Your firm’s contact page needs a phone number people can tap, your opening hours, one short form, an email address someone checks, and a line that says what happens next and when. Then test it, because a form can look fine and still send enquiries nowhere.
Someone has read about your firm, liked what they saw and decided to get in touch. They click “Contact”. What happens next decides whether you hear from them.
So what should be on your contact page? And how do you know if yours is helping people get in touch, or putting them off without you knowing?
Most firms build the contact page last and check it least. It often gets a form, a map and an email address, then nobody looks at it again for years. In our experience, it’s a common place for interest to leak away.
By the end of this article, you’ll have a clear list of what your contact page needs. You’ll also have a ten-minute way to test it on your phone.
Key takeaways
- Your contact page should make the next step obvious for someone on a phone, in a hurry.
- Only offer ways to get in touch that someone actually answers.
- Every form field should have a clear reason to be there.
- Say what happens next and roughly when, so people know they’ve been heard.
- A thank-you message on screen doesn’t mean anyone received the enquiry. Test it.
In this article
- Show the details people look for first
- Only offer contact options someone answers
- Ask only what you need to reply well
- Answer the doubts people have at the last moment
- Say what happens after they get in touch
- Test your contact page on your phone today
- Questions people ask about contact pages
Show the details people look for first
When someone lands on your contact page, they usually want one of three things. They want to call you, send a message or check where you are. Make each one easy to find without scrolling.
Start with a short heading that says what to do. “Get in touch” is fine. “Talk to us about your situation” is warmer, and tells people what the conversation is for.
Then show your phone number as a link that can be tapped on a phone. Many people still prefer to call a professional firm, especially about something personal or urgent. If the number can’t be tapped, you’ve added a step for every mobile visitor.
Add your opening hours next to the number. Someone thinking of calling at 6pm needs to know whether anyone will pick up.
If clients visit you, show your address and a simple map. Add a line about parking or the nearest station if people often ask. If you mainly work remotely, say so, so nobody worries about travelling.
Check that every detail matches your Google Business Profile and your email signature. A different phone number in two places makes people wonder which one is right.
Only offer contact options someone answers
It’s tempting to list every way to reach you. Phone, email, form, live chat, WhatsApp, a booking link and three social profiles. More choice can feel helpful.
In practice, every option you show is a promise. If the chat box sits unanswered, or the email address goes to an inbox nobody checks, you’ve told someone you’re available when you’re not.
When we review a firm’s contact routes, we check two things for each one. Does it work, and who answers it? If nobody can name the person, it’s a risk.
A good rule is to offer fewer routes and make sure each one is owned. For many firms, a phone number, one form and one email address are plenty. A booking link can help too, if the diary behind it is kept up to date.
If a route is only staffed at certain times, say so next to it. “We reply to messages within one working day” sets a fair expectation. Only write a time you can keep every week, including holidays.
It’s also worth reading our list of silent website mistakes that cost firms enquiries. Several of them start on the contact page.
Ask only what you need to reply well
A long form can put people off. A form that’s too short can leave you replying blind. The aim is a form that gives you what you need to send a useful first reply, and nothing more.
When we look at a contact form, we don’t start by counting the fields. We ask what each one is used for. If nobody can say how the answer helps, the field can probably go.
For most professional firms, a good starting form looks like this:
- Name
- Email address
- Phone number (you can make this optional)
- What do you need help with? (a short drop-down list of your main services, plus “Something else”)
- Tell us a little about your situation (a message box)
- How did you hear about us? (optional)
The service drop-down helps you send the enquiry to the right person. The “how did you hear about us” question helps you see which marketing brings in work.
Some fields matter for safety or rules. A law firm may need to check for conflicts before it replies in detail. A financial adviser may need to know if someone is an existing client. Keep those fields. Explain briefly why you ask.
A few practical checks make a big difference:
- Label every field clearly, above the box, so labels don’t vanish when someone starts typing.
- Mark which fields are optional.
- If someone makes a mistake, show a clear message and keep everything else they typed.
- Add a short line about how you use their details, with a link to your privacy policy.
Losing a half-written message because of one wrong field is enough to make some people give up.
Answer the doubts people have at the last moment
By the time someone reaches your contact page, they’re interested. But many people still hesitate right before they send. Common doubts sound like this:
- “Will I get a sales pitch?”
- “Is my enquiry too small for them?”
- “Will this cost me anything?”
- “Who will actually read this?”
A few lines can answer these. Say that the first conversation is free if it is. Say who usually replies, with their name and photo if you’re happy to. Say whether you handle smaller matters. A short review close to the form helps too. Choose one that talks about how the firm treated the person, since that’s the doubt at this point. Use real reviews only, word for word, with the name as it appears on the review site.
People who’ve been let down before tend to read this part closely. Calm, specific reassurance helps them feel safe pressing “send”.
Say what happens after they get in touch
Once someone sends a form, they want to know it worked. They also want to know what happens next. Your thank-you message should confirm the enquiry has arrived. Then say what happens next in one or two lines. For example: “Thanks, we’ve got your message. One of our team will reply within one working day. If it’s urgent, please call us.”
An automatic email with the same message is useful too. It gives people something to find later, and shows your email arrives in their inbox.
Behind the scenes, decide who owns each new enquiry. One named person, with a back-up for holidays. If everyone can see the inbox, it’s easy for each person to assume someone else has replied.
Speed matters, but so does a reply that shows you read the message. Our article on what happened to your last 10 genuine enquiries looks at this part in more detail.
Test your contact page on your phone today
You don’t need special tools for this. You need your phone and about ten minutes.
- Open your website on your phone and find the contact page from the home page. Count the taps it took.
- Tap the phone number. Does it start a call?
- Fill in the form with a clearly marked test, like “TEST, please ignore”.
- Leave one required field empty on purpose. Is the error clear, and does the rest of your message stay?
- Send it. Does the thank-you message say what happens next?
- Check which inbox it landed in, and how long it took to arrive.
- Ask yourself: who would have replied, and when?
Write down anything that made you pause, guess or wait. Those are the places a stranger is likely to give up.
A thank-you message on screen doesn’t mean anyone received the enquiry. A form can look fine and still send messages to an old inbox. The only way to know is to test the whole route, start to finish.
Do this test again after any change to your website, email or phone system. It takes minutes, and it can save a client you’ve already earned.
Make getting in touch the easy part
Run the seven-step phone test above today. Every week it doesn’t work is a week of enquiries that may never reach you.
If you’d like a second pair of eyes on your contact page, book a More Clients Call. It’s a free call, under 30 minutes, and you’ll leave knowing what to fix first.
Not ready for a call? Read our list of silent website mistakes
