We’ve all been there: You go to a website, you like what you see, and when it comes time to get in touch with the company and tell them you’re interested or ask for help, all you see is an email address.

That website just left you hanging.

You can think about your website as a conversation with your customer. You provide them with information, if they are interested, they elicit more information from you, and if things are going well, then you ask them a bit more about themselves. That’s the point at which a visitor to your site becomes a lead or a customer.

When it is time for that visitor to turn into a customer, having a form on your website is how you tell them the sorts of information you’d like to get from them. This sounds so obvious, but it is an important point.

Consider the alternative of simply throwing an email address on your website. The visitor to your site is left with no idea of what sorts of questions your sales team will answer, what sorts of problems your customer service representative can help with, or what sort of information you need to help the customer make a purchase.

Putting forms on your website is worth it. They give structure to your conversations with visitors at the vital point when they are ready to reach out to you.

Tags: Usability