Good contact page practices

What contact information should I display on my website?
The amount of contact information is also important, a web form on its own is also not ideal, how many of these have you filled out and never had a reply?
Many website owners operate from home as I do and thus there is good reason for not publicising your private address however this does not mean you should make yourself unavailable.
At very least you should have a telephone number and email address, if you are selling a product then a business address is essential and I believe a legal requirement if a customer wishes to return faulty goods.

Service providers working from home can chose to not disclose their private address but you could consider a PO Box number and you should make your address known once a sell takes place maybe to receive payments by cheque however I understand the faithful cheque is being phased out in the very near future.

Website contact forms
In addition to your telephone number and email address you can then consider a web form. Ensure the form works and is user friendly, also check it has all the necessary fields such as asking for their contact information so you can reply and consider including anything else relevant to your service or product especially if you provide different services.

Other contact technologies
I like to use an SMS contact form, an SMS in instant and can prompt an almost instant reply (if you have a GPS signal that is). The down side to this is however it is limited in length and you have to ensure the sender includes their contact information in the message, it will also cost you a few pence per message sent.
It is great though for your friends and family as they can send you SMS messages for free or contact you discreetly if they know you are in a meeting.

QR codes


A QR code is similar to a product barcode and although it has been used for years to track vehicle parts it is now becoming very popular in the mobile market or more specifically smart phones.
Unlike the supermarket barcodes you don’t need a laser to read it you simply install a QR code reader on your mobile phone and take a picture of the code to reveal its information. Your full contact information can be included in the QR code including, name, address, email, telephone numbers and more importantly your website address.
Where the QR code appears on a business card or an advert you can simply take a photo of it and instantly navigate to the website.
How cool is that.

If you would like to know more about QR Codes see the Wiki page.
For a QR code scanner or to make your own QR codes see http://code.google.com/p/zxing/

Social networking bookmarks
If you think your important enough or want your prospective customers to get updates on insignificant comments you make throughout the day on Facebook or Twitter then include the links however consider will this really help my business?
Social networking bookmarks are probably more suited to larger corporations or event organisers for announcing dates or new product launches and updates.
Facebook functions such as allowing someone to post something from your website on their profile can be useful though.

Where is your contact information?
I would also just like to say a few words about where on your website you should place all this contact information.
Often I see large corporate organisations hide a small text link at the very bottom of the page. I prefer to be able to find the contact link at the top of the page after all it is a very important aspect of your business.

Do I need a WAP or mobile version of my website?
I have observed a number of website now that automatically redirect you to a mobile version of their website, I struggle to see why as most mobile phones are now capable of viewing the standard HTML version, unless your site makes extensive use of Flash then I see no need for a mobile version of your website.

Are you sure it works?
Frustratingly I often find the mobile version of a website is not even mobile friendly.
Be careful not to place links to close together so that they can be easily clicked with fat thumbs.

Take advantage of advance smart phone features
Consider special features of smart phones such as the ability to be able to click on a telephone number or email address which will automatically open your mail client or telephone dialler.

Telephone numbers again
Pore examples of this include telephone numbers that contain dashes and some phones cannot recognise or dial a number that contains spaces.
Try clicking this number on your mobile phone web browser 078-4902-8000. This format may make it easy for humans to read but unfortunately technology on some devices may struggle to interpret it.

Did you get my message?
Lastly when receiving or replying to a contact it is in your best interest to ensure you can accept delivery of the message in whatever format it arrives.
Remember to check your email regularly, update any contact numbers immediately and ensure you respond as soon as you can not months later.

And finally
Always reply with your contact information and the subject of the original communication.