How to Reduce Contact Form Spam in WordPress

Do you get spam through your WordPress contact form?

Unfortunately, spam email or comment always happens on the internet. Most of those spam submissions are automated with bots. The bots will send spam emails or comments randomly.

I personally don’t want to spend time to guess whether forms have been submitted by a real person or by a spambot, but you know what? For WordPress users, there are several ways to prevent spam or fake submissions from the site.

For example, have you ever saw these?

Yes, “I’m not a robot” thing. This is called reCAPTCHA and protects your website from spam and abuse. In this post, I’ll explain what is reCAPTCHA and how to add it to your WordPress website.

DISCLOSURE: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a small commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no additional cost to you. This is a sponsored blog post, but all opinions are my own. Please read my full disclaimer here for more info.

First, What is reCAPTCHA?

reCAPTCHA is a CAPTCHA-like system designed to establish that a computer user is human. It is a free service from Google.

The system provides a simple test to tell humans and bots apart. It is easy for humans to solve, but hard for “bots” and other malicious software to figure out. By adding reCAPTCHA to a site, you can block automated software.

The benefit of reCAPTCHA is advanced security, easy to use and mobile-friendly. According to Google Security Blog, this system is easier for us humans to use, particularly on mobile devices. In the example below, you’re asked to select all of the images that correspond with the clue. It’s much easier to tap photos of cats than to tediously type a line of distorted text on your phone.

(Credit: Google Security Blog )

How to Add a reCAPTCHA to Your WordPress Forms?

There are three ways to add a reCAPTCHA to your WordPress forms:

• Use Google reCAPTCHA – Sign in to Google with the account, and go to the My reCAPTCHA page. Next, move to the WordPress admin screen and open the Contact > Integration menu page. And then input fields Site Key and Secret Key, then click the “Save Changes” button.
• Use WordPress addon – Sign in to your WordPress account and go to the Plugins page. Next, click Add New button on the top and then type reCAPTCHA to the Search bar. Install one you like.
• Use WPForms Custom Captcha Addon – Go to the WPForms website and login to your account. Then, install and activate the Custom Captcha Addon.

I recommend WPForms Custom Captcha Addon because it allows you to define custom questions or use random math questions as captcha to reduce spam form submissions.

WPForms is also perfect for small business owners, bloggers, designers, developers, and photographers. It is a powerful but affordable WordPress Form builder. You don’t need any coding knowledge. It’s a 100% beginner-friendly contact form solution. You can change plans or cancel your account at any time.

Moreover, if you don’t like WPForms over the next 14 days after purchase, then you get a full refund.

OK, now you know how to build spam-free WordPress contact forms using Google Checkbox reCAPTCHA, WordPress addon, and WPForms Custom Captcha Addon. Which one looks the best solution for you?