methodology / Email & Communications / #83
Visible contact form on site
#83 · Recommended · Web Quality · weighted · Email & Communications · weight 0.3% · impl implemented · method v1.2.0
Web Quality factor
This factor is part of Web Quality — the weighted 0..100 score that sits above Web Standards. Its weight depends on what kind of site is being measured. Web Standards items take priority; this factor only enters the score once Web Standards passes.
- Base weight
- 0.6 applied to every site type unless overridden below
- Why this weight
- Visible contact form — overlaps the identity-floor synthetic check, but a thoughtful contact form is a genuine quality signal.
Per-site-type overrides
| Site type | Weight | Δ vs base |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate / B2B | 0.8 | +0.2 |
| Local business | 1.0 | +0.4 |
| Personal site | 0.3 | -0.3 |
| SaaS / Product | 0.9 | +0.3 |
Site types not listed inherit the base weight.
What this means for your business
A visible 'get in touch' form is the easiest way to turn a curious visitor into a lead. If finding one takes more than a few seconds, most people just close the tab.
Plain title: A contact form people can actually find
What we measure
Sites without a contact form bleed leads. Visitors who don't have an obvious way to reach you simply leave.
How to improve your score
Add a basic contact form to /contact (and link it from the footer). For lead-gen sites, embed a short form on the homepage.
Implementation
stale · v1 · seeded — no connector publish yet · source: freshcoat-discovery/src/connectors/email-lead-capture.ts:scoreContactForm
Detection method
Three-tier ladder: (1) static <form> with email/contact/message inputs on the homepage; (2) embedded contact widget (Intercom, HubSpot, Drift, Zendesk, Crisp, etc.); (3) same-origin contact-page anchor. Any one signal passes the factor.
Detection sources
- Static form parse of ctx.html (looking for type=email + form name patterns)
- Widget script-tag fingerprint match
- Anchor with text/href matching contact|support|sales
Scoring bands · soft ladder
| Score | Condition |
|---|---|
| 100 | any one of: static form, widget, contact anchor |
| 30 | no contact channel detected on homepage |
Evidence-key dictionary
What every notes string the connector emits means.
Surfaces in the per-domain dossier evidence column.
static_form- <form> with email/message/contact inputs found.
widget_<vendor>- Recognised contact-widget script tag found.
contact_link- Anchor pointing at /contact, /support, or similar same-origin path.
Applicability
Recommended tier. Three-signal ladder added during connector dial-in (Apr 28) — was previously homepage-static-form only, false-failing every SaaS site that hides contact behind hydration.
Changelog
- 2026-04-29 · seed Initial seed from MethodologyRegistry bootstrap.
Facts
Implementation notes
Probe /contact + /contact-us, check for form with email + message fields.
Scoring
Scoring formulas are versioned with the methodology. The current method (v1.2.0) maps raw measurements to pass, warn, fail. Factor weights determine how much each contributes to the composite — see the methodology index for the full table.
Version history
| Version | Change | Date |
|---|---|---|
| v1.2.0 | Factor introduced. Status: live. Scoring impl: implemented. | 2026-04-25 |