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Using forms on your WordPress site can be an excellent way to collect information, stay in touch with visitors, grow your email list, and process e-commerce orders. However, even though WordPress is a secure platform, forms inevitably open your site to spam.
The good news is that you can easily protect your WordPress forms with CAPTCHA checks. This can help prevent spam, such as fake orders and registrations. Implementing CAPTCHAs on your forms is easy when you use a plugin like CAPTCHA 4WP.
This post we examine CAPTCHAs and their role in protecting forms and limiting spam. We’ll then show you how to add CAPTCHAs to your forms using a WordPress plugin. Let’s get started!
What Is a CAPTCHA?
Before you add CAPTCHA checks to any WordPress form, it’s essential to understand how they work. While the long acronym may sound complicated, it’s pretty straightforward.
CAPTCHA stands for Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Humans and Computers Apart. The technology used in CAPTCHAs builds on Alan Turing’s work.
As the name suggests, a CAPTCHA is simply a test to distinguish between a person and a computer. It can prevent malicious bots from infiltrating or accessing certain areas of the web.
Since CAPTCHAs are all over the internet, you’ve probably seen them before. For example, if you’ve filled out an online form recently, you may have had to check the box for “I’m not a robot” to prove your legitimacy:
You might encounter the above example today, but it’s not a classic CAPTCHA. To understand this better, let’s review some CAPTCHA history.
The original CAPTCHA test presented users with distorted letters and/or numbers. To prove that you were human, you had to correctly decipher this string of figures and enter it in a text box below the image.
Later, CAPTCHA developers created reCAPTCHA, which Google then purchased. In essence, reCAPTCHA provides a similar type of test, using scanned text that’s difficult to read.
reCAPTCHA tests can also ask users to interpret images. Additionally, enterprises can get a particular reCAPTCHA with minimal interruption to the user experience.
Google also offers reCAPTCHA V2 or “noCAPTCHA” (I’m not a robot). This type of CAPTCHA requires users to check a box to confirm they are a person (like in the example above).
Finally, reCAPTCHA V3, the latest version, assesses user behavior and returns a score. A score below the pass mark rejects the visitor, while a score above it allows them through.
Thanks to the V3 failover feature, when using CAPTCHA 4WP, the WordPress admin can choose between refusing or redirecting the visitor or displaying a regular CAPTCHA.
How CAPTCHAs Can Protect Your WordPress Forms
CAPTCHAs serve a vital role in spam prevention. They effectively verify whether a bot or a human is trying to access your site. This is especially important for WordPress forms, as they are accessible to everyone by default.
If left unchecked, spam can be a real pain. You may waste time sifting through illegitimate form entries and miss important sales inquiries.
Bots can also leave spammy comments on your site. This can damage your reputation or negatively affect your site’s performance.
In the worst-case scenario, malicious bots can inject harmful code into your site via your forms. This enables them to access your database and steal sensitive user information.
Therefore, you should safeguard your forms. This can help you avoid security headaches and protect genuine users.
How to Set Up CAPTCHAs for WordPress Forms
Now that you know more about how CAPTCHAs can protect your WordPress forms, you can add them to your site. The easiest way to do this is with a WordPress CAPTCHA plugin like CAPTCHA 4WP:
We’ve chosen this tool for several reasons. First, it gives you more control over your CAPTCHAs. It also integrates with several CAPTCHA service providers, including Google reCAPTCHA, hCaptcha, and Cloudflare Turnstile.
Additionally, it allows for centralized management of your CAPTCHAs, regardless of where they are deployed. Plus, it’s compatible with some of the most popular form builders.
CAPTCHA 4WP also offers reCAPTCHA V3 failover. This helps prevent “false positives” from falling through the cracks, enabling real humans to pass the test even if their results are below the benchmark. This can help preserve a positive user experience.
So, let’s dive right in!
Step 1: Configure the CAPTCHA 4WP Plugin
First, you must sign up for a trial and install CAPTCHA 4WP. To use the CAPTCHA form feature, you’ll need at least a Professional version of the tool.
After you sign up, you’ll receive a .zip file containing the plugin. Download it to your computer, navigate to your WordPress dashboard, and go to Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin.
Choose the downloaded file and click Install Now, followed by Activate Plugin. Then you’ll need to enter your license key, which you can find in your Melapress account:
Once you activate your license, CAPTCHA 4WP will guide you through the setup process. You’ll just need to follow the prompts:
First, you’ll need to select the type of reCAPTCHA you’d like to use. In this example, we will be using reCAPTCHA V2 “I’m not a robot”:
Then, you’ll need to enter your site and secret key. In this case, we need keys for Google reCAPTCHA V2 “I’m not a robot”.
CAPTCHA 4WP requests the keys separately so that it can validate the keys entered, ensuring the process is as smooth as possible:
To get these keys, you’ll have to add your site on Google reCAPTCHA:
If you want to use the “I’m not a robot” reCAPTCHA, make sure to select Challenge (v2), and then choose this option:
Now, add your domain and click the Submit button at the bottom of the page. Google will then generate the keys for you:
Simply copy and paste these keys into the fields of Step 2 in your CAPTCHA 4WP wizard. Then complete the reCAPTCHA and hit Next.
Once you enter the Site Key and this has been validated, all that’s left to do is to enter the Secret Key:
That’s it! You should then see the following message:
Now, the plugin is ready to go. Click on Finish and proceed to the next step.
When choosing reCAPTCHA V3, you must also configure the V3 failover action. This prevents false positives from falling through the cracks. You can choose to display a different CAPTCHA test, redirect the user or visitor, or do nothing:
Step 2: Add a CAPTCHA Check to Your WordPress Form
There are tons of high-quality form builders, and you might already use one on your site. In this section, we’ll show you how to set up WordPress CAPTCHAs using two of the most popular form builder plugins: Gravity Forms and WPForms.
Add a CAPTCHA Check to Your Gravity Forms
First, let’s review how to add a CAPTCHA field using Gravity Forms. This is a premium form builder that can help you capture leads, accept payments, and much more:
To get started, go to Forms in your WordPress dashboard:
You can add a new form, use a Gravity Forms template, or open an existing design. For this tutorial, we will use the default Contact Form template.
Once selected, click the Edit option below the form’s title. This will lead you to the form editor screen:
Now, locate the CAPTCHA 4WP field in the Standard Fields section of your right-hand panel. Drag and drop the field where you’d like it to appear on your form:
You’ll then see a message that asks you to make sure your CAPTCHA settings are configured (which you can disregard, as you already did this). Make sure to click on Save Form in the upper right-hand corner of your screen.
Now, let’s see what your form looks like on the front end:
As you can see, the dynamic CAPTCHA 4WP field has been added!
Add a CAPTCHA Check to Forms Built With WPForms
We will show you how to add a CAPTCHA field to forms built with WPForms. With over five million active installations, this is one of the most widely used form builders:
First, you must open one of your forms in the editor. We’ll use a simple contact form for our example:
You should see the CAPTCHA 4WP field in your left-hand menu (under the Add Fields panel). Just drag and drop it onto your form:
Once again, you’ll see a message regarding your settings, but you can ignore it. Finally, hit the Save button and preview your form on the front end. It’s as simple as that!
Step 3 (Optional): Configure CAPTCHA 4WP for WooCommerce Forms and Other WordPress Forms
As we mentioned earlier, CAPTCHA 4WP is an excellent solution for all your CAPTCHA needs. It works seamlessly with popular form builders like Gravity Forms and WPForms.
However, WordPress also comes with some default forms, including the login form:
Additionally, other popular tools like WooCommerce add their forms. The plugin has proper e-commerce forms, like a checkout page and a registration form.
Another benefit of CAPTCHA 4WP is that it integrates with WooCommerce and WordPress forms, including the login. This enables you to implement CAPTCHA for your e-commerce checkout forms and customize their placement.
All you have to do is check some boxes, and the plugin will instantly add a CAPTCHA to your selected WooCommerce or WordPress pages. To do this, navigate to CAPTCHA 4WP > Settings & Placements:
Adding CAPTCHAs to multiple pages simultaneously makes the entire process a breeze. You can even configure these CAPTCHA placements to suit your needs.
For instance, you may only want to show a CAPTCHA test when there are failed logins. You can also omit specific URLs and IP addresses from having to pass a CAPTCHA test. Just make sure to save your changes when you’re finished.
As you can see, CAPTCHA 4WP is the perfect solution for adding CAPTCHAs to your WordPress and WooCommerce forms. It gives you more control over your CAPTCHAs and has additional features to boost your site’s security.
Protect WordPress Forms From Spam with CAPTCHA
WordPress forms enable you to generate leads, register users, and accept online orders. Still, they’re not without their downsides. You’ll get spammy entries when you use forms on your site, which could clutter your user data.
Fortunately, you can protect your site by adding CAPTCHAs to your forms using a plugin like CAPTCHA 4WP. All you have to do is configure the plugin with Google. Then, you can easily add a CAPTCHA 4WP field to forms made with Gravity Forms, WPForms, and other tools.
Do you have any questions about how to add CAPTCHAs to your WordPress forms? Let us know in the comments below, or check out our WordPress Support services.
Featured image: Unsplash.