What should a contact form ask?
Ask only what you need to reply well: a name, one way to reach them, and what they need help with. Add one or two optional questions only if they change how you respond, such as their area or timing. Each extra field adds effort, and shorter forms tend to be finished more often, so cut anything you can find out later.
The questions most forms need
- Name.
- Email or phone: whichever they prefer, with the other optional.
- What they need help with, in their own words.
- Optional: one question, such as where they are or when they need it, if it changes your reply.
What to drop
- Anything you can ask on the first call instead.
- Budget fields that put people off before they have spoken to you.
- Company size, job title and other details you will not use.
- Captcha puzzles, if a quieter spam filter will do.
What the research says
Nielsen Norman Group's guidance on web forms, by Kathryn Whitenton, is to keep forms short, remove fields that collect information you can get another way, and keep optional fields to one or two, clearly labeled as optional.
Make sure it reaches you
- Send a test message every month and check it arrives.
- Send messages to an inbox someone reads every day, not a shared address nobody checks.
- Show the visitor a clear thank-you message that says when they will hear back.
- Record each inquiry with where it came from.
- Link a short privacy note next to the button, and add people to marketing emails only if they opt in.
Sources
Related answers
- What is a conversion rate, and how do you improve it on a service website?
- How fast should a business reply to a new lead?
- What is a lead system, and does a small business need one?
Websites, upgraded or built
Most businesses do not need a new website. They need the one they have to load fast, say clearly what they do and ask the visitor to take one step.