Do you want to add a contact form to your WordPress site but are concerned about security? Forms can be a great way to connect with visitors, but can also expose your site to spam and abuse if not properly secured.
Website attacks are on the rise. A recent report found that 30% of all websites experience spam contact form submissions, while 1 in 10 are targeted by email injection attacks. Without proper protections, contact forms can lead to email overload, stolen data, and even site crashes.
Luckily, in my 15 years as a webmaster I‘ve learned tried-and-true techniques to lock down your contact forms. By following these professional tips, you can protect user data and prevent issues like spam and abuse.
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1. Choose a Secure Form Plugin with Essential Safety Features
The first step is choosing a well-coded contact form plugin from a reputable developer. I recommend WPForms, a popular WordPress form builder used on over 5 million websites.
Here‘s how the top three form plugins compare on key security features:
| Plugin | Spam Filter | Data Encryption | Privacy Controls | Regular Security Audits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WPForms | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Formidable Forms | Yes | Partial | No | No |
| Ninja Forms | Yes | Yes | No | No |
WPForms checks all the boxes when it comes to safety. It uses captcha, honeypots, limit submissions, and IP blacklists to prevent spam. Form data is encrypted both at rest and in transit. There are also GDPR tools to make forms compliant with privacy laws.
The WPForms team does regular automated security scans and audits by third-party services like Detectify. They fix any vulnerabilities through rapid software updates – over 300 improvements last year alone!
The free WPForms plugin has all the security fundamentals covered. Premium addons provide more powerful protections like file uploads virus scanning and timed-submission limits.
Other secure options are Ninja Forms and Gravity Forms. Just avoid free form plugins from unknown developers, as these often lack proper security measures.
2. Activate SSL Encryption on Your Site
Once you have a secure form plugin, you need to encrypt data transmission on your site using SSL (HTTPS protocol).
SSL encrypts information as it travels between a visitor‘s browser and your server. This prevents snooping on any sensitive data like names, emails, and messages submitted through your contact form.
According to Google, over 90% of websites now use HTTPS encryption. It‘s easy to activate on WordPress sites too – most web hosts include free SSL certificates to switch sites to HTTPS.
If your host doesn‘t offer SSL, you can add it for free through Let‘s Encrypt. Your web host support can guide you through installing the SSL certificate.
With SSL enabled, you‘ll see "https://" in your URLs instead of "http://" and a padlock icon in the browser address bar. This verifies that connections are secure.
3. Add Captchas and Spam Blockers
Even with a secure form plugin and SSL encryption, it‘s wise to add extra spam and bot protections. Captchas and spam filters create additional barriers to prevent abuse.
Use Google reCAPTCHA
One powerful tool is Google reCAPTCHA – that little "I‘m not a robot" checkbox you see on websites.
Get reCAPTCHA API keys for your domain from Google and activate it in your contact form plugin settings. WPForms makes it easy to add reCAPTCHA to your forms with just a few clicks.
reCAPTCHA uses advanced risk analysis and adaptive challenges to catch spammers and bots while letting real humans pass through with ease.
Enable Built-in Anti-Spam Tools
Your form plugin likely includes built-in anti-spam defenses like honeypots, nonces, IP blacklists, and limit submissions.
For example, WPForms comes with a "smart honeypot" that hides spam-detecting fields from humans but exposes them to bots. Any submissions with the fake field filled out get blocked.
You can also limit form submissions based on IP address or per user. This prevents repeat spam by the same source.
4. Monitor and Secure Your Entire WordPress Site
While proper contact form security is crucial, you also need to lock down your entire WordPress site.
Hackers often look for vulnerabilities anywhere they can – including your web server, plugins, themes, and WordPress core files. A weakness in any component can compromise your contact forms.
Here are two best practices I recommend after 15 years of managing WordPress sites:
Install a Security Plugin
Security plugins like Wordfence and Sucuri add a firewall and malware scanning to your site. They also provide alert notifications if any suspicious activity occurs.
For example, you can get emailed if a file change is detected or if someone tries to brute force your login. This allows quick response to block attacks or prevent data theft.
Schedule Regular Backups
Despite the best security, sites can still be compromised by hackers exploiting undiscovered flaws.
Your best insurance policy is having recent backups ready to restore your site if problems occur. Use a trusted backup plugin like UpdraftPlus which runs scheduled backups to Dropbox or Google Drive.
With proper monitoring and regular backups, you can confidently recover your site even in a worst-case attack scenario.
Final Thoughts
I hope these tips give you confidence to add contact forms to your WordPress site knowing they are safe and secure. Just remember:
✔️ Use a trusted form plugin like WPForms
✔️ Activate SSL on your site
✔️ Add captchas and spam filters
✔️ Monitor your site and run backups
Taking these pro steps will help protect your reputation, data, and WordPress site from contact form spam and attacks.
What‘s your top security tip? Let me know in the comments below!
