Do you know how to identify a Spambot? A bot is always a new visitor on your site, spends 0 seconds on a page, and fills out every form available. If you do not have an anti-spam field on a contact form, God save you. No reason to be that dramatic. But it’s frustrating.
Speaking of anti-spam fields, a popular one which has been around, has been the reCAPTCHA field by Google. What this field does, is adds a human readable (so it claims) text, which has to be validated, to identify a user as human.
The reCAPTCHA can ward off spam, but some humans as well (unintentionally of course). However, Google’s research showed that smarter bots could decode the text 99% of the time. Google hence came up with “No CAPTCHA reCAPTCHA”. This works just as well to keep bots at bay, and is simple for humans to tackle.
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No CAPTCHA reCAPTCHA API
The “No CAPTCHA reCAPTCHA” API, replaces obscure strings of text, with a simple checkbox.
Don’t let the simple interface fool you. It has a risk analysis engine backing the verification process. And in cases when a prediction cannot be confirmed, a conventional CAPTCHA is shown.
Seems quite simple doesn’t it. I’m sure it will save humans a lot of effort and time when filling out forms. The question now, is how can you include this API in your WordPress site.
Let’s find out just that.
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How to Include the No CAPTCHA reCAPTCHA in Contact Form 7
To include the API into a Contact Form 7 form, you will need to install and activate the ‘Google No CAPTCHA reCAPTCHA plugin’, by WisdmLabs. Just like the reCAPTCHA plugin (if you’ve used it), you will have to add API keys in the plugin’s settings.
1. Get API Keys
To integrate the No CAPTCHA reCAPTCHA API, you will need a ‘Site Key’ and a ‘Secret Key’. To get these keys, you have to log into a Google account and register your site. Save the keys acquired. You’ll need to add these in the plugin’s settings page.
2. Configure the Plugin
Then add the keys into the plugin’s settings by going to ‘Settings -> Google No CAPTCHA reCAPTCHA’. Once these settings have been saved, you will be able to add the No CAPTCHA reCAPTCHA field in a Contact Form 7 form.
3. Adding a No CAPTCHA field in Contact Form 7
This is simple. Just create a field, using the tag, and then copy paste the generated code into your form.
4. No CAPTCHA reCAPTCHA field on a Contact Form 7 Form
You should be able to see the field on the form. When a visitor checks the field, he will be successfully identified as a human. In case there is some confusion, a CAPTCHA field will be displayed (as mentioned).
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The Google No CAPTCHA reCAPTCHA plugin by WisdmLabs is multisite compatible, and is localization ready. It is simple for humans, but tough on bots. So go ahead! Do try adding it onto Contact Form 7 forms on your site, and let us know what you think about it.
