Combine "Contact Us" and "Locations"

May 26, 2005 11:28 AM

I'm paring down categories on a website and I'm looking for a single phrase that can be used to replace "Contact Us" and "Locations." The info on each page is too similar, so I'd like to create a single page with contact info and location maps. It's for a medical practice with two offices. Limitation: around 12-15 letters maximum, to match the other categories and stay within the limitations of the menu. Thanks!
posted by letitrain to Writing & Language (19 answers total)

How about "About Us"
posted by InfidelZombie at 11:33 AM on May 26, 2005

Get In Touch
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 11:34 AM on May 26, 2005

Reach Us
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 11:36 AM on May 26, 2005

'Find Us'
posted by Slothrop at 11:37 AM on May 26, 2005

How about "Contact Info"? The map and address info is simply telling them how to contact you in person. I think most people would think to look for location information there. (Sometimes "Contact Us" will be a mailto: link, and I always find myself reluctant to click on a "Contact Us" link, until I've looked at the URL. I don't tend to second guess a "Contact Info" link.)
Alternatively "Contact/Location".
posted by teg at 11:40 AM on May 26, 2005

Second "Find Us", that was going to be my suggestion.
posted by jennaratrix at 11:40 AM on May 26, 2005

"About Us" was considered, but seemed too vague. "Find Us" might work. For reference, here are the categories as they are now:

Home
Services
Physicians
Optical Shop
Locations
Contact Us
Helpful Hints
posted by letitrain at 11:41 AM on May 26, 2005

My only hesitation with "Find Us" is that it might be too much toward location. Do you think someone looking for a phone number would click on it?
posted by letitrain at 11:43 AM on May 26, 2005

Why not be clear? Contacts & Locations.
posted by jacquilynne at 11:50 AM on May 26, 2005

For retail sites, "Store Locator" usually covers this ground. How about "Office Locator" or "Site Locator"?

If you're really looking to consolidate, put the contact/location info in with the Physicians. From a patient perspective, the eternal question is "How do I find/contact the doctor?" so many people will look in that section no matter how blatant the other headings are.

/voice of bitter experience
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 11:51 AM on May 26, 2005

I generally assume that 'contact us' includes locations, if locations are going to be listed on the site at all. So i'd just leave it at that, personally.
posted by Kololo at 12:29 PM on May 26, 2005

There's no rule against having two links, Contact Us and Locations, and having them both link to the same page. Or perhaps to different anchors on the same page.
posted by litlnemo at 1:07 PM on May 26, 2005

If the links are being listed vertically, how about placing a slash after Locations and including Contact Us in the same anchor/link?

Home
Services
Physicians
Optical Shop
Locations/
Contact Us
Helpful Hints

On preview, I agree with litlnemo. I don't think I would assume that any of the text-suggestions so far would link to both contact info and store location info.
posted by nobody at 1:13 PM on May 26, 2005

Pentagram is an example of a site that just uses "offices" and has office-specific contact info with the location information. But this is only clear because of the clarity/simplicity of the page -- there is no need to hunt around for the "contact" link because it is sooo clear what your choices. On a busier page I might just assume that I wasn't looking hard enough.

The opposite is done at flack+kurtz: "contact us" lets you choose their office after the click.

On both sites, it is pretty clear what your navigation options are, so either way works (for me). You could also mock up a version of each page and do some quick-and-dirty usability testing to see if your target audience can figure it out.

It may make a difference whether you have 5 offices in a signle metropolitan area (where a prospective clent can choose between any of them) or if you have, say, 1 office per city (and you choose the one in your city). I think those scenarios require a different approach.
posted by misterbrandt at 1:40 PM on May 26, 2005

misterbrandt, "It's for a medical practice with two offices."
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 1:50 PM on May 26, 2005

About Us, or About CompanyName, according to Jakob Nielsen's article, "About Us" -- Presenting Information About an Organization on Its Website.

Contact Us, according to Navigation Checklists for Web Design.
posted by kirkaracha at 2:46 PM on May 26, 2005

I think I'll just use "Contact Us" - it's simple and really the most important idea. If a client is looking specifically for location info and can't find it, they'll likely click "contact" next anyway.

I'll definitely do a "quick and dirty usability test" with some random people. I'll ask them to find out where X office is located and see where they go.

Thanks for the excellent links and suggestions.
posted by letitrain at 3:16 PM on May 26, 2005

"Us" is implied. How about just "Contact", or "Email"?
posted by holloway at 5:06 PM on May 26, 2005

I agree with holloway. It's more professional to seek the simplest language to convey navigation. Just as you don't write, "Click here to Contact Us" for "Contact" or "Our Company History" for "History", you should eliminate obvious/superfluous text. And using slashes is a last resort.
posted by ValveAnnex at 10:26 PM on May 26, 2005