A client intake page that asks only what it needs

Ask what you need to decide, nothing more

Every extra question is a chance to lose someone. Start from the decision you must make: can we help, and what is the next step. Anything that does not feed that decision belongs in the first conversation, not the form.

A short form that gets filled in beats a thorough one that does not. Our guide to contact forms that get filled covers how length changes completion.

Order the questions by how easy they are to answer. Start with a name and a way to reply, then the description, and leave anything that needs thought for last, so a person who stops early has still told you enough to answer.

Tell people what helps in the page text

A lead form sits on every page of a site built here, so the page itself does the coaching. Say above it which details make your reply useful: what the matter or need is in a sentence, how urgent it feels, and the best way and time to reach them.

That way the message arrives with substance, even though the form stays simple. Invite people to leave out anything private.

Use the heading and the paragraph above the form to set the tone: calm, unhurried and specific about the kinds of matters you help with. A visitor should know within a few seconds that they are in the right place.

What not to collect here

A web form is the wrong place for sensitive records, account numbers, identification numbers or detailed case files. Say plainly not to send them through the page, and explain how you will gather them securely later.

If your practice handles regulated records, use the systems built for them and check your own rules. This page is not legal advice, and a simple contact form is not a records system.

State the boundary kindly, with something like: please keep details brief here, and we will arrange a secure way to share the rest. Many clients are relieved to be told.

Explain what happens after sending

People hesitate when they do not know what follows. Say who reads the message, how soon people usually hear back, and what the first conversation covers. Be honest and do not promise a time you may miss.

A confirmation message closes the loop. Our page on thank you pages covers what it should say.

If someone does not hear from you in the time you said, they will assume the message was lost. Check new leads daily, and keep to what you told them.

Where each message goes and what you do with it

Each submission can be delivered to your CRM, Slack, Microsoft Teams, email or any webhook. On the Leads screen every lead has a status and a note you can edit, and you can export leads to a spreadsheet.

Say in a short line how you use what people send and for how long you keep it. Our guide to contact form data and retention explains the choices.

One intake page per kind of work

A professional who takes several kinds of work can write one intake page for each, with its own guidance above the form. A person with one matter then reads wording about that matter instead of a catalog.

Do not claim outcomes or give advice on the page. Describe what you do and how a first conversation works, and nothing about what will result. An intake page should never read as though it were advice.

Keep the pages tidy: link each intake page from the matching service page, and keep the wording of the form guidance consistent across them.

Mistakes that make intake pages fail

These turn a motivated prospect into an abandoned form.

Pages like this one are written from a conversation about your practice, and the in-app assistant can add a page when you describe its purpose. Each page passes a check that runs before anything publishes.

• A long questionnaire before anyone has spoken to you
• Requests for private records through a public page
• No explanation of what happens next
• A form with no way to say how urgent it is
• Required fields that people cannot honestly answer
• No note on how their details are used