Contact form?

[SocketPup]

So in my Joomla project, I'd like to have a contact form. Is there a built-in service in Joomla for this, or do I need to rely on extensions? Are there different types of contanct forms? I'm thinking email form, but maybe there are also forms that sends messages to Joomla admin? If there are several to pick from, which one(s) are the best? Would be great with something with built-in validation.

[gws]

What's wrong with the default one?

[SocketPup]

What's wrong with the default one?

I don't know, I'm asking =)

[Sulpher]

If you will use com_contact - do not forget to enable Captcha. Maybe even HCaptcha.

[AMurray]

The core contact component:
https://magazine.joomla.org/all-issues/ ... ent-part-1

If you need advanced features, then you may need to consider a third-party contact extension. https://extensions.joomla.org/instant-s ... ct%20forms

Joomla also has an inbuilt "Private Message" function as well, which could be used for messages between admins or other relevant users.
https://docs.joomla.org/Help4.x:Private_Messages

[SocketPup]

If you will use com_contact - do not forget to enable Captcha. Maybe even HCaptcha.

It seems the Joomla built-in form may suffice for my needs, however Captcha is a good idea to use. Is there any good, free extension for this I can use with the built-in form?

[SocketPup]

If you need advanced features, then you may need to consider a third-party contact extension. https://extensions.joomla.org/instant-s ... ct%20forms

I believe I'll go with Joomla's built-in form for now, I think it will cover my needs.
However, once I publish the site, how does it work with SMTP and so forth? Do I need to add this kind of information somewhere in Joomla admin in order for the form to work?

I have used phpMailer in the past in non-Joomla projects, and I recall having to fill out a bunch of things related to my webhost in order for it to work.

[AMurray]

You set up SMTP through Joomla global configuration mail settings. The form (any form) will then use that setting.

SMTP requires authentication, so you have to use the details your email provider (or web host) would give you. Those details can be typically found, for example in cPanel email settings, or any similar web host manager control panel. Or if using a third party email rather than one created on your hosting account, refer to the email provider for the SMTP information.

[SocketPup]

You set up SMTP through Joomla global configuration mail settings. The form (any form) will then use that setting.

SMTP requires authentication, so you have to use the details your email provider (or web host) would give you. Those details can be typically found, for example in cPanel email settings, or any similar web host manager control panel. Or if using a third party email rather than one created on your hosting account, refer to the email provider for the SMTP information.

I think I got it. I was able to fill out all the fields in Joomla related to this by simply copy-pasting the info from the PhpMailer I use on another project. However, I guess I won't be able to actually test it until I publish the project on my webhost.

[SocketPup]

If you will use com_contact - do not forget to enable Captcha. Maybe even HCaptcha.

Which Captcha extension can you recommend? One that is compatible with the built-in Joomla form.

[AMurray]

Any capture should work with the form. HCaptcha for instance as mentioned above.

https://extensions.joomla.org/extension/hcaptcha/

It works similarly to Google Recaptcha in that it has the "I'm not a robot" check box and comes up with the occasional random additional challenge.

There are many 'captcha' options. https://extensions.joomla.org/instant-s ... 5D=captcha

[SocketPup]

Any capture should work with the form. HCaptcha for instance as mentioned above.

https://extensions.joomla.org/extension/hcaptcha/

It works similarly to Google Recaptcha in that it has the "I'm not a robot" check box and comes up with the occasional random additional challenge.

There are many 'captcha' options. https://extensions.joomla.org/instant-s ... 5D=captcha

Do you know if it's compatible with Joomla 5? I installed the extension and activated it. The Captcha box shows up in my form (though warning me the site is on localhost). It seems I can click the submit button without touching the captcha and the page refreshes. But this is just because it's on localhost, no?

[AMurray]

Yes, it works on J5 and it should work with the built-in contact form.

This is the jed listing and as you can see is tagged as J3, J4 and J5. I'd assume it would behave the same way as on a live web host, but perhaps you're right; the local server is not live.

Did you put in the public and private keys? You need to create an account on the Hcaptcha website to generate those keys.

hcaptcha.jpg

[SocketPup]

Yes, it works on J5 and it should work with the built-in contact form.

This is the jed listing and as you can see is tagged as J3, J4 and J5. I'd assume it would behave the same way as on a live web host, but perhaps you're right; the local server is not live.

Did you put in the public and private keys? You need to create an account on the Hcaptcha website to generate those keys.

hcaptcha.jpg

Yes, I created an account and added both keys.
When using the Joomla built-in form, and you fill in the correct information and then hit submit (let's take away the captcha from this equation, this is the form behaviour in general), and the page refreshes, shouldn't there be a success-message "Email was sent" or the like? For me, the page just refreshes, but again, I am on localhost. Does the form behave this way on your end as well when submitting on localhost?

[AMurray]

If you don't have localhost set up to send email then probably yes, it won't send.

If you want to check that Joomla sends email generally, go back to the global configuration - email settings and click the button to send the test email message. The system should tell you if it succeeded or failed and so if that succeeds one can assume the contact form should too. But as you say this may well be because you're on localhost and don't have a mail server set up.

I don't use the contact form, so don't know what type of feedback you get - at a minimum I would expect a "thank you, your email has been sent" message, but I don't know for sure.

[guy_in_ohio]

If you ever decided to go with a paid extension, I highly recommend Convert Forms. Tassos has made forms super easy. https://extensions.joomla.org/extension/convert-forms/

[JAVesey]

If you ever decided to go with a paid extension, I highly recommend Convert Forms. Tassos has made forms super easy. https://extensions.joomla.org/extension/convert-forms/

There is also a free version of Convert Forms; it’s awesome and, following the latest update, doesn’t need the b/c plugin enabled on J5.1.0