Enquiry form guide
The goal is not to make the form longer. The goal is to help the customer send enough context for a useful first reply.
The practical rule
Look at recent enquiries before adding fields. If you repeatedly need the suburb to check your service area, ask for it. If you only need a precise measurement when preparing a quote, it can wait.
Reviewed
These illustrative question sets are starting points, not a tested conversion formula or a requirement to collect every detail. Agree the wording around the work you actually accept.
Ask for approximate area and preferred timing when they help your first assessment. Allow “not sure” for budget or size; photos can be discussed after the first reply.
See the fictional industry example →Frequency, approximate floor area and intended start date can help plan a conversation. Let customers say they do not know; a site visit may still be needed before quoting.
See the fictional industry example →Question set
Use these as a checklist for deciding what matters, not five compulsory fields for every visitor.
Ask what kind of help the customer wants before asking them to write a long message.
Confirm whether the business can serve the customer before the team spends time replying.
Separate urgent, date-sensitive, and flexible enquiries so the first response can be sensible.
Ask for project size, property type, access notes, or appointment preferences where relevant. Any supporting files can be discussed separately after the first reply.
Ask for a name and a usable reply channel. Only require both phone and email if the next step needs both.
Avoid
Ask only what helps the next step. Optional details can be collected later.
Use industry-specific prompts instead of one blank message box.
Make the owner handoff easy to read, not just technically complete.
Start with the information needed to reply and decide the next step. A short message prompt may be enough for simple work; add a specific question only when its answer changes your first assessment. Do not make uncertain details compulsory.
No. The best questions depend on the service, urgency, location, and what the owner needs before replying.
Not necessarily. If the website works well, review the wording, required fields and delivery of its existing form first. Infoseed’s standard Website package is for a new or replacement managed website; integration into an arbitrary existing site is not included.
No. The form captures better information. A follow-up system is still useful when the team needs ownership, status, notes, and next action in one place.
Before launch, try the form on a phone using sample details, including an uncertain budget or date. Check that a failed submission preserves the answers and that a successful submission reaches the agreed destination.
After launch, review genuine enquiries separately from spam and internal tests. Record which answers helped you decide the next step and which questions still needed a callback. Compare completed enquiries as well as missing details: more filled fields are not an improvement if useful customers stop submitting. With low traffic, keep observing rather than claiming a conversion uplift from a few visits.
The GOV.UK question-page guidance supports asking only for information you need and clearly identifying optional questions. The examples above apply that principle to service enquiries.
