How to help users contact a service or place
Use this pattern to help users get in touch with a service or place.
You can also ask users to contact a service using a form.
Example
When to use this pattern
Use this pattern to share contact information for a place or service when the user does not need to complete a form.
It can be helpful to use a form if you need users to submit specific details, for example, when they are reporting a fault.
This pattern is useful when sharing contact information to help users make a general query.
How it works
This pattern uses good practice in structure and formatting. Repeating consistent patterns across our site helps users to:
- find the information they need
- recognise similar types of information - this makes it easier to read
This pattern uses a clear page title, headings and body copy to display contact information. Avoid using tables or accordions for contact information as these can be difficult for screen readers to read. Some users won't notice or understand how to use accordions.
Page title
Start with a clear and specific page title. This should tell the user what that page will help them to do. Page titles can appear in search listings so they should make sense on their own, regardless of where the user sees them.
Good example: Contact the library service
Bad example: Contact us
What to include
Include as many contact options as you can. This could include:
- telephone numbers
- text relay (or similar)
- web chat
- postal address
Check with the service area to make sure that users will get a response if they use these contact details.
For example, some services may not be able to answer queries by telephone. If no one is going to answer the phone, it's not helpful to give the user a telephone number. However, if your user research shows that people want to contact a service by phone, talk to the service about how they might meet this user need in the future.
Give users information to help them get a response, such as:
- opening hours of a telephone service or place
- response times for email
- availability hours of web chat
Ordering contact options
When you have more than one contact option, list these in an order that helps the user.
For example, if you know that most people want to contact a service by email, display the email address at the top. If a service wants to encourage people to contact them by telephone rather than email, you might list the telephone number at the top as the user is more likely to get a response.
Use clear, active headings to help users find the information they need.
Use headings to order your contact details in way that helps the user
Using our style guide
Always use our style guide when creating content for the Buckinghamshire Council website. The style guide helps us to use consistent structure, formatting and language across the site. This makes it easier for users to find the information they need.
The style guide can help with:
- writing page titles and headings
- formatting text, telephone numbers and email addresses
- making sure your copy is accessible and inclusive
Telephone numbers
Use Telephone: 011 111 111 or Mobile:. Do not use Mob:.
Use spaces between city and local exchange. Here are the different formats to use:
01273 800 900
020 7450 4000
0800 890 567
07771 900 900
077718 300 300
+44 (0)20 7450 4000
+39 1 33 45 70 90
When a number is memorable, group the numbers into easily remembered units: 0800 80 70 60.
You can add a hyperlink to a telephone number. If a user clicks on the link, their browser may open up the call function on their device. This may not work on all browsers or all devices, so always write the telephone number out in full.
Text relay
Buckinghamshire Council offers a text relay service for users with hearing loss. Text relay helps deaf people and people with hearing loss and speech difficulties to communicate over the phone. Users of text relay can access the service by dialling 18001 before a landline telephone number.
Check with your service that text relay is available. If it is not available, talk to your service about how they can help all users to get in touch.
Email addresses
Always write out email addresses in full. You can add a hyperlink to the address. This can make it easier for some users to open a new email from the link. However, this doesn't work with all email clients or on all devices so you should always write the email address in full. This means that:
- screen readers can read out the email address
- users can cut and paste the address into their email host, or write it down
Good example: Contact the library service at [email protected]
Bad example: Contact the library service (address is hidden behind hyperlink)
Social media
If your service area has social media channels, think about whether these are helpful to a user who wants to contact the service. Social media links will take users to an external website. If the user is visiting your page to find out how to contact the service, external links can be confusing.
If you want users to contact you using social media, make sure you explain this on the page. Tell them how to contact you, for example, by sending a direct message on Twitter or including a specific hashtag. Explain how you will respond.
All of your contact options should be based on what you know about your users. If social media links are meeting a user need, you can include them.
If you do include social media channel:
- list these channels last
- tell users not to share personal information with you
When you have several sets of contact details in a list
Sometimes, you may want to include several sets of contact details on one page, for example, when there are several support teams within one service area. In this case:
- use clear headings to help users find the contact information they need
- use a consistent format and ordering for every set of contact information
- avoid using accordions to reveal different options - not all users will notice them or understand how they work
If you want to list contact information for a series of similar places or venues (such as libraries), consider using the location index and location page templates. This template helps users find information for the place closest to them.
Help with this pattern
Contact the web team via ServiceNow if you need to:
- ask a question
- get help with this pattern
- get help with writing content
- make a suggestion for something we need to include in this guidance
You can find more guidance on writing content in the content design resources in the GOV.UK Service Manual.
We are still researching these patterns. If you have any research or suggestions that could help us improve this pattern, tell the Web Team.