Adding contacts and the contact us module
Last updated: 1/4/2019Table of contents
1. Contacts guide – using contacts to their full ability
This guide provides details on how to make full use of contact information across a range of content. It also includes details on how to create and add the dedicated 'Contact us' module.
2. Where do we display contacts?
Contacts are shown on most pages of arup.com. Generally, the 'main' contact will be displayed via the Utility Bar (shown in screenshot below). You’ll find the utility bar on the following page types:
- Industry
- Perspective articles
- Perspective videos
- Projects
- Services
3. Why do we show contacts?
One of the primary purposes of arup.com is to help people identify Arup's experts, learn more about them and potentially start a conversation.
4. Showing different contacts to different users
We may have a different 'Health and safety' expert in Australia, America and Italy. It would therefore be great to show that expert to their 'local' audience. For example, if 'John Smith' is the Health and Safety expect in the Americas region, but 'Joan Harris' is the expect in Europe, we should show users in America John Smith, but users in Italy Joan Harris.
Using personalisation and GEO IP, we can now do this. For example - visit the 'Energy' page on arup.com. Click on the utility bar 'get in touch' prompt. What do you see? Looking at the website from London, the first thing you will be Ian Gardener as the lead contact.
But is this what you're seeing where you are? If you're in Europe, then you're probably seeing Tudor Salusbury.
You should be seeing a different contact if you're in Australasia, the Americas, Europe, the UK or East Asia.
Implementing this functionality is explained below.
5. Adding 'main' contacts to pages
The following instructions cover adding Arup contacts to Projects, Perspectives (including articles and videos), Service and Industry pages. A Project page is used in the example. To assign a contact:
- Locate the 'Contacts' area of your document (see screenshot below)
- Browse the list of contacts by dragging the highlighted icon up and down, or using your mouse wheel to scroll
- Once you've found the contact you want to use, 'double click' their name
- After double clicking you should see your selected contact's name appear in the right-hand column (where Cameron Dymond is shown in the screenshot above)
- Save your document and either continuing building your page, or if you've already done this, submit your page for approval / publication
Once your page has been published, your contact will appear as below:
The contact is displayed in the 'utility' bar of Projects, Perspectives, Service and Industry pages. This will follow the user down the page as they scroll. Clicking on the contact will reveal further information about them - including a link to their individual profile.
The 'Contact us' module
As well as assigning a main contact to a page, it is also possible to add contact details via the 'Contact us' module. This is a specific module, that can be added anywhere on virtually all types of pages. An example of the module is shown below.
Adding the 'Contact us' module
To add the module:- Right click on the 'Local content' folder of your page, and choose 'Insert > Contact us'
- Give your module a suitably descriptive name such as 'Contact us module'
- Select the 'Contact Person' by clicking on the arrow highlighted below. You'll need to browse the content tree to find your Contact. All Contacts are located under the 'Our firm' node of the content tree
Adding content to the module
Once you’ve selected your contact, you should then create the appropriate content to complete the module. You'll need to:
- Enter a statement in the ‘Title’ field. This should be something that draws attention to your contact and encourages the user to look closer. Examples might include:
- Meet X, our Y specialist (where X is the contact name and Y is their specialism)
- Want to talk to X about Y?
- When entering your statement in the 'Title' field do not use your contact’s name. Instead of writing their name, write ‘[name]’. for example, ‘Want to talk to [name] about Digital?’ – When published [name] will be automatically replaced by the contact’s actual name (NB – this will only work if your selected profile has the relevant information added, though profiles should always have name as a minimum)
- Add your 'Link text' – this field generates the actual link users will click on to get to your contact’s profile. So for example ‘Find out more about [name] (again use the [name] token rather than your contact’s name – you do not have to include any reference to the name if you do not wish).
- Override email – if you want to add a DIFFERENT email to your contact’s default email address, you can add this here
- Override Phone – if you want to add a DIFFERENT phone number to your contact’s default phone number, you can add this here
Once you’ve completed the above, you can save Contact us module The screenshots below demonstrate how a completed ‘Contact us’ module will subsequently display.
Adding the Contact us module in the Experience Editor
Once you’ve added all the data you require and saved your ‘Contact us’ module, you’re now ready to add the module in the Experience Editor.
Theoretically, you can add this module anywhere across your document. However, its most likely that you’re going to want to add this towards the end of your page.
Contact us module – best practice
In this section, you will find guidance on advice in how to best utilise the ‘contact us’ module.
It includes a number of examples illustrating how to use and display the module.
Recommended use
- To encourage the user to get in touch with Arup professional when engaging with a piece of content.
- To reinforce a specific CTA within an article or project – e.g. “Find out more about wind engineering”.
- To present the contact details in another area on page, rather than the user having to scroll to the top to see the contact.
Example 1 – correctly presented module
In the example below, you’ll see what a ‘perfect’ contact us module should look like. It has:
- Contact has image, job title, email and telephone listed
- Clear CTA for getting in touch
- Fits nicely between modules
Example 2 – profile lacking information
In the second example, you can see that the presentation is not correct. The profile has:
- No contact image, phone or email
- No CTA – which leaves the contact arrow link floating
Example 3 – checking your CTAs and text presentation
In the example below, you can see the importance of checking how your contact us module is presented within the Experience Editor before you submit for publication / publish your article.
- Contact has image, job title, email and telephone listed.
- Clear CTA for getting in touch
- If the text exceeds one line, reword so the text is near the contact arrow.
Example 4 – choosing where to add your module
Considering where you add the contact us module is important. Logically, it makes sense to add this module at the end, or towards the end of your final paragraph. You want readers to consumer your article, and then feel inspired to contact our expert.
It makes no sense to add your module right at the start of an article:
- Module well presented, all key information present
- Module is virtually first thing user sees – at this point they’ve not been engaged. How can they learn more at this point?
FAQ
- Where do contacts ‘live’ within the CMS?
- Can I add a page without a contact?
- I want to personalise my contact. Should I do this?
- I’m adding a ‘contact us module’ – where’s the best place to add it?
- Should I always add an additional ‘contact us’ module?
Where do contacts ‘live’ within the CMS?
A. Currently, all the contacts you can use reside within the ‘Our firm’ area of the CMS. You can browse all the contacts available here
The contact I want doesn’t exist on the website. What should I do?
A. To select a contact, the person must have a ‘Profile’ created within the CMS. It is important that a Profile contains some specific information including the contact’s picture. You should therefore consult the person you want to create as a contact to obtain the correct content to create this profile.
Can I add a page without a contact?
A. Pages can be published without contacts – BUT – it’s important to remember that we want the website to demonstrate the skills of Arup’s staff and to make these staff approachable. Its therefore vital to try and ensure that a relevant contact is added to all Projects and Perspectives (in particular) that you want to publish. Wherever possible, try and ensure that a suitable contact is available.
I want to personalise my contact. Should I do this?
A. You need to consider this carefully. Ultimately, the aim of the contact is to connect a website browser with an Arup specialist. If you personalise it, will the contact you choose know anything about the content that’s generated the contact request? Are they sufficiently specialist to be able to help and advise? These are all things that you should consider.
I’m adding a ‘contact us module’ – where’s the best place to add it?
A. The ‘contact us’ module is effectively a call to action. Its purpose is to highlight the presence of an Arup specialist and nudge them towards starting a conversation. Calls to action such as this will generally work better at the end of your content. You want someone to read your page, and feel the need to get in contact and be able to easily do so. Whilst it is possible to add a contact in the middle of an article for example, your results are likely to be more impressive if its amongst the last items you add.
Should I always add an additional ‘contact us’ module?
A. The answer is dependent on your content. Ultimately, some pieces will lend themselves better to strong calls to action like this than others. This is a judgement that you need to make. Ultimately, the key thing to remember is that your content should aid the user in either finding out more about a service or industry related to your content or aid the user in getting in contact with one of our relevant specialists.