artist list show who is booked out, before a client picks one?
• Does the confirmation go to the email the client typed, with a request number?

A phone photo is not the file a desktop designer would send. It can be large, it can be in a format a form does not list, and it may arrive turned sideways. A request form that only says upload an image gives the client no way to know which of these will fail. Upload a photo from your own phone's camera roll, not a file from your computer, and watch what happens. If the form accepts the file and shows it upright, the photo field works on a phone. If it fails, or the picture comes through turned, the client may never reach the placement question.

The request asks where on the body the tattoo goes and how big it should be. Some clients do not know the words for the parts of the body, and a list written for staff sends them to the wrong choice. The artist field is the other trap. A list that shows every artist, including those booked out for months, invites a client to pick someone who cannot take the work and then wait for a reply that does not come. Check the list as a client who has not chosen a style yet. Does it say who is taking requests, and how a reply reaches them?

Give the simulated visitor a task: send a request for a small piece and pick an artist, with made-up contact details. The visitor has an email inbox, so the confirmation email reaches it, and you can read the request number and what it says the studio will do next. The report shows each field the visitor reached, with a screenshot, and the step where it stopped. A deposit that needs a real card ends the run at the payment step. The test does not show whether a real phone photo uploads, so check that yourself on your own phone after each change.

Signup flow testing

A new upload tool or a new artist on the list can change how photos and placements are handled. Rerun the same simulated request after each change, with an artist who is booked out in the list. Check the photo field on your own phone each time, since a simulated request cannot show whether a phone photo uploads. Test again before you link the form from a social profile or a flash sale.