FORMHUSH / WordPress

Filter WordPress contact form spam

Add a custom HTML contact form to WordPress and send it to FormHush. Check editor permissions, exact field names and existing plugin workflows.

A custom HTML form can send messages directly from your WordPress page to FormHush. This route is independent of your contact form plugin and does not automatically connect that plugin’s submissions.

Insert a Custom HTML block

Add the markup below to a Custom HTML block. Save the page and inspect the resulting form: WordPress permissions and sanitization can remove disallowed markup. An administrator may need to add it through a suitable theme template instead. See the WordPress Custom HTML documentation.

Before connecting

The site is a preview. Accounts and forms are provisioned by an operator; the dashboard does not create them. Obtain a provisioned form ID and have the operator configure allowed origins, notification destinations and any thank-you URL before using the integration.

The examples use https://api.formhush.com/f/example-contact. Replace the illustrative example-contact ID with your provisioned ID; it is not a live demo form. Keep account keys out of public markup. Browser requests must come from an exact allowed origin, including the scheme and any port.

<form action="https://api.formhush.com/f/example-contact" method="POST">
  <label for="contact-name">Name</label>
  <input id="contact-name" name="name" maxlength="120" autocomplete="name">
  <label for="contact-email">Email</label>
  <input id="contact-email" name="email" type="email" maxlength="254" autocomplete="email">
  <label for="contact-message">Message</label>
  <textarea id="contact-message" name="message" maxlength="8000" required></textarea>
  <input name="website" type="text" hidden tabindex="-1" autocomplete="off">
  <button type="submit">Send message</button>
</form>

Keep plugin workflows intentional

Replace or remove the old form on this page to avoid confusing visitors with two submission paths. Do not nest this markup inside a plugin’s existing form. Reuse your theme’s CSS classes as needed.

Keeping a plugin requires a separate integration that maps its fields to the FormHush request format. Check whether plugin notifications fire before forwarding; a webhook alone does not stop the plugin sending unfiltered email. File attachments and extra plugin fields are not stored by the current FormHush endpoint.

Fields and thank-you behaviour

message is required, up to 8,000 characters. name is optional, up to 120 characters; email is optional, up to 254 characters and must be valid when supplied. The website string is mandatory and must stay empty for a legitimate visitor. A filled honeypot is stored as spam, not silently discarded.

Only JSON and URL-encoded POST bodies are accepted, with a 16,384-byte limit. Additional fields are not stored. FormHush does not use _gotcha, and a submitted _redirect does not control navigation.

For a native URL-encoded form, the operator sets the form’s HTTPS thank_you_url during provisioning. An accepted request then returns HTTP 303 to that URL. Without it, the endpoint returns HTTP 201 JSON. JSON requests always receive JSON; a JavaScript form handles its own success state or navigation after checking the response.

Classification, delivery and retention

Rules check the honeypot and known spam patterns first. When configured, Jev classifies the remaining message text after email addresses and phone numbers are masked. That masking is not complete anonymisation. Ambiguous decisions stay in Needs review without automatic forwarding.

Real leads and urgent messages are queued for configured destinations. When AI is unavailable, remaining accepted messages become Unsorted and are also queued; deterministic spam rules still apply. Delivery adapters support email, Slack, Telegram and webhooks, but need operator configuration. The email provider is not yet selected. Retries do not guarantee that a third party receives a message.

Submissions and related notification jobs are deleted after 30 days by scheduled cleanup. Copies sent to your channels follow those services’ retention policies. Processing can involve the United States; see the privacy policy for providers and details.

Test the complete flow

1. Test from an allowed origin using a provisioned form. Submit a clear enquiry and check its stored result in the dashboard.
2. Check delivery separately, using a configured test destination. An accepted response alone does not prove notification delivery.
3. Send a nonempty message with website filled to verify that it is stored as spam without notification. An empty message is a validation error, not a spam verdict.
4. Confirm a missing honeypot or empty message returns HTTP 400, an unsupported body format returns HTTP 415, and a disallowed browser origin returns HTTP 403.
5. Verify the thank-you page or inline success message and preserve entered text on errors. Rate and monthly limits return HTTP 429; respect Retry-After before retrying. Check for a stored record after a network failure to avoid duplicate submissions.