In website design and copywriting, Contact Us pages are important but often overlooked. Here are some tips and examples to inspire you to create an effective Contact Us page for your website.
Contact. It’s a powerful word. Something vital happens when we make contact in life.
In business lead generation, contact is synonymous with conversion. When leads contact you, you’ve achieved your goal.
In other cases, contact is about answering questions. Sometimes the best company contact pages provide answers so personal contact isn’t necessary.
Given this important role, you’d think that a website’s Contact Us page would be scrutinized and tested. The design, copy, and imagery would be carefully planned and executed. It would get serious attention because of its vital role in conversions.
But you’d be wrong. Contact pages are often sparse, uninviting, and difficult to find. They lurch into discontinuity from otherwise well-designed websites, like a whiff of bad breath before a first kiss.
Frequently, leads are looking at your Contact page at the moment their fingers are moving to a keyboard or phone. Potential or existing customers are the people motivated to contact you, and those are important people. Follow these tips to make sure your contact page does its job well.
Contact Us Page Tips
#1. Keep it simple and clean
None of what we’re suggesting here is meant to say you want an over-the-top, wild contact us page. First and foremost, make sure it does its job with easy to find contact info, maps, and short contact forms.
At the same time, try to keep some continuity with your website’s style and voice. FreakersUSA does a nice job of this:
If you’re running a mortuary, you obviously wouldn’t use this type of voice, but it’s consistent with the rest of Freaker’s site. The form could not be simpler.
#2 Include Daily Updates
If you run a business like a restaurant or entertainment center, include info that’s relevant for that day. The Pumphouse restaurant gives daily info, including a Twitter feed:
#3. Communicate Responsiveness
This one is usually overlooked. Communicate that you’ll respond quickly and you’re more likely to get inquiries. Little Lines does a nice job of this, and even includes the personal touch of the names of people who will field your message.
#4. Give Leads a Reason to Contact You
Saying “contact us” or “submit” are hardly compelling reasons for someone to contact you. Don’t forget your value proposition and call to action on your Contact page. Flip n Crazy real estate brokers has a nicely complete contact page, with contact info, a map, a value statement, and a “free” offer call to action.
#5. Set the Tone and Provide Further Info
If you are an eCommerce site or your site is for brand awareness, most contacts won’t be sales leads. In fact, you might actually want to discourage people from contacting you directly.
Saddleback Leather’s website is a great example of how to use storytelling, and they continue this on their contact page. This story sets a tone and discourages that small percentage of people who think they can contact customer service and bully people:
At Niner Bikes, they want to provide people with answers and alternative content before they call in with questions:
Additional Contact Us Page Tips:
If your conversion relies on people coming physically to your location, make sure your contact page has an embedded map/get directions button.
Test that your info, maps, click to call buttons, and forms all work on mobile devices. You must have a mobile responsive website design for you contact page to be a real use.
Only require info on forms that you absolutely must have. This is often just a name and email address. The more info your require, the greater the chance the lead won’t complete it, particularly on mobile.
If it’s relevant to your service, include a hero shot of a customer enjoying the benefits of your offer (a client getting massage, a patron with a cold beer, etc). Don’t let up on design or your sales message on your contact page.
Include a short testimonial quote from a happy client on your contact page. Keep your trust elements working everywhere on your site.
Refining your contact page is yet another subtle but effective way to gain a competitive advantage with your website marketing. It’s another step most businesses overlook, thinking a generic contact page is all they need.
Give yourself every advantage. Make every page on your website excellent. Those small advantages are what add up to competitive dominance.