Test Your Contact Form: A Simple Step-by-Step Guide

Perhaps it’s because the little gremlins that live in the internet tubes get bored, but I’ve noticed bits and pieces of our websites love to stop working when we’re not paying attention. And the humble contact form (arguably your website’s most important communication tool!) is no exception.

A broken form can mean missed opportunities and frustrated visitors, but the good news is that your contact form is super easy to test - and it only takes 5 minutes!

Step 1: Fill Out Your Contact Form

Navigate to the page with the form you want to test, and let’s get started:

• Fill out the form using your own name and email.
• Be sure to fill in all fields so you can check they’re all coming through properly.
• Click submit and watch for a success message to let you know the form has been submitted successfully.

Step 2: Check Your Inbox

Wait about 5 minutes, then open the inbox that your form submissions are sent to:

• Did you receive the message?
• Did it land in spam or directly in your inbox?
• Are all the form fields present in the email and clearly labeled?

✅ If the email looks good, congratulations - you’re done! You can be confident your form is working correctly and you’ll receive any forms your visitors fill out.

🛑 If you still haven’t received the email after 15 minutes (and you’ve checked Spam and Trash, just in case), there’s likely a problem with your form.

• If you have access to the form settings, double-check that the form is going to the correct email address (triple-check for typos!).
• If the email address is correct, it’s likely a bigger issue. But don’t panic - give me a shout and I’ll help you work through it!

Step 3: Bonus Form Checks & Next Steps

Once your form passes your initial test, here are a couple of additional checks to perform:

• Test the form on mobile. Everything should work the same between desktop and mobile versions of your website, but sometimes errors sneak in. Fill out the form on mobile to make sure it’s all good.
• Test other forms on your website. Do you have contact forms for specific services? Or multiple forms on different pages? Test each one to double-check there aren’t any issues.
• Review your success message. Make sure the message that appears after a visitor submits a form is friendly, clear and lays out expectations or next steps (such as how long it typically takes you to respond or actions they can take in the meantime).

Tip: How Often Should I Test My Contact Form?

I recommend performing this check monthly for your most important form and quarterly for the rest - this gives you peace of mind and helps to ensure your form is ready to go when someone wants to reach out.

One quick check = less website stress

Testing your contact form is an easy way to get a boost of confidence that your website is making it easy for your visitors to get in touch with you.

If you ran into any issues during this process, I’m happy to help! Get in touch with me (through my hopefully working contact form!) or check out my Website SOS service to get things back on track quickly!

Looking for more quick website tips like this? Check out my 5-Minute Website Fixes email series.