Your Contact page serves one simple purpose: to help site visitors get in touch with you.
So it’s a wasted opportunity when sites throw up contact information as a quick afterthought. Really, you should be putting a lot more time and thought into what you publish because for many businesses, your Contact page is the beginning of your relationship with potential customers or clients.
Websites are one of the most important marketing and branding tools a business can have, not to mention one of the primary tools that people use to find out more about you and what you offer. No matter what industry or field you work in, an amazing Contact page has the ability to entice visitors and convince them to either make a purchase or hire your services.
In this article, we’ll explore some simple best practices and tactics to help you improve your Contact page.
Offer more contact options than just a form
I don’t know about you, but I hate contact forms. There’s something impersonal about them and whenever I have to fill one out, I feel I’m never going to hear back from anyone. Plus, it’s like I’m somehow untrustworthy and undeserving of a real email address.
Of course, I’m being paranoid – I’ve often heard back from people after using a contact form. And providing a real email address opens you up to potential spammers, so you need to weigh up the risk if you decide to display one on your Contact page.
Whatever information you choose to display, make sure it’s really, really easy for people to get in touch with you and provide lots of different options, such as:
- Email address
- Contact form
- Phone number
- Links to social media accounts, like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn
- Physical address
Different people have different preferences for how they like to connect with people and businesses. While some site visitors might be happy filling in your contact form, other people might prefer to message you on Facebook or turn up at your physical address.
Swedish design studio Snask’s Contact page is load with personality. It includes many options for getting in tough, minus a contact form, and the copy is fun and cheeky. Who wouldn’t want to contact Snask?
Less is more
If you choose to display a contact form on your site, only ask for the essentials, i.e. name, email address and message. The main objective of your form is to collect enough information to get a conversation started – you can collect any additional information you need after a potential customer or client had made first contact.
Don’t be one of those site admins whose form ask for phone number, mailing addresses, and other unnecessary information. Form fields like those are a huge turn-off and simplicity is pay off – the conversion rate decreases with every field you add to your contact form. HubSpot found that reducing the number of fields from four to three actually increases conversions by 50%. Fact: People don’t like spending a lot of time filling out forms.
The London Design Museum’s website is about as “less is more” as you can get. It features an old-fashioned telephone and clear contact information. When you scroll further down the page, you can click through to separate contact forms for different facets of the museum. Simple and effective.
Write good copy
Your Contact page isn’t the place to publish an essay. Keep your copy short and sharp and use language that is action and value oriented. This means including a call-to-action and explaining how potential customers or clients will benefit from contacting you and your business. This will help set you up for further communication.
I love Neil Patel’s Contact page. The entrepreneur gets a ridiculously large number of emails every week, so to combat that his Contact page asks visitors on a fun, firm and illustrative way to consider whether they really need to email him.
It’s genius and I recommend clicking through so you can read the whole Contact page.
Be friendly
Have you ever filled in a contact form and hit “Send” and the page reloaded but you weren’t sure if the message actually sent? It’s terribly confusing UX.
Ensure your contact form redirects to a “thank you” page or display a “thank you” message that explains when and how you’ll respond.
Even better, personalize the confirmation message using the information provided by the visitor. For example: “Hi Robert! Thank you for your message. We will get back to you within 24 hours!”
You might also want to send an automated confirmation email to tell visitors that you have received their message and you’ll reply as soon as possible, along with a copy of the submitted message underneath. This is a fairly simple way to give your visitors peace of mind that the message they type didn’t disappear into thin air and that they’ll hear from you soon.
Design Studio Legwork’s Contact page is colorful and friendly. The copy is simple and straightforward, while the illustration throws some fun into the mix.
Make sure everything works
This is an obvious one, but make sure you take the time to double-check everything on your Contact page. Displaying links that are broken or don’t send properly is just bad for business. If the email or phone number links are not functional, how can people communicate with you? Or if the “Submit” button on your contact form doesn’t do anything? That kind of defeats the purpose of the Contact page.
Bonus: Get inspired for your own Contact page
Ready to get inspired? Below, I’ve curated examples of some of my favorite Contact pages from themes you’ll find in our WordPress theme marketplace.
Keep in mind that many demo themes use lorem ipsum text and placeholder content, so when you scroll through these themes, it’s best to think about how your own contact information might look using these designs.
Barista – A Modern Theme for Cafes, Coffee Shops and Bars
All of the essential elements are here: a blurb explaining why site visitors should get in touch, email addresses, physical addresses, and even phone numbers. There’s also a contact form that asks for only essential information. The Google Map at the bottom is a nice touch that adds credibility – seeing where a business is located makes it feel more “real” rather than just a page on the internet.
Werkstatt – Creative Portfolio Theme
I’m a sucker for minimalism, and Werkstatt doesn’t disappoint. The custom-colored Google Map displays the business’s locations, which are also listed underneath. The typography is also on-point and clear to read – the bold headers and line-spacing make it super easy to read. The contact form includes a budget range as a multiple choice question, which is a simple way to ask potential clients for how much they wish to spend without forcing them to think and come up with a figure for how much they’d like to spend.
Illustrator – A Portfolio Theme for Illustrators, Designers, and Artists
It makes sense that an illustrator should feature an illustration on their contact page. I love how the image on this contact page is used as a fullwidth background image. What’s more, the heading, copy and contact form don’t compete with the background – the subdued colors make it easier to read the contact information while the semi-transparent contact form doesn’t completely block out the imagery.
A.Williams | Personal Assistant & Administrative Services
Simplicity is key on A. Williams. The contact form prompts visitors for basic information (though asking for a phone number isn’t really necessary) and the social media links are bold and colorful. The contact information is clear and easy to read, plus the Google map is a nice touch that makes the page pop.
Cortex – A Multi-concept Theme for Agencies and Freelancers
Another simple Contact page, the Cortex theme features an easy to scan layout. While the branding is nicely incorporated on this page, it’s missing other contact information such as an email address. However, the custom Google map and unusual round design is a nice touch.
Now, your turn to create a killer Contact page!
So there you go, five tips to help you put together a great Contact page that encourages visitors to get in touch. There’s certainly a lot to consider when putting together a Contact page – they look deceivingly simple for such an important page on your site, so it’s important to take the time and effort and get it right.
About the Author Jenni McKinnon
