Hiding text in HTML - is this unethical?

[Demonolith]

I'm in the process of designing and creating a website for a client.

I have created a template to be use on each page but can't think of a suitable way to place the their email address as well as a few contact numbers without ruining the layout.

I've thought about hiding these details in the HTML where they will be picked up by search engines yet unseen by users but wondered if this tactic is frowned upon.

I'll include all these details on a contact page anyway.
Two very helpful answers so far, thanks very much.

Does the same reasoning for the email address apply to phone numbers?

I was going to include a form on the contact page along with the email address (included in a list of postal addresses and phone and fax numbers) and Google maps, but do you really think including both is unnecessary?

Also, wouldn't leaving the email address unhidden leave it just as accessible to bots?

 

[Leo D]

That method isn't considered bad. It's when you use fake keywords and other fake information which has nothing to do with your Web Page that's considered bad.

But sometimes accessibility elements are hidden to keep them away from users that might be more confused then helped by these elements. Elements like headings for your Navigational section and your asides and search bars, and also elements like "Skip to Navigation" and "Repeat page content", as well as pronunciation guide elements. And sometimes these and other elements are hid temporarily. Elements like drop-down navigational sub-lists are hidden until the outer list elements are hovered over.

However, you should listen to the first poster. It's almost always a bad idea to put your email-address on your Web Page because of spammers. There are a few promising methods to do so: Using a PNG image which will act as the email-address text; using JavaScript to script the email-address text in.

The best method so far that I know of, is using a contact form. It takes away the job of an email website and it can be difficult to add fancier email client features, but it's the safest way. When the person uses your contact form, you can send them an email stating their original message (with formatting if you manage to do that yourself), any email contact addresses that you want them to know, and a confirmation about if you got their message or not. And it all pretty much works out. There's plenty of tutorials on email contact forms on-line. It's a popular method, just search for it =)

As for search engines, they don't need to know your email-address. Maybe an address to a contact page, but they can't use your email-address.