Your contact form is the doorway between a curious visitor and a real enquiry. A form that asks too much, or looks like a chore, quietly turns people away.
Ask for less
Start with the minimum you need to reply: name, a way to reach them, and what they need. Everything else can come later, in the conversation. If you must ask more, make it optional and say why you’re asking.
Make it easy on a phone
- Use the right field types, so phones show the number pad for phone numbers and the @ key for email.
- Keep labels above the fields, not inside them, so they don’t disappear when people type.
- Make the button big enough to tap and say what it does: “Request a quote”, not “Submit”.
Set expectations
Under the button, say what happens next and when. “We reply within one business day” reassures people that they aren’t sending their details into a void.
Protect against spam without blocking people
Spam is real, but puzzles that frustrate real visitors cost you enquiries. Invisible protections, like a hidden honeypot field or a background check, stop most bots without asking customers to do anything.
Test it every month
Fill in your own form once a month. Check that the confirmation appears, the email or notification arrives, and the reply goes out. Broken forms are surprisingly common, and they fail silently.
After the form
A form is only half the job. The other half is how quickly and how well you reply, which is covered in our guide to speed to lead.