The benefit of a contact form on your website.
What is a contact form?
An online form is any collection of text areas that you the user fill in and submit information through. When you fill out your address for shipping on Amazon…that is a form! A contact form is simply a collection of text areas, check boxes, radio buttons etc. for the purpose of submitting information to contact a website operator…usually a corporate entity or individual.
What is an e-mail link?
An e-mail link is pretty much what is sounds like. It is a text link in a web page that will initiate your e-mail software (outlook, Thunderbird etc.) to open and start an e-mail to the address provided in the link.
What is the difference?
An online form is processed and sent via the server on which the website in question lives. Meaning anyone using the website can fill out the form and click submit without the use of any additional software.
An e-mail link requires that the user have some form of e-mail software installed and configured on their local computer.
So why go to the effort of having a form?
1. If the end user does not have e-mail software either installed or configured, they will not be able to use an e-mail link.
2. If the end user is on a shared, public or borrowed computer any e-mail submitted, assuming there is e-mail software installed on the computer in question, will come from the account holder who set up the software. Meaning that the e-mail submission will come from the e-mail account of the computer owner, not the individual actually sending the e-mail. This means that a “reply” from the website owner will go back to the e-mail account used, not the individual submitting the e-mail.
3. A form can be used by anyone anywhere! No local software required!
4. With an online form you can capitalize on a visitors immediate interest. If a user has to copy the e-mail address to send later…well that lowers the odds of that contact significantly.
Bottom line:
Have your web developer put together a clear and simple form, there is no good reason not to.
We do not build corporate websites without a form…ever! Certainly provide your e-mail address for convenience and reference along with your physical address, phone etc.
Do not depend solely on a simple e-mail link as your only source of electronic contact from your website.
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admin
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