{"id":964,"date":"2011-09-02T15:25:20","date_gmt":"2011-09-02T15:25:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/2011\/09\/02\/how-contact-forms-work\/"},"modified":"2020-01-02T17:13:02","modified_gmt":"2020-01-02T22:13:02","slug":"how-contact-forms-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/website\/how-contact-forms-work\/","title":{"rendered":"How Contact Forms Work"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We&#8217;re not going to discuss the actual code of the contact form in this tutorial, but it is important to understand how the form actually works and we want to cover that first.&nbsp; If you missed our previous article, please see the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/website\/advantages-using-contact-form\/\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click here to view the previous article\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Advantages of using a Contact Form<\/a> tutorial.<\/p>\n<p>When a visitor goes to your contact page on your website, they will need to fill out the form. Once they have filled out the form fields, they will click the button to submit. Once submitted, the information in the fields will automatically be sent via email to you. On the server-side, once the submit button is clicked, typically a Perl script or PHP file runs. This reads the request and sends it to your email address. Don&#8217;t worry if you do not have an in-depth understanding of PHP or Perl.<\/p>\n<p>When you receive the email, all the questions your visitor filled in will be in the email. Each time you receive an email it will be in the same format. This simplifies reading the email and even organizing them. since every email will have the same subject line, you can sort the emails to filter into their own folder in your email account.<\/p>\n<p>After the form is processed by the server, you then have the ability to control where the visitor is re-directed to. You can have them return to the contact page or even be redirected to a custom thank you page. Typically, you will want to redirect them to a different page where you can acknowledge you have received their request and will contact them shortly. Setting up a contact form takes longer than a simple <i>mailto<\/i> tag however the benefits we mentioned in the previous tutorial make it worth the extra time and effort. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Please check the next article on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/email\/creating-a-contact-form-with-formmail\/\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click here to view the next article\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Creating a Contact Form with FormMail<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We&#8217;re not going to discuss the actual code of the contact form in this tutorial, but it is important to understand how the form actually works and we want to cover that first.&nbsp; If you missed our previous article, please see the Advantages of using a Contact Form tutorial. When a visitor goes to your<a class=\"moretag\" href=\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/website\/how-contact-forms-work\/\"> Read More ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4288],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-website"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How Contact Forms Work | InMotion Hosting<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how contact forms on website function.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/website\/how-contact-forms-work\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Contact Forms Work | InMotion Hosting\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn how contact forms on website function.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/website\/how-contact-forms-work\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"InMotion Hosting Support Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/inmotionhosting\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-09-02T15:25:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-01-02T22:13:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Brad Markle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@InMotionHosting\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@InMotionHosting\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Brad Markle\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/website\/how-contact-forms-work\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/website\/how-contact-forms-work\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Brad Markle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/#\/schema\/person\/5ae05d1210b0ef63c437ccedce2799bf\"},\"headline\":\"How Contact Forms Work\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-09-02T15:25:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-01-02T22:13:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/website\/how-contact-forms-work\/\"},\"wordCount\":319,\"commentCount\":2,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Website\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/website\/how-contact-forms-work\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/website\/how-contact-forms-work\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/website\/how-contact-forms-work\/\",\"name\":\"How Contact Forms Work | InMotion Hosting\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-09-02T15:25:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-01-02T22:13:02+00:00\",\"description\":\"Learn how contact forms on website function.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/website\/how-contact-forms-work\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/website\/how-contact-forms-work\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/website\/how-contact-forms-work\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How Contact Forms Work\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/\",\"name\":\"InMotion Hosting Support Center\",\"description\":\"Web Hosting Support &amp; Tutorials\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/#organization\",\"name\":\"InMotion Hosting\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/inmotion-hosting-logo-yoast.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/inmotion-hosting-logo-yoast.jpg\",\"width\":696,\"height\":696,\"caption\":\"InMotion Hosting\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/inmotionhosting\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/InMotionHosting\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/#\/schema\/person\/5ae05d1210b0ef63c437ccedce2799bf\",\"name\":\"Brad Markle\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/author\/bradm\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Contact Forms Work | InMotion Hosting","description":"Learn how contact forms on website function.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/website\/how-contact-forms-work\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How Contact Forms Work | InMotion Hosting","og_description":"Learn how contact forms on website function.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/website\/how-contact-forms-work\/","og_site_name":"InMotion Hosting Support Center","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/inmotionhosting\/","article_published_time":"2011-09-02T15:25:20+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-01-02T22:13:02+00:00","author":"Brad Markle","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@InMotionHosting","twitter_site":"@InMotionHosting","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Brad Markle","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/website\/how-contact-forms-work\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/website\/how-contact-forms-work\/"},"author":{"name":"Brad Markle","@id":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/#\/schema\/person\/5ae05d1210b0ef63c437ccedce2799bf"},"headline":"How Contact Forms Work","datePublished":"2011-09-02T15:25:20+00:00","dateModified":"2020-01-02T22:13:02+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/website\/how-contact-forms-work\/"},"wordCount":319,"commentCount":2,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Website"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/website\/how-contact-forms-work\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/website\/how-contact-forms-work\/","url":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/website\/how-contact-forms-work\/","name":"How Contact Forms Work | InMotion Hosting","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/#website"},"datePublished":"2011-09-02T15:25:20+00:00","dateModified":"2020-01-02T22:13:02+00:00","description":"Learn how contact forms on website function.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/website\/how-contact-forms-work\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/website\/how-contact-forms-work\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/website\/how-contact-forms-work\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How Contact Forms Work"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/","name":"InMotion Hosting Support Center","description":"Web Hosting Support &amp; Tutorials","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/#organization","name":"InMotion Hosting","url":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/inmotion-hosting-logo-yoast.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/inmotion-hosting-logo-yoast.jpg","width":696,"height":696,"caption":"InMotion Hosting"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/inmotionhosting\/","https:\/\/x.com\/InMotionHosting"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/#\/schema\/person\/5ae05d1210b0ef63c437ccedce2799bf","name":"Brad Markle","url":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/author\/bradm\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"primary_category":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=964"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/964\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51375,"href":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/964\/revisions\/51375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}