Contact Page

What this page has to do

The default generated contact page has a five-field form, no email address, no response time, and a map. It answers none of the questions the visitor has, which are: will anyone read this, how long will it take, and can I reach a person without filling in a form.

The version below makes three commitments a form cannot: a plain email address in text, a stated reply window, and a short list of what is genuinely out of scope. That last one is counter-intuitive but it raises trust, because a page that accepts everything reads as a page nobody reads.

Section order

The order is the argument. Reordering these is not a layout decision, it is a change to the reasoning.

1. 01

   One primary channel

   A plain address in selectable text, or a three-field form. Two competing channels split attention and double the maintenance.

2. 02

   What happens next

   Who reads it, in what time, from which timezone. This single paragraph is the highest-value copy on the page.

3. 03

   Scoped reasons to write

   Four named categories with an example each. They route the message before it is written and reduce the vague ones.

4. 04

   What is out of scope

   Stated plainly: no guest posts, no link exchanges, no support for third-party builds. It filters spam and signals that a human set the policy.

5. 05

   Alternatives

   Where else the answer might already exist: docs, FAQ, status page. It deflects a share of messages before they are sent.

6. 06

   Privacy note

   One sentence on what happens to the message and a link to the policy. Required for any site collecting personal data, and cheap to include.

Build the prompt

5 variables. Change one and the text below rewrites itself — nothing else on this page moves.

Build a contact page for a reference site that publishes documentation and prompts, run by one person, where most messages are corrections.

AUDIENCE
Someone with a specific reason to write — a correction, a licensing question, a broken page — who is deciding whether it is worth the effort. They are not browsing; they arrived from a footer link and will leave in under a minute if the page feels like a funnel.

STRUCTURE (exactly this order)
1. A single sentence stating who reads these messages. Not a form yet.
2. The primary channel: a plain email address set at 1.3rem in body text as a mailto link, with the timezone noted beside it and a total absence of any form If an address, it is selectable text in large type with a mailto link, plus the timezone. If a form, it has three fields: name, email, and one message box. No subject line, no topic dropdown.
3. What happens next: one short paragraph naming the reply window in working days, the timezone, and what to do if no reply arrives.
4. Reasons to write: exactly four, each with one example sentence. Written as a definition list, not as cards.
5. Out of scope: one short list of what is not answered and why. Keep it to three items.
6. Alternatives: two or three links to places that already answer common questions.
7. Privacy note: one sentence about what happens to a submitted message, with a link to the privacy policy.

STYLE
Editorial: warm off-white page, serif headings, the address set large in the serif face, a 62-character measure for prose, hairlines instead of cards.

MOTION
No animation beyond the form's own state transitions. Nobody wants to watch a contact page perform.

COPY RULES
- State a response time in working days, not as soon as possible.
- Name the timezone with its UTC offset.
- Never write fill out the form below to get in touch. Say who reads it.
- Every out-of-scope item is stated without apology and without justification beyond one clause.
- No marketing copy on this page. No newsletter signup, no chat widget.

CONSTRAINTS
- The address or form must be visible without scrolling at 390x844.
- A form has at most three visible fields; anything else is collected in the reply.
- Every field has a visible label, not a placeholder used as a label.
- The success state replaces the form in place and confirms the reply window again.
- No CAPTCHA unless spam is a demonstrated problem; use a honeypot field instead.

OUTPUT
One page. Self-contained. The form works without JavaScript up to the point of submission.

What to change, and what to leave alone

Feeding it to each builder

Where it usually breaks

Pair it with