When was the last time someone actually used your church website contact forms? And how many times a year are they used?
There’s one surprisingly simple trick to get more people to contact you…
Why No One Uses Your Church Website Contact Forms
Most churches use a single contact page as a catch-all for contact. A one-stop-shop for everyone to funnel through.
But rarely will people actually use your “contact us” page.
Instead of this, use unique contact forms that serve a specific purpose on each page.
Unique church website contact forms give your web visitors specific calls to action. This makes your church website better across the board. So instead of a generic contact form, you have a form that has the right fields for the right application.
Let’s get to some examples:
Plan Your Visit Page
This is something I picked up from the university I work at. On every flyer and event poster, there is a contact email for special accommodations. Since I started using this type of form on “plan a visit” pages, I’ve seen inquiries increase. People ask all types of questions when you allow them to:
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Is the 2nd-floor wheelchair accessible?
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Is there a cry room?
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Can I watch a live stream of the church service?
Give a specific form for special accommodations and questions. Your contact rate will skyrocket.
Staff Page
For most churches, the staff page is the 2nd most visited page of the website.
For these pages, create a unique form where the web visitor can request a call or meeting with a specific leader.
In the form, create a dropdown field where the visitor can select exactly who they want to get in touch with. Include the title and the name, EG. Senior Pastor Scott.
If you use an advanced form, like Jotform, you can actually set your submission to email the leader selected. This ditches the middle man so the visitor can direct-connect to the leader.
Crisis Response Ministry
We pray we never get responses to these types of church website contact forms. But our crisis ministries exist for a reason.
The benefit of this form is to take special care responding to the submitter.
Churches have a bad habit of getting cute with their communications. I’ve seen some say, “Thanks for contacting us! We can’t wait to speak with you!”
That would be a TERRIBLE way to respond to someone who is trying to get in touch while experiencing a hardship.
So with this form, ask for basic information, name, phone, and how can we help. Be sure your response is a carefully-worded message. Include when and how you’ll respond.
Kids Ministry Advanced Check-In
This one is such a time-saver for everyone involved. And the best part is you’ll get the most responses to these church website contact forms.
Families know that getting the paperwork done for children’s church can be tedious. And what’s worse is families visiting on their first Sunday are never on time. So they run later getting into service because of the children’s check-in paperwork.
Enter the superhero, advanced check-in.
The popular church management systems have their own check-in apps and forms. So if you use one of them you can embed or link to their check-in on the kid’s webpage.
If not, create a simple form with most of the information you need. Lord knows when it comes to children, parents will give you all the information you need.
Event RSVP’s
I’m surprised how often I have to say this…but you need to collect your web visitor’s information for events.
When you use a simple email signup field, you’ll actually start to collect RSVPs. If you want to encourage people further, offer them something in return:
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RSVP to the potluck and get the Pastor’s wife’s secret pie recipe
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Sign-up for the youth lock-in and get a free snack voucher
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Reserve your seat for the women’s simulcast and get a free devotional
The extra benefit to this is your ministry can email everyone if there is a change or cancellation. It’s a terrible feeling to show up to discover an event canceled and no one told you.
Conclusion
There are more ways to get your web visitor’s information but this is another layer of the cake.
We know that calls to action are super important to get people to make a decision to visit your church. Your church website contact forms are an easy way for people to interact with you. You only need to be intentional.
Think about how you want to connect with a visitor while they’re on a specific page. What would they need? And what would make their lives easier?
Use a unique contact form on each page to encourage visitors to start the conversation. Then you can nurture them into an in-person visit.
What’s the first page you’re going to update with a unique contact form? Let us know in the comments below!
