You’re dead wrong if you think the contact form is an essential part of your website. Contact forms are vital not of not just for online presence but for your digital marketing campaign as a whole. Sadly, many business owners don’t consider the contact form important.
Contact forms aren’t just a minor part of a website. While they generally serve as a way for your audience to reach out to you for quick answers to their questions, you can gain new leads and valuable information about your clients. You can get contact details about your clients and potential leaders through the contact form. Take note, however, that contact forms don’t always guarantee the reliability of all the information you get. So you will still need third-party verification services, such as postal address validation services (by Byteplant) or Email validators.
The best contact forms inspire people to reach out to you, give feedback, and play an active role in your company’s digital marketing strategies. From being a passive element of your website, you can turn the contact form into a powerful digital marketing tool. How do you achieve that? How to create an effective contact form? Check out our list below.
1. Keep the title precise and clear
Never make very long contact form titles. Be concise and clear to avoid discouraging your visitor. The title should be crisp. With just one look, the visitor should know what it is for.
Avoid using the most commonly used action buttons for contact forms: OK, Done, Continue, and Submit. These words only confuse visitors. A better alternative would be to use action buttons that communicate what the user gets in exchange for filling out the form, e.g., Get Your Answer Now.
Studies show website visitors are more receptive to left-aligned titles than right-aligned ones. Brands can also be situated inside the field for a more compact and shorter form.
4. Keep the form short
Online users have a concise attention span, so keep your contact form fast and direct. Do not include numerous fields, as it will only make them impatient. Include only the areas that are vital to your business. Avoid asking for personal information like birthdays, employment, phone numbers, etc. If you need your users’ details, guarantee user privacy and privacy badges.
5. Include an informative description
Aside from the title, you also need to put a description of the form. It should answer the visitors’ basic questions and state what they will get if they fill out the form.
above the fold encourages visitors to concentrate on the paper, increasing the conversion rate.7. Communicate errors instantly and clearly
Alert visitors for mistakes immediately. Ensure you notify them about the reason for the mistake and not just a simple error prompt. It can be frustrating not knowing what’s wrong with their form.
8. Provide help text
Effective contact forms contain help text below the fields to guide users on what to input. Aside from giving information, it also ensures they supply the expected answers.
9. Personalized message after form submission
What happens once the users click the submit button? By displaying a personalized message, you show better customer service skills. A customized message must include the visitor’s name when to expect a reply and other relevant details.
10. Keep the design simple and readable
Don’t overdo the contact form design. Aesthetics help, but the main goal is to ensure the form’s readability. Carefully choose the theme, colors, and style, ensuring that it is not an eyesore and is consistent with your website’s overall design. Also, pay attention to the font style, color, and size. The use of funky color schemes and font styles is not recommended.
Captcha technology is an effective anti-spam measure that is useful in deterring bots. But think about how frustrating it can be to get the Captcha right. Instead of being helpful, Captcha might scare visitors off your page. You can use simple catch and offer options to change the code. This way, they will not be turned off.12. Cross-platform adaptable forms
The majority of online visitors now use mobile gadgets. As such, you need to design a responsive layout across different platforms. Invest in technology that will give a good user experience across other platforms.
