Are you creating a new website and thinking about how to help the customers contact you?
The figures show that the contact information on the site is one of the most visited sections. People look at how to contact the company and ask additional questions.
Whether you decide to set up a contact form or simply state the email matters more than you think. Maybe you noticed that people stopped making phone calls. Now it’s easier for them to write. The easier and more precise this process is, the more requests you will get. As a result, more customers will receive the information they need and buy the desired product.
At first glance, setting up a contact form is more accessible in this case. But not everything is so clear. Let’s figure out what is suitable for your site and will appeal to potential customers.
Contact Form Essentials
A contact form is a form in which your potential client can quickly get answers to all their questions. It’s like a call center right on the site. A person writes their question, and your operator answers them.
Sometimes it takes a while to get a response, but all communication occurs in the present moment.
The email form on the site looks more professional than a written email, but not all users trust such forms. Because sometimes, you have to wait a very long time for an answer, and if the site is closed, it is not visible. In addition, the operator’s responses are not stored anywhere, and the person cannot return to them if necessary.
Why & when do you need a contact form on the website?
So, the contact us form is needed for your customers to contact you. Sure, you can invite people to message you via Facebook Messenger, but how effective will that be?
You need a contact form if:
- You want to be in touch with your customers and look professional, showing that you are always ready to help.
- You want to protect your corporate mail from SPAM.
- You want all requests from customers to go to a specific employee.
- It would help if you had an additional tool for audience analysis and lead generation.
- You want to automate answers to standard questions.
Contact Form Pros
1. Response automatization
The main benefit you get from a contact form is automating responses to questions from site visitors and looking professional. In addition, the contact form shows the potential customers that they are essential to you and that you are open to questions.
It shows that you are a true professional and you can do business.
To help you with this task, you can automate answers to common questions. So a unique code will help you quickly answer, for example, such questions:
- How to order?
- Where is the shop?
- What are the terms of delivery, etc.?
2. Communication made faster
Sometimes your potential client may have a specific question, which may derail them from purchasing if not answered. These can be a variety of questions, for instance:
- Can I order a product by a specific date?
- What colors are available, and where can I find sizes?
- Will the product suit me?
- Do you deliver to XX street?
Questions can be very different, and you cannot foresee everything. But you can answer them quickly if you have an employee who will reply to every request from a contact form.
This is how you retain your customers and provide them with the best service.
3. Ability to collect the information you need
You can collect more information about the potential customers and sell your products and services. To do so, make the form fields such as email, name, age, and phone required. With this information, you can better understand your customers and provide the services and products they need.
But be careful! People are usually lazy. The fewer fields a person needs to fill out, the more likely they will want to contact you.
More fields to fill out = fewer hits.
4. Lost email protection
When a person writes to you in the contact form, you receive a notification. Your task is to respond as soon as possible while they still want their question answered. Responding, in this case, is much easier because letters are not lost in your mailbox.
5. Ability to make additional sales
Since a contact form is like a call center, you have the opportunity to make additional sales through correspondence. Answer questions – make a relevant offer – sell. Profit!
Contact form cons
The contact form is very convenient, but it still has several disadvantages.
1. The need for quick responses
Visitors expect you to answer their every question quickly. If this does not happen, they go to competitors to get a quick answer.
Therefore, if you have a lot of visitors on the site, you will have to hire a separate person who will answer questions. You may not be able to do this independently, so the contact form maintenance may add to your costs.
2. Much spam anticipated
If your contact form is as simple as possible, you may receive a lot of spam. Some malware finds contact form sites and sends spam emails to them. I will tell you below how to get protected from it.
3. The client does not have a copy of the answers
After a person closes the site with your form, all answers disappear. They won’t be able to reread them. You can solve this problem by offering to send the client a copy of the responses in the mail. But not everyone is ready to leave their email address.
Spam protection Tips
Spam is one of the main problems you may encounter when leaving contacts or a contact form on the site. So how can you protect yourself from it?
- Put a captcha on your form.
- Add some questions, the answers to which must be written. Then you will get rid of automatic spam emails.
- Put an anti-spam token in the form of HTML code.
Best WordPress plugin to Build a Contact Form
So, do you want to create and add a contact form to your website? I have put together a few plugins which you can use to do this easily.
JetFormBuilder
Ann exciting plugin that allows you to create a contact form even without knowledge of HTML is JetFormBuilder.
Capabilities:
- creation of different forms;
- easily add drop-downs, calendars, questions, buttons, etc.;
- create intelligent forms that change based on user responses;
- creation of multi-step forms when the next step appears after completing the previous one;
- integration with payment systems and mailing services.
To use this plugin, you need to install it on the site.
Email Address Essentials
Regular email on the site is another popular way for companies to communicate with their customers. When should you use this method of communication?
Why & when do you leave a regular email?
You can find an email address on different sites more often than on contact forms because no additional plugins or code is needed to use it. But for its practical use, you also need to remember some features.
When can you use an email address to contact customers?
- You do not worry about spam that may come to your mail.
- You want to make communication with users more personal and simple.
- You understand that users need to save answers to their questions.
Email Address Pros
1. Clear and familiar tool
Email is a simple, straightforward, and well-known way of communication. Each of us has sent thousands of emails in our lifetime. Therefore, if your client wants to contact you, there will be only your email address, and they will have no questions about how to use it.
They will open their mailbox and write you a letter.
2. More trust
Various marketing studies have shown that users trust emails more than contact forms. Because they are sure that the company will answer them for sure soon and the answer will not be lost.
In addition, such communication is more personal. The person is sure that no one will use their data, and all the information they write in the letter will be known only to the company owner.
3. A person can always return to the answers they got
This is another great advantage of email vs. contact forms. If the user closes the site with the dialog in the first case, they will lose all information. If they write you an email, all the answers will be saved.
Email address cons
1. A person leaves your resource
Email addresses are most often left on the site in the form of plain text that visitors can copy or follow.
After clicking on the link, the user opens the default email app as a rule. But they are usually used by a few. So your potential customer will still have to copy your address, go to their inbox, and paste the address there.
Result? They leave your site to chat with you.
2. Communication gets complicated
While this is the preferred method of communication for many, your customers will need to make a few extra clicks to reach you. Yes, people are lazy to do a few extra mouse clicks. Therefore, many will probably never write their question to you.
3. Easy target for spambots
This method of communication exposes your mailbox to even more spam. The fact is that spam robots explore various sites, collect emails from them and send out spam letters. They could find an email address on the website. Unfortunately, nobody is immune to this.
Next thing, I will tell you how you can reduce the number of unwanted emails in your mailbox.
4. A letter from a client may be lost
If you receive 1-2 emails from clients per month, they are easy to spot and read quickly. But what if there are dozens of such requests a day? Do you also receive letters from different mailing lists?
You can solve this problem by using a separate client mailbox and asking someone on the team to help you with the answers.
Spam protection tips
Protecting your mailbox from spam is not easy, but it is possible. You can do this in several ways:
- using special characters;
- using a hidden CAPTCHA;
- using complex JavaScript functions;
- using PHP scripts.
Email creation tips
Remember, the letters you send to your clients should look professional, even in response to their requests. If you don’t already have a dedicated click-response mailbox, you can create one in a few minutes.
Therefore, when setting up the following email, check if you have:
- Email Signature. Your name, position, and, preferably, a photo are needed, too.
- Company’s logo.
- Understandable address. Something like lovekitten123@gmail.com or ghfjd@gmail.com doesn’t look very professional.
- Letter template should be universal and recognizable.
By the way, for the convenience of working with your mailbox and quick responses to customers, you can use unique mail settings.
FAQs
Should I use a contact form on my website?
Yes, if you want to stay in touch with your potential clients. Check out dedicated plugins to help you quickly set up a contact form and use it.
Are contact forms effective?
Yes, if you use them correctly and respond quickly to your customers.
Where do I put the contact form on my website?
They are often placed at the bottom of the site or in a particular section, “Contact us.”
How do I add an email contact form to my website?
You can do this with the help of special plugins. Use the ones I talked about in this article, or pick others you deem convenient.
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