Not knowing how to add Captcha in WordPress form can be frustrating, especially when it’s so much easier than you think.
Don’t worry; after reading this article, you’ll be able to enable WordPress Captcha without any hassle.
Did you know the full form of CAPTCHA is “Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart”? Adding Captcha helps your site identify between a computer and a genuine human customer.
If you stay with us till the end, you’ll learn more about the power of adding Captcha to your website. And yes, we’ve also mentioned how to add Captcha to WordPress contact form.
Benefits of Adding WordPress Contact Form Captcha
Before we begin the guide on integrating WordPress Captcha, let’s review a few advantages of having it on our website.
- Spam reduction: Having a Captcha on your site prevents fake form submissions by differentiating between bots and humans.
- Prevents Brute Force Attacks: Hackers often use automated tools to crack passwords. Captcha protects your site from such attacks.
- Collection of the right data: Since bots cannot flood your website, you can gain actual data from your real users online.
Other than that, if you own an eCommerce website, then Captcha can make the online payment process more secure.
It also prevents hackers from creating multiple email accounts. They can use these accounts to sign up for your site and hack important data.
Nevertheless, if you add a Captcha to the contact form, you can avoid all these problems with your site.
So, without further ado, let’s discover the methods to enable WordPress Captcha on your site.
Guide on How to Add Captcha in WordPress Form
You can create many types of forms in WordPress, such as Survey Forms, Application Forms, Online Payment Forms, and much more.
However, this tutorial will explain how to add Captcha to the WordPress contact, registration, and login forms. We’ll add Google reCaptcha to the login and registration forms and a custom Captcha to a contact form.
The main difference between Google reCaptcha and Captcha is that Google reCaptcha is a free service. You need to integrate it into your form.
As the name implies, you can create your own WordPress Captcha with custom Captcha. The extent of difficult questions you want to add is totally up to you.
Having said that, let’s learn how to add Captcha to WordPress and contact forms.
1) Add Captcha to the Contact Form
First, we’ll learn how to add Captcha to contact form. Before that, we need a reliable and user-friendly WordPress plugin that allows us to create a contact form and add Captcha.
Fear not, because Everest Forms is here. It’s a popular WordPress form builder plugin. Not to mention, its drag-and-drop interface can help you create any form within a matter of minutes. Other than that, it has features such as:
- Form designer
- Unlimited form fields
- Pre-designed form templates
- Multiple premium add-ons
To learn more, go through this review article on Everest Forms.
i) Install and Activate Everest Forms
After logging in to your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins >> Add New menu.
Type Everest Forms into the search bar. Once it appears in the search results, click the Install Now button, and lastly, hit the Activate button.
And that’s it; you’ve successfully installed and activated the free version of the Everest Forms plugin.
However, the free version doesn’t offer a Captcha field; hence, purchasing the premium version is mandatory.
For a more detailed guide, here’s an article on how to install a plugin.
ii) Install Everest Forms Pro
Visit the plugin’s official page, Everest Forms, and check out the plugin.
After that, go to the pricing page and choose the appropriate plan for your website. You can purchase the Personal plan to add Captcha to your site.
Please fill in the payment details as asked. Then, you’ll receive credentials to your WPEverest account. Once you log in to your account, navigate to Downloads.
From here, you can download the zip file for the Pro plugin.
You’ll also find a tab labeled License Keys. Click on it and copy the key to use later.
Now go to your WordPress dashboard and select Plugins >> Add New menu. Click on the Upload Plugin option that you can see at the top.
Thereafter, select the zip file you downloaded earlier and install it. Remember to activate the plugin.
But, the plugin activation process is only complete when you add the license key. Go to the License Keys tab from your user account, copy the license key, and paste it on the license key bar.
Finally, select the Apply button or press Enter.
iii) Create a Contact Form
Another reason we chose the Everest Forms plugin is that it provides an excellent user experience. This plugin allows even a person with zero coding knowledge to create a contact form.
Everest Forms comes with pre-built form templates. Clicking on Everest Forms >> Add New opens a page with more than 10 templates available.
Depending on your requirements, you can create any contact forms—Simple to Advanced. For now, we’ll create a simple contact form using the available template. Hence, if you hover over it, the Get Started option will appear; click on it.
Before you create the form, you can Preview it, too.
A pop-up will appear where you should give your form a name. After that, hit the Continue button.
The newly formed contact form has 4 basic fields: Name, Email, Subject, and Message. You can add more fields if you want.
For more detailed information, go through our article on how to create a contact form.
iv) Add Captcha Field On Your Form
We’ve come to the most anticipated step in this tutorial. You guessed it right; it’s time to add a custom WordPress Captcha to your form. For this, we need the Everest Forms add-on – Custom Captcha.
This add-on helps you add an extra security layer to your form. Its most significant advantage is that it allows you to add custom questions and a math captcha to prevent spam form submissions.
To install the add-on, go to Everest Forms >> Add-ons.
Search Custom Captcha add-on and press the Activate button.
Then, go back to your newly created contact form by navigating Everest Forms >> All Forms. Hover over to the form you created earlier and click on the Edit option.
To add the captcha field to your form, click on the Add Row button. Then, drag the Captcha widget from the left panel to the right side.
V) Customize the Captcha Fields
The Captcha field is customizable, so you can customize it to match your website’s niche effortlessly. Just select the Field Options, and you’ll find multiple setting options. Below, we’ve explained the setting options in brief:
Label: The current label of the field is Captcha. You can change the text to anything you like, such as Solve The Problem.
Format: You can choose between Math and Question and Answer. If you select the Math option every time, a different math captcha is presented to the users.
On the other hand, the Question and Answer option allows you to add custom questions and answers. You can add several questions as per your liking.
Click on the “ +” sign to add more questions. You can also remove them with the “-” sign.
Among all the questions, one random question is given to the users to answer while filling out the form.
Description: Add a description of the Captcha field. It will appear at the bottom of the container.
Advanced Options
- Placeholder Text: This option allows you to add text in the Answer box field.
- Hide Lable: You can either hide or show the Captcha label.
- CSS Classes: Here, you can add the CSS class name for the Captcha field container.
Conditional Logic
Enabling this option allows you to show or hide the Captcha according to the user’s input. Further, you can add Conditional Rules. Below are different setting options you can configure:
- Show/Hide: Choose whether you want to show or hide the field.
- Select Field: Select a field that determines the condition from this drop-down menu.
- Condition: Choose different conditions from the options: is, is not, empty, not empty, greater than, and less than.
- Select Option: Write the conditional value here.
Here’s a simple example. We selected Message as the conditional field. The Captcha field is only shown if the user types a message in the form.
This is just a simple example. To secure your WordPress form, you can make the condition as complex as you want.
Here’s a full article on how to use Conditional Logic in Everest Forms.
If you’re satisfied with the form and settings, hit the Save button located at the top.
With these simple steps, your site’s contact form is now safe and secure. Hackers can no longer submit false and malicious forms to your WordPress site. That’s the beauty of using contact form plugins.
Note: Everest Forms also allows you to integrate Google reCaptcha into your form. Please go through this documentation for a better understanding. Another essential piece of information is that you can integrate Google reCaptcha and add custom Captcha simultaneously.
2) Add Google reCaptcha to the Registration and Login Form
A registration form allows your users to register on your WordPress website. You can save them on your mailing list to promote your products. This can surely help you increase revenue and lead generation.
It’s quite useful, isn’t it? So, let’s create a User Registration and Login form. What’s more, you can add Captcha to secure it from spam submissions.
But first, let’s install a registration and login form plugin. We’ll be using the User Registration plugin for this exact purpose.
With this plugin, the potential is endless. You may even create a registration form with payment for your website.
i) Install and Activate User Registration
Go to Plugins >> Add New menu from your WordPress dashboard. Now, search for User Registration; once it appears in the search results, click on Install Now. Also, Activate the plugin.
Next, you need to enable the Membership option. This will allow your users to register on your site from the front end. So, navigate to Settings >> General.
Check the Anyone can register option and Save the changes. Later, you can disable WordPress registration at any time.
Here’s an article that teaches you more about how to allow users to register on your site.
ii) Create a Registration Form
Let’s first create a registration form for our site. To do so, select User Registration >> Add New.
You’ll be directed to a bunch of form templates from which to pick. Let’s create one from scratch.
This takes you to the form builder page, where you can drag and drop widgets and create a form easily.
You can also see that four default fields, namely, Username, User Email, User Password, and Confirm Password, are available. You can either keep them or remove them.
You can also add other custom fields in the registration form. Thereafter, click on the Add New button and add as many fields as you want.
Here’s a complete guide to creating a registration and login form using User Registration.
iii) Integrate Captcha on Your Site
User Registration allows you to integrate Google reCaptcha and Cloudflare Turnstile into your registration form. Both are completely free services that help websites protect against spam.
To integrate them, go to Users Registration >> Settings option. Select the Captcha tab from the left-hand side.
You can add four types of Captcha: reCaptcha v2, reCaptcha v3, hCaptcha, and Cloudflare Turnstile.
- Google reCaptcha v2: This version tracks users based on their actions. For example, it requires users to click on the checkbox “I’m not a robot.” Another way is by presenting some image recognition challenges.
- Google reCaptcha v3: On the contrary, reCaptcha v3 works in the background. It differentiates a bot from a human based on their behavior. It generates a score according to the user’s activities on your site; the higher the score, the more likely the user is human.
- hCaptcha: hCaptcha is an alternative to reCaptcha that differentiates bots from humans using advanced machine learning. The main difference between reCaptcha and hCaptcha is that hCaptcha doesn’t sell users’ data to third parties.
- Cloudflare Turnstile: Cloudflare Turnstile is a free-to-use tool. It’s a much better choice because it doesn’t require users to complete any challenges. Instead, it runs challenges on the browser, acquiring only the user’s essential information.
After you’ve decided on which version of Captcha you want, it’s time to add the Site Key and Secret Key.
For reCaptcha v2 and reCaptcha v3, visit Google’s overview page. Now, select the v3 Admin Console option from the top bar.
Enter your site’s Label and Domain, and accept the reCAPTCHA Terms of Service. Furthermore, choose whether you want to add Google reCaptcha v2 or reCaptcha v3.
reCaptcha v2 has two more different options. You can select the one that suits your site the best.
- “I’m not a robot” tickbox: Users need to tick the “I’m not a robot” box.
- Invisible reCAPTCHA badge: This option validates requests in the background.
Lastly, click on the Submit button.
1. Integrate Google reCaptcha v2
If you choose to add reCaptcha v2, copy and paste the Site Key and Secret Key you created earlier. Everest Forms also provides the Invisible reCAPTCHA option.
2. Integrate Google reCaptcha v3
Everest Forms offers different settings for adding reCaptcha v3. Just like reCaptcha v2, a Site Key and Secret Key are necessary. However, you need a different Site Key and Secret Key than reCaptcha v2.
The process for creating the Keys is the same as for reCaptcha v2. The only difference is that you must tick the reCaptcha v3 radio button in the reCAPTCHA type section.
reCaptcha v3 also allows you to set a Threshold Score. The default score is 0.4. The interaction is good if the score is greater than the threshold score. But, if the score is lesser, it’s possible that the user is a bot. Therefore, the user will not be allowed to submit the form. You can set the score as you wish.
3. Integrate hCaptcha
If you want to add Captcha, you need only the Site Key and Secret Key. To generate the Site Key and Secret Key for hCaptcha, visit hCaptcha.com, sign up, and select the free service option.
Enter your email address and password to create your account. After creating the hCaptcha Site Key and Secret Key, copy and paste the Keys and press the Save Changes button.
4. Integrate Cloudflare Turnstile
Similar to the above CAPTCHAs, you’ll need to retrieve keys to integrate into your site. To do so, go to Cloudflare’s official site and log in.
Then, head over to the Turnstile tab on the left-hand side. Click on the Add Site button.
Enter a name for the widget. Try to create a name that you can remember. Also, enter your site’s hostname and select the options that you prefer below. After that, click on Create.
You’ll then receive the Site Key and Secret Key. Copy both of them for now.
Finally, place them on your site from here and click on the Save Changes button.
iv) Enable the reCaptcha Option for the Registration Form
We’re halfway through the process of learning how to add Captcha in WordPress form. For your next step, navigate to the All Forms menu.
You can see the registration form you created (or the default form). Hover over and select the Edit option.
On the form editor page, go to the Form Setting. Then, Enable reCaptcha Support. Next, click on the Update Form button at the top left.
This is how your form appears if you chose Google reCaptcha v2 when you Preview it. Also, remember that we’ve used the Zakra theme here. Hence, the form might appear different if another theme is active.
If you integrated reCaptcha v3, this is the appearance of reCaptcha in the registration form.
If you decide to add hCaptcha, here’s how it looks:
Finally, here’s the Cloudflare Turnstile on your site. You can change its theme from Light to Dark.
V) Enable reCaptcha for the Login Form
To enable the reCaptcha in the login form, go to User Registration >> Settings.
Next, navigate to General >> Login Options and tick on the Enable Captcha checkbox.
Lastly, hit the Save Changes button. And there you go! That’s how you integrate different types of Captchas on your WordPress website.
Wrapping Up With How To Add CAPTCHA To WordPress!
Adding Captcha to your WordPress form is like putting armor on it to protect it from malicious and false submissions.
Also, from the above tutorial, you must know how easy it is to add Captcha to contact form.
Especially with Everest Forms, you can enable Captcha in contact forms without hassle. Also, you can integrate Google reCaptcha using the User Registration plugin to secure your login and registration forms.
And that’s all for the guide on how to add Captcha in WordPress form. If you enjoyed reading the article, please share it with your friends and family.
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