Contact Forms are all over the Internet. In fact, for most types of websites, the whole point of the visit is to get people to contact you via your contact form. So the question is, how do you make sure that as many people as possible fill out that form?
Well I know myself personally, I love contact forms that are simply to use, pretty, and only ask for the most important information. And I think most people in the initial design process, do not factor enough time to the contact us page (or section of the website). I’ve sat in many design meetings about colours, header graphics, flash banners, navigation systems, but only a handful really devote useful time to proper design of the contact form.
So below I will list some points I feel are extremely important when it comes to contact form designs:
- Make it Visually Appealing - The amount of contact forms that are around that are not styled, even with simple CSS rules is incredible and boggles my mind. Whether you are using valid markup or not for your contact forms shouldn’t matter. The form should encourage me to fill it out.
- No Scrolling Through Input Fields/Textareas - Once again, a problem I believe is extremely rampant for no apparent reason. Accommodate enough space in the field for a first AND last name, and make sure that I do not have to squint to fill it in. I do have to admit im biased here, the recent trend of oversized contact forms I am really enjoying. Compare for yourself the user experience of an oversized form and one that is “normal” - let me know how you go.
- Clutter the Page with Distractions - The more information and contact on the Contact Page there is, the greater the chance the visitor might not fully complete the form, not the desired result. Also, cross promoting your products or having the form below-the-fold is not particularly clever either. The Contact Us page has one purpose and one purpose only - a user leaving their details for further information.
- Make it Easy to Find - Now that you have a pretty, user-friendly contact form, the next thing you need to consider is how easily it is found. You would lose your mind if you realise how difficult some make it in order to find the contact forms on their site. You would even be more annoyed to find out how much feedback and enquires you as a webmaster or website owner are missing out on because your form isn’t in the right spot, or the links to your form are hidden away. Do yourself and your bottom line a favour, make sure the call to action takes you to the right contact form. Eg, I don’t want to enquire about iPhones if I am on the Blackberry page.
- CAPTCHAs That are Easy to Use - Too many CAPTCHAs are too difficult to use. They are standard fare these days, I understand that, just make it easy to use and as readible as possible. Thanks!
So I am taking all these points on board, because as you can see, I do not have a contact form at present. I am hoping to practice what I preach and within the next week or so you can be expected to be able to contact me nice and quickly. Hopefully….
