Every single time a new web project is started here at Nguma, I have a feeling of Deja Vu. The usual suspects are always crashing the party. I am talking about those recurrent pages: Home, About, Contact, Legals. Today’s post is the first of a serie, which theme is an attempt to give a “once and for all” run down of those commonly found entities.
My first dissection will focus on the Contact information page.
A smart contact page isn’t shy at giving as many ways as possible to get in touch. Of course, you will find Name, Address, Telephone and email, but it should never stop there.
Basics
How can you add a bit of dynamism to that dull, cold contact page? First reaction would be to facilitate the spreading of its content. Vcards have been around since the 90’s and are probably the easiest way to ensure your presence in your visitor’s address book.
Here is more information on how to create link to a vcard
Links
Direct access to Social Media profiles should be embedded. You can opt in for a simple list of icons, or be more specific. Links that state clear call to action, such as “Follow us on twitter @nguma” or “See our company profile on linkedin”, tend to be more compelling than just writing “Twitter”, “Linkedin”, “Facebook”…
Give Room to Feedback
Unless you are already using a third party management tool, such as getSatisfaction, now is a good time to think about implementing a feedback form. Going even further, you could custom design a form that already prepares the ground for each type of reason a visitor would want to get in contact. Remember that as long as you keep it simple, people like guidance.
Where to place my contact section?
Having a dedicated area, clearly labeled contact is always a good idea. In addition to that, I personally like to have the basics displayed on every page (footer?). Take a look at our home page, the address, email and phone number are part of the header, and the first thing you read landing on the site. After all, there will always be a portion of the returning visitor whose only goal in to get in touch with you.
Map it out
You have no excuse not to add a link to google maps, or even embedding a map marking your location directly in the page.
