Tips for your contact page
With a website, business or online service you offer, a visitor may have a question or want to get in touch with you. Often this is also a goal of a conversion. Here are the tips from MijnHostingPartner.nl when creating or optimizing a contact page.
Offering online services or support will always be a part of working with a website. It doesn't matter if you have a blog, a web shop or a company website. Customers and visitors might have a question or want to get in touch with you. You can simply put an email address in the footer of your page and declare it done. Or you can take some steps to make this a user-friendly experience. There are a number of steps and functionality required to do this.
The right place
As we mentioned above, you can put an email address in the footer. At the very top menu or at the end of the website are logical places to either have links to your contact page. Or directly a contact option. So you can set this up so that it ends up in those places. There are some global rules that you should follow in website design. There are a number of places where people expect a certain functionality or menu.
So most websites choose to have a contact page at the very top of a menu, or at the very bottom in the footer. Also, either location is an option. Within Content Management Systems in WordPress, you can simply add a page for this and then use additional widgets to create the necessary information and references. The contact page is then titled exactly that, Contact or About Us. This is then easily recognized as the place where the visitor can contact you.
An introduction text and invitation to contact you
You can choose to leave your Contact or About Us page bare and just put the functionality there. However, this often does not send the right message. A small piece of text with an introduction to your company and how to get in touch is nice. For example, explain how fast and when you can be reached. In the weekend it can sometimes take a little longer and after 5 we are closed. Et cetera. You can also write a small introduction to your company. However, this is more applicable if you go for an About Us page.
Pages on your website with little or no text are also penalized by search engines like Google, Bing or DuckDuckGo. You want to be the first to appear when customers search for "Your Company contact" on search engines.
A contact form
A contact form is often the way to make general requests and inquiries. Many companies also use this in a more comprehensive way to submit tickets, for example. With a contact form it is normal to ask for a Name, email address and question in different fields. This can then be sent to your email address via the website. Afterwards, of course, you can respond to it.
With a contact form you can change the information in it so that you can also use it as a registration form for a website or association. Nowadays it is important that you observe the AVG or privacy law when creating such forms. For example, you need to have an SSL certificate active at virtually any location where private data is entered. And you need to store the data of a customer in a proper place that is protected. Furthermore, you often need to provide an approval option for visitors who enter a request per contact form.
Directions or a mini map of where the visitor can find you
The directions from Google Maps, for example, are no longer free to use on your website. For each time the map is loaded you now pay a certain amount. There are also free options, but we have not yet done any research on this. With directions or a map from Google maps it is easier than ever for customers to find you.
Another way you can do this is by creating a Google My Business page. Here, at least in local search results, it will then be shown directly. And so you have the solution from outside your website.
The basis of contact, your own email address
An email address is and will remain for the time being the way in which customers and visitors can ask you a question. It's a smaller effort than, for example, stopping by and often more accessible than a phone call for many people. It also allows you to make clear written agreements that are often more useful than a promise to pass by.
With a domain name and hosting package from MijnHostingPartner.nl you have the best environment for your email address or addresses. Create it easily and securely via the control panel, use it in a browser with the webmail, set it up on your phone, on your PC or computer. Always with your favorite email program or application. This gives you the chance to respond to your customers' questions and requests anytime, anywhere!
What are your ways of being accessible to customers? Let us know about them!
