It isn’t always easy to determine which pages should be on your website, but there are at least three pages almost every site has: a homepage, an about page, and a contact page. Each of these pages serves an important function.
- The homepage acts as a gateway for visitors, guiding them to the information they seek.
- The about page allows the visitor to learn more about who you are, what you do, and why you do it.
- The contact page offers a straightforward way for them to connect with you.
Whether a website has a handful of pages or 1000 pages, the three pages listed above are consistently some of the highest-trafficked pages. People understandably focus much of their energy on creating an effective homepage. The about page is personalized by nature, telling the story of who you are and what you do. Sadly, the contact page does not get the same amount of love.
The truth is, most people treat the contact page like a complete afterthought. This is a mistake. A big mistake.
The Problem with Most Contact Pages
If someone visits your contact page, it will often be the last page they go to before leaving your site altogether. The contact page isn’t always the main call to action, but it is a final catch-all for anyone looking to connect with you. For many visitors, it becomes the “I couldn’t find what I’m looking for, so I’m going to go here” page.
As a website owner, that means the contact page is your final chance to make a connection and convert a visitor into an actual lead.
And yet, many (if not most) websites put little-to-no thought into their contact pages. On any given contact page, you’ll expect to find a phone number, an email address, a physical address (if there is one), hours of business (if applicable), and a contact form. That’s all. It’s short. It’s ugly. And it speaks nothing to the user’s needs, pain points, and overall journey.
But Does It Really Matter?
Yes!
If a visitor has gone through the trouble of visiting your contact page, they’re at least a little curious about what you do and who you are. However, that does not guarantee they’ll actually contact you, especially if you suddenly stopped putting forth any effort to appeal to them. You’re no longer guiding them, and without that guidance, they’re much less likely to push on and achieve a proper conclusion.
It’s like if Obi-Wan never said “Use the Force, Luke,” during the Death Star trench and was like “he got this far, he’ll figure out the rest.”
Or if Sam abandoned Frodo at the edge of Mount Doom.
Or if Jack didn’t tell Rose to never let go.
You hopefully understand at least one of these pop-culture references. Until the visitor has actually filled out a form, given you a call, purchased a product, signed up for an email list, followed you on social media, etc., this story is not over, and you need to guide until the very end.
This is what an effective contact page does. It finishes the journey, and it finishes strong.
So, now that we have that cleared up…
Let’s Make a Better Contact Page
Like most things on websites, there isn’t a perfect one-size-fits-all template for creating the perfect contact page. The audience you’re targeting, the value you’re providing, and the story you’re telling are all unique to you. This means your contact page should also be unique.
That said, there are certain best practices to follow and general advice to consider, which I’ve conveniently gathered below.
By following these guidelines, while remaining true to your brand voice, you can craft an effective contact page that will keep you from losing valuable customers/clients/followers/etc.
Make It Easy to Find
Website visitors can be impatient. If they’re looking to contact you, find out your hours, check your location, and/or take any other action commonly found on a contact page, they want to do it as quickly as possible. Otherwise, they will give up and go elsewhere.
The contact page should be easily accessible from any page on your website. This means at least putting it in your main navigation and likely your footer navigation as well. If your contact page is your primary CTA, you may want to make it a button in the header or have the text be a different color in the menu.
You might be surprised by how easily a visitor’s eyes can scan right past a standard menu link.
Provide Options
As stated earlier, people have a tendency to underthink their contact page. You need to consider the fact that people are actually landing on your contact page for different reasons.
Some may want to call you, while others may want to email.
Some may prefer filling out a form, while others want to email your address through their own email account.
Some people may want to find their way to your address, check out your social media profiles, subscribe to your mailing list, or do something else unique to your business.
The best way to map out your contact page? Consider all of the reasons someone may be landing there, and then provide clear actions for each of those reasons.
Put Thought in Your Form(s)
The actual contact form on contact pages is often underwhelming. You will typically see fields for a first name, last name, phone number, email, and a message.
Sometimes, this is fine. Especially if it’s for general questions.
Often, however, you can benefit from being a bit more granular. Consider adding a line for a subject, which can make it easier for you to sort through messages on your end. You can also offer a dropdown or checkboxes for topics.
If possible, I typically suggest making the phone field optional, as many people (like millennials) really don’t want to give out their phone numbers (because we fear calls from unknown numbers).
You should also consider having more than one form.
If you visit our own contact page, you’ll see we have a more advanced form for consultations, and we have a simple form for general questions. This not only helps our visitors, but it also helps us.
On a final note, I’d suggest having your contact forms across your site connected to an email service. You can read more about why your site should be collecting emails here.
Answer the Basics
A lot of people who visit a contact page just want some basic answers beyond where you are or what hours you’re open. They’ll often skip right over content that’s on other pages of your site and just ask you directly by giving you a call or sending you an email.
For those who get a lot of traffic to their site, this can result in a lot of time wasted answering the most basic of questions over and over again. I’d recommend trying to answer the most frequently asked questions (FAQs) directly on the contact page.
Again, you can see this in action on our own website.
You may have a page dedicated to FAQs. If so, you can try to guide visitors there first before they reach out to you directly. You can also guide them to other pages that may answer their questions and meet their needs…
Paths to Other Pages
Contact pages are often treated as a dead end because, well, they often are. But this isn’t always the case. As I’ve mentioned, people sometimes go to a contact page because they’re unsure of where else to go. This provides an opportunity for you to guide them to another page.
This isn’t something everyone will do, but when it makes sense, it can be very effective.
Let’s say you get a lot of people calling and emailing you, asking what specific services you provide. This is frustrating because the services you provide are listed in explicit detail directly on your website. In this case, you may want to try listing your services directly on your contact page and guiding users back to a dedicated service page so that they can learn more.
This will not only save you from answering basic questions, but it might actually increase your conversion rates.
Need Help?
I know that’s a lot to take in, and if you’re already running a business, you’re probably pretty busy already. The good news is that you don’t have to do everything yourself. If you’re in need of content strategy, UX improvements, inbound marketing, SEO, or you don’t even have a website yet, we can help with that and more.
Just visit our contact page here, and we can get started.
