- Ask only for what you need to reply: name, email, phone if you'll call, and a message.
- Say what happens next and how quickly you'll respond. It's the most underused line on contact pages.
- Test the form end to end every month. Broken forms are common and silent.
- Stop spam with invisible checks before you add puzzles that put real people off.
What a contact us page is for
Your contact us page is where interest turns into an enquiry. Someone arriving there has already decided they might want to talk to you. The page's job is to make that easy, set expectations, and make sure the message reaches the right person.
Most contact pages fail in quiet ways: a form that asks for too much, no indication of when you'll reply, or, worst of all, a form that has stopped sending emails and nobody has noticed.
What to include on a contact us page
| Element | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| A short form | The main route for most enquiries, especially out of hours |
| Phone number and email address | Some people won't use forms, and some need to talk now |
| What happens next | "We reply within one working day" removes the biggest worry |
| Who they'll speak to | A named person or team makes it feel human |
| Office address and opening hours | Builds trust, and matches your Google Business Profile |
| Routes for other requests | Separate support, accounts or recruitment so sales enquiries don't get buried |
| A line of proof | One short review or client logo near the form reassures people at the last step |
Keep the page focused. It doesn't need your company history or a long sales pitch. It needs to answer "how do I get in touch and what happens when I do?"
Contact us page examples: three layouts that work
Form-led. A short form on the left, with phone, email, address and a response-time promise on the right. This suits most B2B service firms, where people often want to explain their situation before a call.
Choose your route. Two or three clear options at the top, such as "New project", "Existing customer support" and "Something else", each leading to the right form or contact. This works well when you get a lot of support requests that clog up sales enquiries.
Book a call. For businesses that sell through a first conversation, an embedded calendar lets people pick a time immediately. Keep a short form alongside it for people who'd rather write first.
Whichever layout you use, make sure it works on a phone. Many people will find your contact page on mobile, and long forms are much harder to complete on a small screen.
How to set up a contact form that works
Ask for less
Every extra field gives someone a reason to stop. For most service businesses, these are enough:
- Name
- Phone (optional, unless you always call back)
- Company (useful for B2B, but consider making it optional)
- "How can we help?" message box
If you need to qualify enquiries, use one dropdown, such as the service they're interested in or their company size, rather than a long list of questions.
Write labels people understand
Use plain labels above each field, not placeholder text that disappears when someone starts typing. Mark optional fields as optional rather than adding asterisks to everything else.
Use a clear button
"Submit" tells people nothing. "Send enquiry", "Request a call back" or "Get a quote" is clearer. Our guide to call to action examples has more wording that works.
Show what happens next
After someone submits, show a confirmation message or thank-you page that says when you'll reply and what to expect. Send an automatic confirmation email too, so they know it worked and have a record.
Contact forms on WordPress
On WordPress, contact forms come from a plugin. Contact Form 7, WPForms, Gravity Forms and Fluent Forms are all widely used, and HubSpot's free forms plugin connects enquiries straight into a CRM.
Whichever you use, check three things:
- Where the notifications go. Make sure enquiries go to an inbox someone checks daily, and ideally to a shared address so nothing is lost when someone's on holiday.
- That emails actually send. WordPress sends email through your web server by default, and many hosts block or limit this, so messages land in spam or disappear. An SMTP plugin that sends through a proper email service fixes most of these problems.
- That entries are stored. Choose a form plugin that saves submissions in WordPress as well as emailing them, so an email problem doesn't mean a lost enquiry.
WordPress contact form not sending email?
This is one of the most common problems we see. Work through these in order:
- Submit a test enquiry and check the spam folder of the receiving inbox.
- Check the form's notification settings: the "to" address, and whether the "from" address is on your own domain.
- Install an SMTP plugin and connect it to your email provider or a transactional email service.
- Check your domain's email authentication records (SPF, DKIM and DMARC) with whoever manages your email.
- Submit another test and confirm it arrives in the inbox, not spam.
How to stop contact form spam
Spam is annoying, but the fix shouldn't punish real enquiries.
- Start with invisible checks. A honeypot field (hidden from people, filled in by bots) and invisible CAPTCHA options such as reCAPTCHA v3 or Cloudflare Turnstile stop most spam without asking people to do anything.
- Use visible challenges only if you need to. Puzzles that ask people to pick out traffic lights put some real people off.
- Filter, don't block, if you're unsure. Many form tools can mark suspicious entries rather than reject them, so you can check what's caught.
Your contact page checklist
Run through this every month. It takes five minutes.
- Submit a test enquiry and confirm it reaches the right inbox
- Check the confirmation message and auto-reply work
- Click the phone number on a phone to check it dials
- Click the email address to check it opens correctly
- Check the address and opening hours match your Google Business Profile
- Check the page loads quickly and works on a phone
- Check you can see which channel each enquiry came from. Our guide to UTM tracking explains how.
Questions
What should be on a contact us page?
A short form, your phone number and email, a clear statement of what happens next and how quickly you reply, your address and opening hours if relevant, and separate routes for support or other requests.
How many fields should a contact form have?
As few as you need to reply properly. For most service businesses that's name, email, an optional phone number and a message. Add one qualifying question at most.
Should I put my email address on my contact page?
Yes, for most businesses. Some people won't use forms. Writing it as a clickable link is more useful than an image, and modern spam filters handle the extra spam it brings.
Why is my WordPress contact form not sending emails?
Usually because your web host limits email sent from the server, or messages are going to spam. An SMTP plugin connected to a proper email service, plus correct email authentication on your domain, fixes most cases.
How do I stop spam from my contact form?
Add a honeypot field and an invisible CAPTCHA such as reCAPTCHA v3 or Cloudflare Turnstile. Only add visible puzzles if spam still gets through, because they put some real people off.
Every guide is checked against the platform it describes before it’s published, and re-checked when the platform changes.