USING A CONTACT FORM
Ok you want to sell your service or product,
advertise your shop or business online. You have a nice pretty
website which is well placed in search engines. Of course you may
want your website visitors to get in touch with you to find out
more about what you offer.
One way to do this is to include a contact form
in your website. Before designing your form it is worth taking a
moment to think about how the user will view your form. There are
three golden rules with any form of user interaction with a
website:
-
KEEP IT SIMPLE
-
KEEP IT SIMPLE
-
KEEP IT SIMPLE
If we take an analogy in day to day life - you
want to phone the gas company to pay a bill. After going through a
series of PRESS 1, PRESS 2, PRESS 3... options and the message
advertising their website and the warning that your call is being
recorded, you finally get to the awful music which is interrupted
every thirty seconds with a message telling you how important your
call is.
All this time, you are paying a premium rate and
your ear is getting sore because you dare not go and make a cup of
tea just in the remotest chance that a human may answer while you
are putting the kettle on. Finally you are seething with rage when
the poor overworked and underpaid call centre worker finally
answers your call. Than to cap it all, they inform you that you
are in the wrong department and you need to ring another number
complete with more menu options and music etc.. You try very hard
to be polite to the poor operator, allowing your head to explode
after the call has finished.....
The only reason anyone would tolerate such a
time wasting ordeal is if they have no choice -
e.g. they need to
pay the gas bill or similar.
Website visitors who may wish to use your
product or service DO HAVE A CHOICE-
One click consigns your website to oblivion
NEVER to be revisited!!!
Your contact form should be simple, friendly and
secure
-
Here is an example of how NOT to design a form:
CLICK HERE
-
How to protect your form from
spammers CLICK HERE
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