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Contact forms are web-based forms published on a website. Users can fill out the forms to request more information or sign up for a service. Behind the scenes, the form data is sent to you, the website owner, via email or CRM.
It allows you to capture potential customers or subscribers without putting out your personal email address on your website or everywhere online. Contact forms are an essential element of websites, especially business websites.
You can keep track of inquiries, customer service requests, and even sales leads. As your business grows, you might even need to upgrade your contact form solution to a more robust system that can handle a higher volume of submissions.
However, just having a contact form does not guarantee that you will get leads and improve your conversions. In order to generate more leads, you need to have a well-designed contact form that is easy to use and converts visitors into leads.
Here's how to create a foolproof contact form that will help you generate more leads.
Optimize the design of your contact forms.
A user-friendly layout is essential for any contact form if you want more people to use it. Here are a few tips on how to make your contact forms easier to use:
- You want to match the expected length of input to the size of each text field. A good rule of thumb is to make the width of each field approximately equal to the length of the average response. Don't make the fields too wide or too narrow.
- Use labels that clearly describe the purpose of each field. "Your name" is much better than "Name." Or, even better, use the HTML "label" tag to associate each label with its corresponding field. That way, users will see the labels even if they have turned off CSS or are using a screen-reader.
- Avoid splitting up related information across multiple fields. For example, if you are asking for a street address, place the street number in one field and the street name in another.
Applying these tips to your contact forms can help you encourage more people to use them, which can, in turn, lead to more conversions for your business.
Plus, the form will look more inviting and user-friendly, which can help build trust with potential customers.
Ensure your site visitors sees your lead forms easily.
The best place to position your lead form is above the fold, which is generally the top half of a web page that is visible without scrolling. It ensures that your visitors can see your contact form without having to scroll down the page.
You can also add a contact form to the sidebar of your website so that it is visible on every page. If you have a large website, you may want to consider adding a contact form to each page so that visitors can easily get in touch with you no matter where they are on your site.
Or you can place it at the bottom of your page as a final call-to-action. It ensures that visitors will see your contact form even if they don't scroll down the entire page.
When forms are easily seen and accessible, you're more likely to get submissions from your site visitors. So take some time to ensure that your contact form is placed in a visible and convenient location on your website.
Avoid adding dozens of fields.
One of the best ways to make your contact form more capture user interest and data is by limiting its length. We recommend only asking for required information, not anything else that might distract or interrupt them from completing their transaction with you in a timely manner!
Try to stick to three or four lines for your contact forms. Only include the necessary fields such as name, email, phone number, and message. Anything beyond that is not necessary and will only serve to frustrate your users.
If you must include additional fields, try to make them optional. That way, users can fill out the form according to their own convenience.
Start with easy questions and work your way toward the difficult ones.
The last thing you want to do is discourage your site visitors by bombarding them with questions that are too difficult from the get-go. You certainly don't want that.
A good rule of thumb is to order your form fields from the easiest questions to the most difficult. That way, you can ease your visitors into providing you with the information you need while simultaneously building their trust.
What are the easy questions?
These are questions that your site visitors will have no trouble answering. They might even be able to answer them without thinking too hard. Examples of easy questions include:
- First name
- Last name
- Email address
- Where did you find us
Asking for a visitor's first and last name is pretty standard practice. And unless someone is using a fake email address, they should be able to answer that question easily enough as well.
The country question is also generally easy to answer, although you might want to give your visitors the option to select "other" if their country isn't listed in the dropdown menu.
What are the difficult questions?
Difficult questions are those that require your site visitors to put some thought into their answers. They might even need to do a bit of research before answering them. Examples of difficult questions include:
- credit card information
- shipping address
- essay questions
Asking for a visitor's credit card information is, understandably, a bit of a sensitive subject. You don't want to ask for this information until you've built up enough trust with your site visitors.
The same goes for their shipping address. Again, unless you're running a contest or something where you need this information upfront, it's best to wait until later to ask for it.
And, of course, essay questions can be quite challenging to answer, depending on what you're asking. So if you do require an essay answer, make sure to give your visitors enough time to write a thoughtful response.
By starting with easy questions and working your way towards the difficult ones, you can ensure that your website visitors are comfortable providing you with the information you need. And that's always a good thing.
Your audience will be invested in the form and are more likely to keep filling it out if they see that it's easy and not too time-consuming.
Enable autofill on your contact forms.
Search engine users are constantly filling out web forms, and many of them are probably using the same types of information each time—for example, email addresses, phone numbers, and names.
Because of this, your target audience might get tired of always having to enter the same information in various forms.
One way to combat this problem is by enabling autofill on your contact forms. This way, your users will only have to enter their information once, and it will be automatically populated on all future forms.
To enable autofill on your contact forms, you'll need to add a few lines of code to your HTML. First, you'll need to add the "autocomplete" attribute to each input field.
The "autocomplete" attribute will tell the browser to enable autofill for that specific field. Next, you'll need to add the "name" attribute to each input field. It will tell the browser what type of information should be entered in that field.
Finally, you'll need to add the "value" attribute to each input field. It will tell the browser what value should be entered in that field.
Additionally, many browsers allow users to enable autofill by going into their settings and selecting the "Forms" or "Autofill" option.
By enabling autofill on your contact forms, you can make it easier for your users to fill out your forms. And this, in turn, can lead to more conversions and sales.
Use reCaptcha.
Instead of using Captcha, use reCaptcha. It's more effective and requires less effort from users. Plus, it's free.
reCaptcha is a Google service that allows you to add a CAPTCHA to your site to safeguard it from abuse and spam. It uses adaptive CAPTACHAs and an advanced risk analysis engine to keep automated software from harming your website. It's practical and easy to use.
There are two ways you can use reCaptcha on your site: entering digits or words from an image and a checkbox where users can click to confirm they're not a robot.
These two options are effective in keeping your contact forms user-friendly and safe.
Make formatting clear.
Ensure your instructions are clear so that your audience doesn't get discouraged filling out the form. For example, if a field is required, mark it as such. If you have specific formatting requirements, explain them upfront, so your audience knows what to expect.
If you're asking for a date, make it clear whether you want the full date, just the month and day, or just the year. Moreover, if you ask for phone numbers, specify whether you want the area code.
The formatting your contact forms requires will largely depend on the type of information you're asking for. Just be clear so that your audience knows what to expect. It will ensure that you get the information you need while keeping your audience happy.
Optimize the contact form for mobile.
Mobile devices are becoming more and more popular, so it is essential to make sure that your contact form is optimized for them. It means that the form should be easy to use and fill out on a mobile device. You may want to consider making the form shorter, using a smaller font, and making the buttons and fields easier to click on.
Since the space is limited on a mobile device, it is also important to ensure that the most crucial information is at the top of the form. Therefore, you may consider using a single-column layout for your form and putting the most critical fields at the top.
Also, when your website is responsive, the form will automatically adjust to the screen size, so you don't need to worry about that. If you want to optimize your site for mobile users, we can help.
We're a web design company that can help you with optimizing your website for mobile devices. Plus, we offer other web design services, as well.
Make your CTAs stand out.
Your calls to action are one of the essential elements on your website, landing pages, and contact forms—they're what tell your visitors what you want them to do next. Generally, they guide your visitors towards becoming a paying customer or taking some other desired action.
You must make your CTAs stand out in your website's contact form. Your audience must not miss it, or they may fail to complete your form. In return, you may lose a potential customer.
To make your CTAs more noticeable, you can try using brighter colors or bigger fonts. As for the text, you need to be more straightforward and use actionable words.
Instead of saying "Submit" or "Click Here," use phrases like "Get a Quote" or "Start Your Free Trial." These CTAs are more likely to convert because they let your visitors know what will happen when they click on your CTA.
By making your CTAs stand out, you can guide your visitors to taking the desired action—completing your contact form. As a result, you're more likely to generate leads and boost conversions.
Conclusion
So, there you have it! Nine foolproof ways to make your contact forms work harder for you and generate more leads. But remember, the most crucial part is to TEST everything. Different combinations of fields and buttons will work differently on different websites.
What works well for one company may not be as successful for another. Keep track of what's working (and what's not) on your website and make small changes often to see significant results. Are you ready to start generating more leads with your contact form?
Schedule a free consultation with our web design agency and discover our professional Website Design Services and how we can help turn your website into a powerful lead generation tool. We're more than ready to tackle your web design project with the help of our web designers and web developers.
Also, we offer other services such as search engine optimization, website redesign, web development, digital marketing, website copywriting services, new website development, and more.