It should be a fast, simple, and painless process. This is true for advance registration as well as onsite registration. An advance registration form that is complicated, requests information for purposes other than the conference, or is time consuming to complete discourages people from using it. At minimum, it means a lot of time on the phone for you, the secretariat, and prospective participants. At worst, it simply means people won't respond.
Onsite registration leaves a lasting impression.
It sets the tone for the rest of the meeting. At a one-day conference, you cannot make up for poor onsite registration. Here are some precautions that can eliminate registration problems. Don't use registration forms as a survey or to gather information for another project. Avoid using multiple type faces on the form.