The "Contact" page is often the most misunderstood part of a website. Look at how most local service businesses lay their contact forms and pages out and you'll see a number of problems. Below are tips on what to do and what not to do when it comes to your company's "Contact Us" page if you own a local service business:

Bad Ideas:

• Not having a contact form - I see this way too often. The contact page simply has the email address and no real contact form. You click on the email address in hopes of getting a bid or scheduling an appointment and suddenly your Outlook is popping up and your computer goes crazy. You get frustrated and leave. Cobalt's contact page is a good example of what it should look like.
• Asking way too many questions - Some business owners think this looks more professional, but the longer the contact form, the lower the conversion rate. Why? Because people don't want to answer a laundry list of questions to get a simple answer or set up an appointment. You're catering to them. Not the other way around. Cut down to the essentials and your conversion rate will rise. See below.

Good ideas:

• Get to the point - The best contact form layout is to require a Name, Phone Number, Email (optional) and a Comment section. Why? Because this is the bare minimum you as a company need to make contact with a customer. Asking anything else is redundant and wastes their time. Make it easy for people to contact you while still getting the important info. If someone doesn't want to be called before noon, they will probably specify this in the "Comment" window. You don't need a separate drop-down menu for this.
• Let them know you don't sell info - A basic "We respect your privacy" disclaimer (you do respect their privacy, right?) at the bottom of the contact form ensures they know you are an ethical company.

In a nutshell - don't make the Contact page obnoxious and difficult to fill out. A simple contact form wins, every time.

My contention has always been that you don't want to make your site visitors (AKA potential customers) "think" once they reach your site. You only have a few seconds to capture their attention.

Before your customer scrolls down, they should have a clear understanding of what they are looking at. That's your only goal - get to the point and convert the visitor into a contact. Don't make them think about what they are looking at too hard, or they are gone. To a competing site.

It's amazing how many web design companies don't get this.

Instead they have virtual sales agents running at you or explosions flying at the screen. The company phone number is nowhere to be found without on the site without digging around or clicking on a subpages. There's no explanation as to what cities the company services or where they are located. Look at any industry in any major market and you'll see this.


So what works? This is what I think:

• Name of company and some credibility indicators if applicable. A BBB logo, Angie's List, Twitter and Facebook button, etc. Let them know this isn't your first rodeo.
  


• In plain English - what you do and where. "Welcome to Bob's Landscaping - Proudly Serving North DFW".
  


• A call to action/contact info - "Call for a free quote: 555-1224"
  

If someone really wants to read about how you've been cutting hedges or handling energy audits since 1994, they will look around your site. Most people don't though. Most people just want to know how to contact you as painlessly as possible. Isn't that the point of having a website?

"But that's boring!" some will say...

Exactly. Boring works. Don't make them think.

We are currently in the process of helping Larry at Texas Fence Staining of North Dallas with a minor website renovation. Texas Fence Staining is a younger company but has grown over the past 3+ years to be one of the top rated fence repair and staining companies in all of DFW. The company started off as a division of Red Rock Fence but was recently incorporated as its own separate entity due to overwhelming demand. The owner, Larry, is on site for all jobs and work performed and same day service is available in many cases.

We plan to modernize Texas Fence Staining's website and expand their business to suburbs like Plano, Frisco and Allen, plus the Coppell area. Since fence staining is busiest in the summer, we look forward to getting their site ramped up in time for their busy season. More soon....