In the second part in this series we look at providing a suitable contact method, design of clear visual elements and ensuring accessibility.
2. Providing a Suitable Contact Method
Your company’s contact page design must clearly communicate a specific action for your visitors to take in order to contact you. You can offer your audience the following approaches:
Traditional Contact Process:
- Providing a phone number for calls and SMSIncluding a physical address to locate or visit you, such as for a dental office, hair salon, or bakery
- A map or a Google Maps link to simplify navigation to your physical locationOffer Digital Methods on Website:
- Use of Chat bots
- Offer conversations between visitors and support staff members or use an AI robot
- Provide a form visitors can fill out with details of their inquiries
- The availability of these methods can help by minimizing spam emails, keeping track of visitor’s inquiries, and delegating tasks to your team members
- Digital Methods Utilizing Other Platforms
- Visitors may initiate contact through platforms that they often visit or that they are more comfortable using
- Through use of their e-mail address
- Through using various social media links, i.e. Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and WhatsApp
3. Design of Clear Visual Elements
When a business has multiple methods of contact, keeping them organized and easy to differentiate on the contact page can be very challenging.
It is crucial that the design of your contact page is clear, user-friendly, and easily accessible. It is important that visitors do not miss key information or get confused. A visual design which is clean is not only inviting, but it saves your visitors’ time. It also boosts your business’s efficiency by forwarding inquiries to the appropriate departments.
The same criteria apply when your business consists of many departments. A good practice is to separate visitor information so that appropriate messages are directed straight to the correct departments. Simple methods such as spacing or adding borders are invaluable toward helping visitors to easily discern the individual areas visually.
4. Ensuring Accessibility
Another vital tool is to recognize that visitors may have diverse abilities. Your website design must be inclusive and provide equal opportunity and access to all visitors. Not only is this approach ethical, but it also gives you the ability to reach a broader audience and increase your site’s usability.
The following points should be considered to maximize the accessibility of your contact page:
Form accessibility
The form fields and additional elements should be labeled under their specific attribute and ARIA Landmarks.
This method provides form control which is identifiable to accessibility programs like screen readers. If you would like to also add certain distinctions in fields using color, add an extra identifier like an icon or a pattern for differentiation. This technique will also allow better access to users who are color-blind.
Validation
Remember to validate visitor information and to also provide them with tools for undoing changes, confirming the entered data, notifying them of any mistakes, and assisting them in correcting errors.
Reducing Cognitive Load
Since many users may not have the time, patience, or capability to tackle a complex form, easy-to-understand instructions are the best option. To achieve wide access and user-friendliness, divide lengthy forms into shorter chunks and logical stages. Also, use adaptive forms to assist your visitors.
Visual Accessibility
Be certain that your contact page is designed using high-contrast color palettes and that all text elements are exceptionally readable. Good practices include adjusting the text size, the font style, and the color choices on your website.
