Contact page essentials for small businesses

A good contact page for a small business gives every kind of customer a way in, and tells them what to expect. Put your phone number at the top as a tappable link, then your email, a short form, your hours, your address or the area you serve, a map if people visit you, and one line on how quickly you reply. That is the whole page. Most contact pages fail by leaving one of these out, not by lacking anything fancy.

Why this page matters more than it looks

The contact page is where a visitor who has already decided turns into a customer. They are not browsing anymore; they want to reach you. Anything that slows them down here, such as a missing number, a form that asks too much, or no hint of when you are open, loses someone who was ready to buy. It is also the page people come back to months later when they need you again, so it must always be right.

Phone number first

Many of your customers, especially older ones, would rather call. Make that easy:

Put the number at the top of the page, large, as a link that dials when tapped on a phone.
Write it in the usual format, (555) 555-0119 or 555-555-0119, the same way everywhere.
Say when you answer: "Answered 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday to Saturday."
Say whether you take texts. "Call or text" is welcome to many customers.
If you have separate numbers, for example for the office and for emergencies, label them clearly and keep it to two at most.

Our guide on click-to-call buttons shows how to set the link up.

Email address

Show your email address as text that opens a new email when tapped. Some people prefer writing from their own email program, where they keep a copy, rather than filling in a form.

Use an address on your own domain, like [email protected], rather than a free webmail address, if you can. It looks more established and stays yours if you change providers. If spam worries you, see your email address on the page versus a form for the trade-offs.

A short form

A form suits people who are at work, shy about calling, or contacting you late at night. On the contact page, keep it to name, phone or email, and a message box, plus one field your trade truly needs, such as town or preferred date. Put it next to the phone number, not instead of it.

Test it regularly to make sure messages arrive. If your form is long or unreliable, how to redesign your website's contact form goes through fixing it step by step.

Hours

List your hours for each day of the week. Include:

Days you are closed, written as "Closed", not left blank.
Lunch closures if you have them.
Holiday hours, added a week or two before each holiday.
Different hours for phone and for walk-ins, if they differ.

Keep them identical to your Google Business Profile and the sign on your door.

Where you are, or where you go

If customers visit you, show:

The full street address, as a link that opens maps on their phone.
A small map with the pin on your building. Check the pin is in the right place; see putting a map and directions on your website.
Parking and entrance details: "Free lot behind the building. Use the side door with the blue awning."
Whether the building is step-free.

If you go to customers, you may not want your home address shown, and you do not have to. Instead:

List the towns, counties or ZIP codes you serve.
Say if you travel further for larger jobs.
Link to your service area page if you have one.

If you have both, for example a showroom and a crew that travels, show the showroom address and the service area separately.

How fast you reply

This one line does a lot of work and is missing from most contact pages. Say honestly how soon people will hear back:

"We reply to messages within one business day."
"Messages sent after 5 p.m. are answered the next morning."
"For anything urgent, please call."

Then keep that promise. A customer told "within one business day" waits calmly; a customer told nothing starts calling your competitors after an hour.

Optional extras that help

Add these only if they apply to you:

A booking link, if customers can book appointments online.
Mailing address, if it differs from where you work and people send you checks or documents.
Languages spoken, if you serve customers in more than one.
Social media links, small, at the bottom, only for accounts you keep up.
A photo of the building or the team, so the page feels like a real place.

What to leave off

A form that is the only way to reach you.
A puzzle CAPTCHA that makes people pick out traffic lights.
A long list of every staff email address.
A "Contact us today for all your needs" headline with no actual details under it.
An old address, a disconnected fax number, or the email of someone who left.

The same details everywhere

Your business name, address and phone number on the contact page should match, letter for letter, what is on your Google Business Profile, your directory listings and your invoices. Mismatches confuse customers and can confuse the services that list local businesses. Our guide on why name, address and phone must match everywhere explains why.

What to do this week

Tap your phone number and email address on your phone. Both should work.
Send a test message through the form and see where it lands.
Compare your hours on the contact page with your Google profile and your door.
Add one line saying how quickly you reply.
If people visit you, add a sentence on parking and the entrance.

If your contact page is one of several pages that need attention, you can see your site rebuilt first and check the contact page on your phone before deciding.