Experiencing difficulties with your website contact form not sending emails is pretty common however solvable with the right steps. In this article, we’ll delve into the common reasons why email does not work on your website contact form and how you can fix it.
Common Misconfigurations in Contact Form Setup
- Incorrect Email Address: If the email address you’ve input in the contact form’s settings is incorrect, you won’t receive any emails. Make sure to double-check the spelling and ensure it’s the correct email.
- Email Routing Issues: Emails from your contact form may not be delivered if they are incorrectly routed in the contact form settings.
- SMTP Settings Misconfiguration: SMTP is a protocol used for sending emails. If your website is not using the right SMTP settings, emails from your contact form might fail to send.
Troubleshooting Email Issues in Contact Forms
Step 1: Check Your Contact Form Configuration
Log into your website and navigate to the settings of your contact form plugin. Confirm that you’ve correctly entered your email address and that it matches the one where you want to receive messages.

Step 2: Verify Your Email Routing Settings
If the email address you’re using in the form shares the same domain name as your website, it may cause delivery issues. Consider using a different email address from a different domain, such as a Gmail address, for testing purposes. If you start receiving emails, you’ll know the routing was the problem.
Step 3: Check Your SMTP Settings
Your website uses SMTP settings to send emails. If these settings are incorrect, you’ll need to correct them. Check that you are using the correct settings.

WordPress Specific Steps
For WordPress users, you may be using a popular plugin like Contact Form 7, WPForms, or Ninja Forms. If so, follow these steps:
Step 1: Plugin Settings Check
Navigate to your plugin settings and verify that the email address entered is correct. Also, ensure that any other email-related settings are configured correctly.
Step 2: Install an SMTP Plugin
If your SMTP settings are causing issues, consider installing an SMTP plugin like WP Mail SMTP, which can help configure these settings and resolve email sending issues. Follow the plugin’s installation and setup guide, and test your contact form again.

Step 3: Test with a Different Email
If you’re still having issues, try changing the email address in the form to an email from a different domain, such as a Gmail address. If you start receiving emails, the issue might be with the email routing settings of your current email.
Conclusion
Troubleshooting issues with your website’s contact form can be time-consuming however can be done. Always begin by checking your contact form configuration, testing different email addresses, and ensuring correct SMTP settings. For WordPress users, using dedicated SMTP plugins can often provide a straightforward solution.