One annoying situation that WordPress site users have to deal with is having their contact forms bombarded with messages from bots and some thoughtless internet users.
I’ve used WordPress since 2013 and I have tried different methods of combatting this, including using Recaptcha but that doesn’t give the perfect result. Why? To an extent, the spam is reduced but at the expense of my site speed. This is because Recaptcha, Hcaptcha, or any other captcha being used on your site would have to connect to their sources any time you load a page on your site. This causes an additional load time.
This method I am sharing with you is simple works 100% and it doesn’t hamper your site speed.
Using this method will guarantee you that every contact sent was really sent by a human being.
Here it is.
Using Calculated Fields Form as a Contact Form
While Calculated Fields Form is awesome for building calculators, I have as well enjoyed it as a Contact Form. I use it on all my sites including this and I don’t get spam emails.
By default, Calculated Fields Form has its own captcha verification which doesn’t load from an external site. The captcha is fully customizable by you.
Take a look.
As good as this is, I don’t even use it.
I have a different method of setting my contact forms. I don’t use the captcha method because I feel it may be a little too difficult for some users. So here is what my contact forms look like.
Here is the logic.
I hid the submission button of the form and conditioned it to appear when the user successfully answered the simple question – “What is 5 minus 2”.
That number is totally arbitrary, it could be anything else. It can be 1 + 1, 2-1, or any other simple calculation.
There is no way a bot can manipulate this.
How did I make it?
First, I have the template for this form and other forms I have built available to you for Free. Enter your email below and I’ll send it your way.
If you have any questions about customizing it reply to the email with which I sent the templates and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
Note that this contact form feature works only with the Professional or higher versions of the Calculated Fields Form.
- It costs just € 49.99 for a lifetime.
- You can use it on multiple websites, so you buy it once and for all.
- You get 60 days of support from the plugin writer, I am also here to support you for as long as you need me.
Other Features Available for Contact Forms in Calculated Fields Form Plugin
Aside from preventing spam, this plugin has a lot of features that are important for contact forms. Let me take you through them.
Multipage Form
You can make the contact page ‘multipage’ by just including a pagebreak like this.
Define Labels
Calculated Fields Form allow you to change all the labels like ‘submit’, ‘next’, ‘previous’ without any programming. You can also define error texts. At first glance, this plugin’s interface looks not easy but it is the easiest for its capability. I have tried several other form plugins available.
Auto response
The plugin allows you to send a confirmation message to the contact form user and the owner of the site. All of these and more come with 49.99 Euro package.
If you would like to know more about preventing spam with this plugin, please let me know in the comment box.
To download the plugin click on the button below.