Contact Form Spam - Help!
One of the most common questions I get asked is, 'How do I cut down on contact form spam and spam comments to my website and emails?'
Unfortunately, spammers are everywhere, and when new ways are created to stop them, they quickly find ways around them. It's a money-maker for them, and sadly, there's no real way of stopping contact form spam 100%.
The good news is that there are several things you can do to dramatically reduce the amount of spam you receive, making it much easier to manage your website and inbox.
Let's look at them in a little detail:
Blog Comments:
If your blog is getting loads of spammy comments, you can switch off comments altogether. Use a plugin called Disable Comments (on WordPress) and switch it on in its settings. However, please note that if you have WooCommerce reviews enabled, this will also stop customers from leaving product reviews, as WooCommerce reviews use the WordPress comments system.
If you do want to leave comments switched on, you can set them to require manual approval before they're published. Within WordPress, go to Settings > Discussion, where you'll find several useful options to help reduce spam. For example, you can:
- Hold comments for moderation if they contain multiple links.
- Require users to have a previously approved comment before posting.
- Manually approve every comment before it appears on your website.
- Block comments containing specific words or phrases commonly used by spammers.
These simple settings can make a surprising difference and only take a few minutes to configure.
There are also plugins such as Akismet that you can use (it does require a paid subscription), which can help cut down on comment spam. It works by checking comments against a large database of known spam, helping to filter out many unwanted submissions before you even see them.
However, while Akismet is very good, it still won't totally eradicate spam. It simply reduces the amount that gets through.
Contact Form Spam - What Can You Do?
When I first started creating websites, email spam was a huge issue, and we were always recommended to use a contact form instead of displaying an email address. Not only did it help cut down on spam emails, but it also allowed you to ask visitors for the exact information you needed, making enquiries much easier to deal with.
Unfortunately, over the years, spammers have caught on, and contact form spam has gone through the roof.
Automated bots constantly scan the internet looking for websites with contact forms, submitting fake enquiries in the hope that something gets through. Some are simply advertising questionable services, while others are attempting phishing or malicious activity.
The frustrating thing is that even well-built websites aren't immune to contact form spam. It's become a problem that almost every website owner experiences at some point.
How to Reduce Contact Form Spam
Yes, plugins such as Akismet can also help with contact form spam, but as I mentioned before, they reduce it rather than eliminate it.
The only guaranteed way to eradicate contact form spam is to remove your contact form altogether. That may sound a little drastic, but it's actually something I've done on one of my own websites. I now simply display my email address, and interestingly, I receive hardly any spam through it.
Of course, that approach won't suit everyone.
Many businesses genuinely need a contact form because it allows potential customers to provide useful information before you reply. If that's the case, there are several things worth checking.
Firstly, make sure your contact form has anti-spam protection enabled. Most popular contact form plugins include features such as:
- Honeypot anti-spam fields that invisible bots tend to complete.
- Google reCAPTCHA, which helps distinguish real visitors from automated bots.
- Time-based protection that detects forms submitted unrealistically quickly.
- Hidden fields that genuine visitors never interact with but bots often trigger.
If you're using Google reCAPTCHA, you'll need to sign up for an API key and connect it to your website, but once it's set up, it can make a noticeable difference in reducing contact form spam.
It's also worth keeping your contact form plugin, WordPress installation and any other plugins fully updated. Outdated software can sometimes be exploited by spambots or automated scripts.
Don't Forget Your Email Spam Settings
Another thing I always suggest is reviewing the spam settings provided by your email host.
For me, this is done through MailScanner in my hosting cPanel. I've configured it so that emails with a very high spam score are automatically deleted before they ever reach my inbox.
Many hosting companies provide similar spam filtering tools, even if they use different software. If you're unsure what's available, it's worth contacting your hosting provider, as they may be able to increase your spam protection without you needing to change anything on your website.
Sometimes a combination of website protection and email filtering provides the best overall results when tackling contact form spam.
If you need more help, please enjoy the video tutorial above or get in touch for a chat.
Top Tip for Contact Form Spam
One final tip that many people don't know about is using a plugin called WP Content Copy Protector.
This plugin disables the ability for visitors to right-click on your website. Not only does this help protect your content from being copied, but it also makes it more difficult for some spambots that rely on copying and pasting information into forms.
It's certainly not a magic solution, and it won't stop every spam bot, but every additional layer of protection helps when you're trying to reduce the amount of contact form spam you receive.
At the end of the day, no single plugin or setting will completely eliminate contact form spam. However, by combining anti-spam tools, sensible WordPress settings, good email filtering and keeping your website up to date, you can dramatically reduce the amount of unwanted messages you receive.
A few small changes can save you a lot of time sorting through junk enquiries, allowing you to focus on the genuine messages that really matter.
If you need more help, please enjoy the video tutorial above or get in touch for a chat.
