You can spend a lot of money getting people to your website, and then lose them at the final step because the form was annoying. It happens more than most businesses realise, because a form that doesn’t get filled in leaves no trace. You just get fewer enquiries and assume it’s a quiet month. Fixing your contact form is one of the cheapest wins there is.
The good news is that a contact form is one of the cheapest things on a website to improve. Most fixes take an hour or two. Here are the mistakes we see most often.
Asking for the wrong things
Asking for too much
Every extra field is another reason to stop. Do you really need a company name, job title, postcode, budget and “how did you hear about us” before you’ve even spoken to someone?
For a first enquiry, name, email or phone, and a message box is often enough. If certain information genuinely changes how you respond, such as location for a trades business, ask for that. Everything else can wait for the reply.
Making everything required
If a field is optional, mark it as optional and don’t block the form if it’s empty. Forcing people to enter a phone number when they’d rather be emailed can lose you the lead altogether, or earn you a fake number.
Poor feedback at the crucial moment
Vague buttons
“Submit” is the default, and it’s dull. The button should say what happens next: “Request a quote”, “Book my call”, “Send my enquiry”. It’s a small change, and it reminds the visitor why they’re filling in the form.
No confirmation, or a bad one
After someone presses the button, they should see a clear message that it worked and what happens next. “Thanks, we’ll reply within one working day” is reassuring. A form that reloads with no message, or a generic “Success”, leaves people wondering whether to send it again or give up.
It’s also worth sending an automatic email confirming receipt. And make sure someone actually answers within the time you promise.
Forms that are hard to find or use
Forms that break on phones
Test your contact form on your own phone. Common problems include:
- Fields too small to tap accurately.
- The wrong keyboard appearing, such as letters for a phone number field.
- Drop-down menus with long lists that are fiddly to scroll.
- Error messages that appear at the top of the page where nobody can see them.
- CAPTCHAs that are hard to complete on a small screen.
Unhelpful error messages
If something’s wrong, say exactly what and where, next to the field in question. “Please enter a valid email address” beside the email box is useful. A red banner saying “There was an error” is not. And never clear the whole form because one field had a problem.
Hiding the form
If the only form is on the contact page, you’re relying on people to go looking for it. Put a short form, or at least a clear link to one, on every service page. Show your phone number in the header on mobile, where it can be tapped to call.
Every field on a form should earn its place. If you wouldn’t ask the question in the first thirty seconds of a phone call, don’t ask it on the form.
What happens behind the scenes
Forgetting the data side
A contact form collects personal data, so UK GDPR applies. At a minimum, link to a privacy notice that explains what you do with the information. Don’t pre-tick boxes to add people to a mailing list, and keep marketing consent separate from the enquiry itself. If you’re unsure what your specific obligations are, the ICO’s guidance for small businesses is a good starting point, and take proper advice if your situation is complex.
Enquiries going nowhere
This one’s surprisingly common. Forms send to an old email address, land in spam, or go to someone who’s left. Send yourself a test enquiry every month or so. It takes two minutes and could save you weeks of silent lost leads.
Your contact form to-do list
Fill in your own form on a phone today. Count the fields, check the button wording, see what happens when you press send, and time how long the confirmation email takes to arrive. Fix the worst problem first.
If you want to go further, connecting your forms to a CRM so nothing slips through the cracks is part of our lead generation work, and a well built site starts with sensible forms as standard through our website design and development service.
