I would argue that the e-mail contact form is a thing of the past. In fact, I find it very annoying when I encounter websites – in particular commercial websites – that do not display their e-mail addresses and other contact information properly, but instead rely on a web based e-mail form through which existing and potentially new customers can contact them. And why do I think so?

The e-mail contact form - a thing of the past?

Control

First of all, I like to be in control, and with e-mail forms I seldom feel that I am in control. How can I be sure the e-mail for works as intended? How can I be sure the e-mail was actually received?

When I send my e-mails through my regular e-mail client (Outlook, Gmail, etc.) I have a copy in my “Sent Items” folder – and that leaves me in control. I know what e-mails I have sent, and if necessary, I can refer to them later on. With web forms, e-mails are sent through a “black hole” and often never seen again. Which leaves me to talk about confirmation.

Confirmation

Sending an e-mail through an e-mail form is like shooting a bullet straight up in the air – you’ll never know where it is going to land – and if it ever landed. Some e-mail forms do offer the option to have a copy of the message sent to your own e-mail address – however – it is not a confirmation that the message was ever received by the recipient.

Referring to my previous point – if I send my e-mail from my regular e-mail client, I do not necessarily get a confirmation of every delivered e-mail, but I least I (usually) get an error message if e-mails I send cannot be successfully delivered.

(Lack of) Professionalism

If you as a company do not want to reveal you contact e-mail address to visitors of your website, I start wondering about why you need to be so secret? What do you need to hide from the public? Is spam a problem, and you cannot afford to deal with it, well, in my view that says a lot about you as a company – that you are not professional. Most companies find their way to fight spam – and so should you. Don’t blame your customers and leave them to pay for your lack of professionalism.

My recommendation

I recommend to always display your contact e-mail address in the open, e.g. in the footer of your webpage. E-mail forms are just an annoyance, and I would recommend to have them removed from you website.

I recently felt the urge to do a little Christmas shopping. More specifically, I wanted to expand my collection of photo equipment. I think of myself as a rather knowledgeable Internet shopper, however the things I was looking for was not to be found in any of my favorite, Norwegian stores.

About a year ago, I did my first purchase with the world renowned B&H Photo Video in New York. It is considered one of the best shops for anyone involved with photo, video, audio and visuals. Again I turned to B&H Photo Video, and I must say – they are good!

Although they do have thousands of products, finding exactly what you are looking for is really easy. The shopping cart is also very user friendly, and it keeps you as a customer in total control during the “aisle browsing”.

What I find most appealing is the efficiency. I placed my order at about 20.00 Norwegian time, which equals to about  13.00 New York time. After a short break from the computer, I came back to check the status of my order about 45 minutes later. The 7 items I ordered had already been picked and were ready for packaging.

When I checked again the day after, the package was already shipped, and tonight I found my shipment to have arrived in Germany. During the next few days, my Christmas gift should be arriving. The only question remaining now is whether or not the Norwegian Customs will agree with my sense of humor. In order not to have to pay the import duties on my goods, I asked the guys at B&H Photo Video to add this little gift note on the package:

Merry Christmas! Here’s a gift all the way from B&H Photo in New York, US. Let’s hope the friendly folks at the Norwegian Customs won’t charge you any extra import duties for the items this time! Merry Christmas to the Norwegian Customs too!

Welcome to EdgarStokka.NET! After having maintained my own website for a number of years, I have now taken a great leap forward and altered my website into a WordPress blog. By doing so, I hope the website will become more “alive” (I have to realize it has been lying dead for a few years now).

As of today, this is indeed “work in progress”, and he official launch will have to wait yet another few days.