Contact Us Page Best Practices

Too many sites treat “Contact Us” information like a closely guarded state secret. Users typically have to scroll all the way to the bottom of the home page and winnow through a list of obscure menu items in the hopes of finding a way to get in touch with a seller to resolve a problem. If trying to find a way to reach you feels like a quest for the Holy Grail, how pleasant do you expect the interaction to be once they do?  These Contact Us page best practices will help ensure the transaction is at least a civil one.

Make It Obvious

Rather than hiding it behind some esoteric term like “Support,” call it what it is. People are trying to find a way to contact you, so label the page using terms reflective of why people are looking for it—Contact Us. And, again, to make it easy to find, include a link to it at the bottom of every page on your site, as well as in your primary navigational bar.

Make Sure It Works

While you’d typically test every link on your site to be certain it’s functional, this is especially important on the Contact Us page. Again, in most cases, when customers attempt to avail themselves of the information on this page, they’re trying to resolve an untoward situation. If they click a link on that page and it doesn’t work, your credibility will take a very huge hit.

Provide a Variety of Contact Methods

When you’re a merchant offering products you have to give people a way to get in touch with you. If you have a set of common questions, you might install a chatbot to provide answers in real-time so your customers can get issues taken care of more quickly. Still, some people prefer to speak with a real live human being, so you’ll need to provide the phone number of your customer service function as well. You should also provide an email address.

Let Them Know Where, When and How Long

If you’re only staffed to provide live assistance during certain hours of the day, include that information, along with the time zone within which you’re positioned. As mentioned above, you should also provide a phone number and an email address. If people opt for email or choose to leave a voicemail message, give them a rough idea of how long it typically takes to get a response. Links to social media profiles are useful as well. And finally, if you have a physical location, provide the address. These elements, in addition to telling your customers how to find you, will instill trust.

Humanize the Page

Pictures go a long way toward projecting a sense of warmth. Run photos of your customer service people on the Contact Us page to give it a more human quality. Style the pictures to reflect your brand image. Most free website themes make this easy to do.

Categorize

If your business is large and/or somewhat complex, list categories of assistance so users can get to what they need more readily. Your sales team will likely have specific contact information while your customer relations team and your service department will have different contact information. Use call to action buttons to help users find the group they need quickly and easily.

While everyone seeking to reach you via the information on your Contact Us page won’t have problems to resolve, each of them represents an opportunity to create a loyal customer. Following these Contact Us page best practices will demonstrate yours is a customer-focused business. More often than not, your patrons will respond in kind.

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