Why Your Website Form is Costing You Money
I want you to imagine something for a second. A potential customer walks into your shop or calls your office. They are ready to buy. They have their wallet out. But instead of saying "How can I help you?", you hand them a three-page legal document and tell them to fill it out before you'll even give them a price.
What do they do? They walk out. They go to the bloke down the road who makes it easy.
In the marketing world, we see this every single day with Brisbane business owners. They spend thousands on a shiny website, but the "Contact Us" form is so long and annoying that people just give up.
Most of what you read online about this is rubbish. People talk about "user experience" and "optimization," but let’s talk about what actually matters: getting more phone calls and enquiries so you can make more sales.
Last year, we worked with a landscaper in Chermside. He had a beautiful website, but he wasn't getting any leads. When we looked at his contact form, it asked for 14 different pieces of information, including the customer's full address, the square meterage of their lawn, and how they heard about him.
We cut that form down to four simple questions. Within a week, his enquiries tripled. He didn't need a new website; he just needed to stop making it hard for people to give him money.
The "Gold Coast Holiday" Test
Here is a truth most web designers won't tell you: People are lazy.
When someone is looking for a plumber, an accountant, or a mechanic on their phone, they are usually in a hurry. They might be sitting at a red light (don't do that, obviously), waiting for a coffee at a cafe in Bulimba, or sitting on the couch during an ad break.
If your form looks like a tax return, they’ll close the tab.
I call this the "Gold Coast Holiday" test. If a customer can’t fill out your form in the time it takes to drive past the Yatala Pies exit on the M1, it’s too long.
1. Kill the Unnecessary Questions
Every extra box you ask a customer to fill in reduces the chance they will hit "submit."Do you really need their middle name? Do you need to know their fax number? Do you need to know their life story before you've even spoken to them?
What you actually need: Name Phone Number (so you can call them back immediately) Email (for a paper trail) A short box for "How can we help?"
That’s it. Once you get them on the phone, you can ask the rest. Your website’s job isn't to do the whole job for you; it's to get the conversation started. If you find your site is still quiet after fixing this, you might need to make it easy for customers to call you instead of just relying on forms.
Real Example: The Morningside Electrician
We had a mate who runs an electrical business in Morningside. He was frustrated because he was paying for ads, people were visiting his site, but the phone wasn't ringing.
His form had a "drop-down" menu with 20 different services. If the customer didn't know if they needed a "switchboard upgrade" or a "safety switch inspection," they got confused and left.
We changed it. We removed the drop-down and replaced it with a simple box that said: "Tell us what's wrong, and we'll call you back with a price."
Results? He went from 2 leads a week to 10. He didn't spend a cent more on advertising. He just stopped confusing his customers.
If you've been tempted to use AI to build a website, be careful. These tools often spit out generic, clunky forms that don't fit the way Brisbane locals actually want to interact with a business.
Make it Work on Phones (Seriously)
I’m going to be blunt: if your contact form is hard to use on an iPhone or a Samsung, you are throwing money in the bin.
Over 70% of local searches in Queensland happen on mobile devices. If your customer has to "pinch and zoom" to find the name box, or if the "Submit" button is so small they keep clicking a link in your footer instead, they will leave. You need to ensure your website loads fast and the form is big, clear, and easy to tap with a thumb.
Checklist for a mobile-friendly form: The boxes are big enough to tap easily. The keyboard pops up automatically when they tap a box. The "Submit" button is a bright colour (I like orange or green) and spans the width of the screen. There are no annoying pop-ups blocking the form.
The "Thank You" Page: Don't Leave Them Hanging
Most business owners forget what happens after the customer clicks the button.
Usually, the form just disappears and a tiny bit of text says "Message sent." The customer is left wondering: Did it work? Is someone going to call me? When?
If I’m looking for a roof tiler in Indooroopilly and I fill out a form, I want to know I’m not shouting into a void.
A good result looks like this: 1. The screen changes to a clear "Thank You" page. 2. It says: "Thanks, Greg! We’ve received your enquiry. One of our team will call you within 2 hours." 3. It gives them your phone number just in case they want to talk right now.
This builds trust. It makes you look like a professional outfit, not a one-man-band working out of a garage (even if you are!).
What’s a Waste of Money?
You don’t need fancy "multi-step" forms with animations and progress bars for a local service business. Those are for big insurance companies or banks. For a local shop or tradie, they are a waste of time and money.
Don't pay a developer $2,000 to build a "custom quote calculator" unless you are absolutely sure it will make you more money. Often, these calculators give people a price, and then they leave without ever giving you their contact details. You’ve just given away free advice and lost the lead.
How Long Until You See Results?
This is the best part. Unlike SEO, which can take months, fixing your website form works instantly.
If you change your form on Tuesday morning, you could be getting more enquiries by Tuesday afternoon. It is the fastest way to increase your profit without spending more on marketing.
What Should You Do First?
Go to your own website on your mobile phone right now. Try to fill out your contact form.
Is it annoying? Are there too many questions? Does it work properly? Does it feel like a chore?
If the answer is yes, you are losing customers to your competitors every single day.
At Local Marketing Group, we specialise in making sure Brisbane businesses don't just look good online, but actually make money. We see so many great local businesses struggling because of small technical hurdles like a bad form.
If you want us to take a look at your site and tell you exactly why the phone isn't ringing, we’re here to help. No jargon, no fluff—just more customers for your business.
Ready to get more leads? Contact us today and let’s get your website working as hard as you do.