Are you tired of sifting through an unending flood of spam entries on your WordPress contact forms? With an overwhelming increase in spam activity, it’s high time to stop these unwanted invaders. Luckily, there are various ways to combat the scourge of WordPress contact form spam. In this blog post, we’ll guide you through multiple options for how to stop spam on WordPress contact forms and to ensure your leads aren’t drowned out by spam.
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Why is my contact form getting spammed?
If you’re wondering why your attracting WordPress contact form spam, you’re not alone. A significant cause is the proliferation of automated bots. These bots tirelessly comb the web, crawling through countless websites in an attempt to extract useful data.
Think of these bots as unwelcome guests at a party. They wander around, poking and prodding, trying to interact with every part of your website. Your contact forms, in particular, are a prime target. When a bot successfully triggers a form, it attempts to gather valuable information or provoke a response from a live email address.
This incessant activity isn’t just about gathering data; it’s also about volume. The more forms a bot can trigger, the higher the chance it will hit a worthwhile target. For them, it’s a numbers game, and they’re playing with unlimited attempts.
Akismet: Robust Anti-Spam
First off, let’s look at Akismet, a popular service that seamlessly integrates with WordPress. Priced at £7-9 per month, Akismet might seem like the pricier choice, but it’s revered as one of the most successful options to stop WordPress contact form spam altogether. It works by meticulously vetting all information entered into your contact form and blocking anything that appears suspicious. If you’re looking for an effortless, quick win, this is it.
Add-ons for Your Contact Form Plugin
WordPress platforms are known for their flexibility, and their plugin ecosystem is no exception. Many website owners use plugins like WPForms, Gravity Forms, and Ninja Forms to enhance their site with contact forms. For these plugins, there’s a vast market of add-ons available, many of which focus specifically on stopping WordPress contact form spam.
While some add-ons require a paid license, others integrate with free services like Google’s reCAPTCHA, making it easier than ever to protect your website from spam. Even with a non-plugin bespoke form, you can implement anti-spam checks like reCAPTCHA by adapting your website’s code.
Cloudflare’s Bot Fight Mode: Keep Suspicious Visitors at Bay
Cloudflare‘s Bot Fight mode is a potent tool to keep spammers off your website. This solution is pretty successful when it comes to WordPress contact form spam, as it prevents suspicious visitors from accessing your website entirely or serves them a ‘challenge’ to verify their human status. Other server-level services like Immunify offer similar solutions.
However, it’s important to consider potential false positives. Some genuine users, such as VPN users protecting their internet usage on a public network, may unintentionally trigger these protective measures. Striking the right balance between security and accessibility is key.
Turnstile by Cloudflare: The New Generation of Spam Blocking
Cloudflare recently launched a revolutionary new service called Turnstile. From our experience, this free service has been successful in entirely stopping WordPress Contact Form SPAM on our client’s sites.
Turnstile deviates from the traditional ‘challenge’ approach, where users need to select images or answer questions to prove their humanity. Instead, it evaluates user behaviours and other connection-based information to intelligently reject spam. While it’s possible that spammers may eventually find a workaround, for now, Turnstile is the best free choice for on-site spam blocking.
Comprehensive Protection With Our Hosting Package
As part of our hosting package, we utilise the Cloudflare CDN to protect our clients’ sites, and all our development includes forms protected by Cloudflare’s Turnstile. We offer a multitude of options to combat the age-old problem of internet spam and make it a thing of the past.
STOP WordPress Contact Form Spam Now!
Protecting your WordPress website from spam is crucial for preserving your online reputation, maintaining a clean contact database, and making sure legitimate leads don’t get lost in a sea of spam. Whether you opt for Akismet, make use of free and paid add-ons, or choose Cloudflare’s innovative services, taking action against spam is an investment worth making.
Remember, we’re here to provide the best solutions to help you tackle WordPress contact form spam. So why wait? Take control of your website today, and let’s make spam a thing of the past.
