Contact details are essential for every business website. Including contact details in your online content helps you:
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comply with legal requirements
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reassure potential customers
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make it easy for customers to contact you
What does the law say?
Contact details are legally required on almost any business website. That includes providing:
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your business name – not just a trading name, though you can include that as well if you want
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a geographical address where people can reach you (your business premises or registered office address)
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contact email address
If your business is a company – registered at Companies House – you must also give your registered address, where the company is registered (eg England & Wales) and registration number.
Part of the reason why these contact details are legally required is to protect people from bogus websites. And that’s another reason why you provide your contact details – to help reassure visitors that you’re a legitimate business.
By making it clear who you are and how people can get in touch, you make it easier for people to trust you.
Incidentally, there are two other pieces of information you should give if they apply:
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your VAT number (if you are VAT registered)
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membership details for any trade or professional associations you belong to
Again, this is a legal requirement – but equally importantly, the information helps make your business more credible.
Where should I put the details?
You don’t have to clutter up your website by including all the business information on every page. Instead, you might include it along with a description of your business on a page called ‘About us’. Or your website could include a contact form.
That last option – a contact form – makes a lot of sense for most business websites. After all, you really want customers and potential customers to get in touch. A well-designed website with clear contact details will make it easy for them to do just that.
