A customer has decided they might hire you. Now they need a way to say so. If that step is awkward, they will not struggle through it, they will go to the next business. The good news is that this is one of the easiest parts of a website to get right.
The three options
A phone number. Fast, personal, and best when the customer wants an answer now. It suits trades, urgent jobs, and anyone who sells on conversation.
A contact form. Good for people who are browsing in the evening, do not want to talk yet, or want to describe the job in their own words. It also gives you something written down.
A booking link. A page where the customer picks a time themselves. It suits appointment based businesses like clinics, salons and consultants, because it saves the back and forth.
Which should you offer?
Think about how your customers actually behave, not how you wish they did.
- Urgent or high trust work (a blocked drain, a legal question, a quote for a big job): lead with the phone number. People want to hear a human voice.
- Appointments (a haircut, a physio session, a consult): lead with a booking link, and keep a phone number as a backup.
- Considered purchases (a renovation, a wedding, a long term service): offer a form and a phone number, so people can take their time or ring.
You can offer more than one. Do not offer six. Pick the one you most want people to use, make it the obvious choice, and keep the others in a supporting role.
Where to put them
Contact details belong in more places than most owners think.
- At the top of every page. A phone number in the header, so it is there whichever page someone lands on.
- After your main content. Once someone has read about what you do, give them the next step straight away, as we cover in what to put on your homepage.
- At the bottom of every page. Your phone, email, address or service area, and hours.
- On a dedicated contact page. For people who go looking for it. Include the form or booking link, your phone number and your hours.
Getting the phone number right
On a mobile, the number should be tappable, so one touch starts the call. Check this on your own phone. If you have to copy the number out by hand, so does every customer. Put the hours next to it, so people know when you will answer, and say what happens if you miss the call.
Getting the form right
- Keep it short. Name, phone or email, and a box for the message. Every extra field puts someone off.
- Say what happens next. "We reply within one business day" is useful, but only if it is true.
- Test it. Fill it in yourself and send it. Did it arrive? Check spam too. A form that quietly stopped sending months ago is one of the most common faults we see, and it is covered in our ten minute self check.
- Use an address you read. Forms that send to an old or unused email lose enquiries.
Getting the booking link right
Make sure the times shown are real, the confirmation reaches the customer, and you actually get a notification. Make a test booking yourself and then cancel it.
Be honest about the response
Whatever you offer, answer it. If you say you ring back the same day, ring back the same day. A promise on your website that you do not keep is worse than no promise.
What about social media messages?
Some customers will message your Facebook page rather than ring. That is fine, but do not make it the only option. Keep the same phone number and email everywhere, as we mention in do you still need a website if you have a Facebook page.
You can check all of this yourself
None of this needs a professional. Open your site on your phone and try to contact yourself the way a customer would. If it takes more than a few seconds, or anything fails, you have found something to fix. If you would like help with it, tell us about your business for a free 15 minute call.