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Creating Website Contact Forms That Get You Leads
Website contact forms play a pretty important role when you’re trying to generate leads from your website. It’s the easiest way for a potential customer to get in contact with the person behind the website. Not everyone likes to pick up the phone and call, unless they are in dire need of your service, so filling out a contact form to get more information or receive a call back about a service is great for overall user experience.
Should I Have a Contact Form on My Website?
YES! Creating a contact form is a routine task for any web developer. It won’t cost you more and if you’re worried about spam, there are ways around that too! If you would like help creating a contact form, we would be happy to help. Really, if you don’t have one, you should get one, now.
I Have My Email Address Listed, Is that Good Enough?
If you just have a “Mail To” link on your site that opens a new email message box after it is clicked, you will not be able to track your visitors. The “Mail To” link opens in a new window, and once your users leave your page, you have no way of tracking your website data. This makes it difficult to accurately track which of your marketing strategies are the most effective. However, if you use a website contact form, you can set up goal completion tracking in Analytics to attribute contact form submissions to their proper marketing source.
What Should My Website Contact Form Say?
Unfortunately many humans have a fear of commitment. A lead generation study was completed that showed that words like “submit,” “download,” and “register” can stop some people dead in their tracks, preventing them from going forward and clicking the submit button (see graph below generated by Hubspot). The copy on your submit button answers the “why should I click this?” question. The last thing you want to do is scare away a potential customer because you wigged them out with bad copy. “Click Here” and “Go” are much better options. If you can throw in a “free” offer, that would be even better. For example, “click here for a free estimate” would generate more leads than just “click here”
Only Collect Information You Need
You know when you go to the doctor and you fill out 10 pages of repeated information… yeah, no one has the time or the patience to fill out a 10 item contact form. The more information you request, the more likely someone will be to forfeit your contact form. No one actually likes filling out forms, in real life or on the web. So, the simpler you make it, the better.
Local business tip: a zip code might be helpful for your forms to weed out potential leads in areas you do not service.
Should I Require a Phone Number on My Website Contact Form?
As humans, we are always skeptical about giving out our phone numbers, especially to pesky sales people or creepy guys dishing out one liners at the bar. Regardless, requiring a phone number could keep visitors from filling out your contact form.
Some business owners will argue that they prefer to talk to customers over the phone. Which is totally understandable—selling a product or service is much easier by phone than through email. But, what if that is not the way your customer prefers to communicate?
If the main goal of your website contact form is to generate leads and increase sales, why would you limit the potential for customer interaction? As a business owner, you may love to talk on the phone, but most likely your customer would rather have the first interaction via email before speaking with you directly. There will be less pressure and less commitment on your customer, which will enhance his or her overall experience. Your phone number is listed on your website; if a customer needs to contact you directly or in a hurry, they can call. Since not all people are against giving out their phone number, if you really feel the need to have it on your contact form, have the field there but don’t make it required for submission.
I Like Big Buttons and I Cannot Lie
Does the size of your submit button affect usability and optimization? You bet! A study done by the Conversion Doctor found that larger font and bigger “submit” buttons have a much higher conversion rate. The overall design also has an impact on conversions. The submit button answers the question for your client, “where do I click?” so you want to make it as obvious as possible.
Make Your Website Contact Form Stick Out
Branding is a very important part of marketing. Every website has a color scheme and layout that fits perfectly with their brand. This is great except for when your contact form seamlessly fits your “brand” and it doesn’t draw the viewer’s attention to your website contact form. It is best practice to keep your contact form, or at least the header of your website contact form, above the “fold.” Meaning, when someone clicks on your website, without scrolling down, they can see at least the top of the contact form.
Website Contact Form Best Practices
At the end of the day, there are so many options and design aspects you can choose from when creating your website contact form. Most importantly, you should make your contact form stand out. If your viewers don’t see the form, then there is no chance that they will fill it out. Try to make it personal and keep it simple! If you have any questions about website contact forms or if you would like advice on how to optimize your current form, contact one of our web experts today!
About The Author: Blue Corona's Editorial Staff is determined to help you increase your leads and sales, optimize your marketing costs, and differentiate your brand by passing on our tribal knowledge. The team vigilantly stays on top of the latest in digital marketing, bringing you the top insights with expert commentary. Want to see something on our blog you haven't seen yet? Shoot us an email and our marketing team will get to work.
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The information on this website is for informational purposes only; it is deemed accurate but not guaranteed. It does not constitute professional advice. All information is subject to change at any time without notice. Contact us for complete details.
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