The Web Design / HTML at About.com Contact Solution

On the Web Design @ About.com site, my readers are somewhat willing to fill out a Web form, but About.com prides itself on being run by "real people", and a form is somewhat impersonal. I also believe that it is fairly common to have an email client associated with a Web browser. Most people write to me with specific questions and do expect answers.

I am not so concerned with knowing my readers email addresses, except as it's needed to answer their questions. Having the questions pre-sorted would be helpful, but it's not required. I am somewhat concerned with getting "spam" from my Web site. And I usually have the resources I need to answer the mail that I do receive.

As I said before, About.com offers "real people" to answer questions and help about a topic. While my readers might be willing to fill out a form to get their questions answered, it isn't as personable as email. So, I needed to have a link to email.

I have a link to my byline at the top of each article. And from there (and on my home page) there is a link to email me. The email me page has more than just contact information, it acts as a filter to help people find answers to the more common questions. I believe that it is important for my customers to find what they are looking for, and for the most part, they aren't setting out to email me. They just have a question that they haven't been able to find the answer to anywhere else.

Armed with this information, I built my contact page with a list of frequently asked questions first. Then there is a pointer to my forums. There is nearly always someone in the forums, even when I'm asleep or at my day job. Finally, there is a link to my email address. I also include valuable instructions to follow to be sure that you get the answer you're looking for when you write to me. While I don't like getting the spam, the real email messages are worth it.

Introduction > Why Put Contact Information on Your Site > Page 1, 2, 3, 4

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