Form to Mail versus email

[Digmen1]

As webmasters do you advise your clients to use Form To Mail for their email contacts or do you advise listing some contact emails ?

As a user I really hate Form To Mail forms.
They are often hard to fill in
And I have no record of what I sent.

Why do web sites use them ?

Is it driven by the owners or the webmasters ?

What do you think ?

[BeeDeeDubbleU]

I think Form to Mail forms are great where you need specific information from people. If you just offer them an email address they will invariably fail to provide all the info you need.

[topr8]

>>They are often hard to fill in

in which case that's a design error, there is no reason for it

>>And I have no record of what I sent.

give the option to send a copy to the sender

[mack]

A quick and simple form should pose no issues to the user. It can be as simple as [your name], [email address] and [message]. It also acts as a call to action.

An email address on a page causes more confusion and requires more steps. The user then needs to login to their email and compose.

Mailto links are even worse if the user uses web mail.

Mack.

[lucy24]

A direct e-mail link-- either as a plain-text address or a <mailto:> -- means that every spambot in sight gets instant access to your e-mail address.

As a user I see things the opposite way. If there's a form, the site looks more professional. Any illiterate can put in a <mailto:> link ;) but a form makes it look like a "real" site.

At least up to the point where you click Submit and you get taken to a page filled with Java error messages. (Don't panic. It's nobody here.) That's when the <mailto:> starts looking good again.

[rifpool]

I can't tell you how many big name websites I've filled out Form to mail and never got a response. Just had a no response on a site yesterday.

[Digmen1]

Yes, personally as a user and a marketer I hate them.

I think all websites should provide at least one or 2 email addresses as a matter of courtesy.

As my own webmaster with 2 sites I provide emails and form2mail.

[bill]

Most of thee sites I work on require some very specific information that helps speed up the response time.

On my busiest site I have the form, but also an e-mail link. I'm surprised how many people prefer the e-mail link option even though I clearly state that people who fill out the form will get processed first.

[piatkow]

I can't tell you how many big name websites I've filled out Form to mail and never got a response.

I am sure that there are a number of organisations where the designer has created a specific form but the business has not assigned a user to check the relevant mailbox.

I'm surprised how many people prefer the e-mail link option even though I clearly state that people who fill out the form will get processed first.

The one thing you can guarantee is that a significant proportion of the general public will decide that instructions are for other people. I actually used to check a "do not reply" email address. About 2% of recipients would use it despite the instruction not to reply to the newsletter's "from" address.

I don't claim any logic about my view of this topic. I much prefer to send to an identifiable email address but only use forms on my own website.

[BeeDeeDubbleU]

If I visit a website and I am making an enquiry I have no problem with them asking me for the specific information they need (via a form) to best process my enquiry. Simples!

[optimierung]

We always provide a phone number, a mailto and a form

[Digmen1]

So do companies use From 2 mail (instead of email addresses) to
1 Get all the info they need
2 Stop Spammers
3 Make it easy for their customers

[piatkow]

Depends on the form and the size of the organization. I would guess:
Small business probably primarily to avoid spam
Larger probably to gather the correct information and route it to the correct person.

Personally I use a general contact form to avoid spam and several dedicated forms for specific queries to capture the correct information.

[topr8]

>>(instead of email addresses)

i'm pretty sure it is a TOS requirement from Visa and Mastercard to show your email address somewhere on the site.

[Digmen1]

Also not having a regular email address makes it impossible to run an email marketing campaign to a group of businesses.

[piatkow]

Also not having a regular email address makes it impossible to run an email marketing campaign to a group of businesses.

Exactly, I don't want all your marketing emails so I don't put my email address on my website. If you think my business only warrents inclusion in a bulk mailing rather than a personal approach then ......