When was the last time you checked your website’s contact forms are working?

Go on, jump onto your website right now and send yourself a test message. (Use your personal email as the test email).

Did you receive it? Did your autoresponder (if you have one set up to acknowledge their enquiry) trigger?

How many times have you sent a website enquiry off on someone’s website only to hear absolutely nothing back? Too many right?

You spend all that time and energy getting traffic to the website, only for those valuable enquiries to never reach you.

Why Do Website Forms Get Lost?

In short, spam filters.

When your website tries to send an email pretending to be from your domain, it can trigger spam or phishing alerts. That’s why proper email validation is so important – this is usually done through a system called SMTP. If that sounds techy, don’t stress – I’ll break it down for you below.

1. Set Up SMTP (Seriously, It’s Non-Negotiable)

SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) validates your website emails so they’re authorised to send from your domain. It stops your enquiries getting caught in spam filters. For WordPress, I recommend the WP SMTP plugin – it’s reliable and does the heavy lifting for you.

2. Check with Your Hosting Provider

Quality hosting often includes built-in SMTP options or guidance to set it up properly. Get in touch with your host and ask what they recommend for email deliverability.

3. Avoid Using Your Receiving Email as the ‘From’ Address

Your contact form’s ‘From’ email should be something different to your main inbox email. Otherwise, your email server may see it as suspicious and block the message entirely.

4. Store a Copy of All Form Submissions

Things can go wrong. Make sure your website keeps a backup of enquiries within the dashboard or database. That way, even if an email goes astray, you can still follow up. (Trust me, people appreciate a response – even if it’s a little delayed.)

5. Set Up SPF, DKIM & DMARC Records on Your Domain

Sound like tech-jargon? These are simple DNS records that tell the world your domain is legit and authorised to send emails. Your domain provider or web expert can help set these up quickly.

6. Add reCAPTCHA to Stop Spam

Getting bombarded with spam from your website form? reCAPTCHA adds an extra layer of protection to filter out bots while keeping it easy for real humans to enquire.

7. Always Offer an Alternative Contact Option

Not strictly a deliverability tip – but a big one for trust and conversion. Make sure your website also lists a direct email address and phone number. Some people prefer to reach out that way, especially if they have issues with forms.