The contact form is where enquiries happen or disappear. Too many fields and visitors give up; too few and you spend time asking follow-up questions. Sitejet’s contact form builder gives you the field types, validation, notifications and spam protection a UK small business actually needs, without third-party form services. This guide walks through setup, e-mail configuration, CAPTCHA, webhook integration and how to export submissions for UK GDPR record-keeping.
Why every UK business website needs a contact form · Adding a contact form to your page · Available field types · Marking required fields · Configuring e-mail notifications · Anti-spam protection with CAPTCHA · Webhook integration · Exporting submissions to CSV · Important note on e-mail delivery via Plesk · Tips for effective contact forms · FAQ
Calls go to voicemail. E-mails get lost. Social media DMs expire. A contact form on your website captures enquiries 24/7, delivers them structured, and leaves an audit trail. For UK SMEs it is the single highest-ROI element on the site after the phone number.
BrightLocal research shows over 60% of UK local-business searchers either call directly from the Google Business Profile or fill in a contact form on the website. Without the form, you are leaving enquiries on the table.
| Field | Use case |
|---|---|
| Text (single-line) | Name, company, subject |
| Text area (multi-line) | Message, project description |
| Contact e-mail; validates format | |
| Phone | UK phone; validates UK formats |
| Dropdown (select) | Enquiry type, preferred service |
| Checkbox | Newsletter opt-in, terms acceptance |
| Radio button | Single choice from small options |
| Date | Event date, preferred booking day |
| File upload | Quote attachments, portfolios |
| Hidden | Campaign tracking (UTM source) |
Keep forms short. Four fields covers most UK SMEs; more than seven reduces completion rate.
Mark name, e-mail (or phone) and message as required; leave the rest optional. Over-marking fields as required frustrates visitors. Use required only where you genuinely need the data to respond.
In form settings:
Without CAPTCHA, every form attracts spam bots within weeks. Enable Sitejet’s built-in CAPTCHA (invisible reCAPTCHA by default — no annoying “select all traffic lights”). Blocks ~98% of bot submissions while staying invisible to real visitors.
Alternative anti-spam: honeypot field (hidden field only bots fill in). Enabled per form in advanced settings.
For automation — CRM import, Slack notifications, marketing-automation triggers — configure a webhook URL. Each submission POSTs JSON to the URL. Compatible with Zapier, Make (Integromat), n8n, HubSpot, Mailchimp, Monday.com and most CRMs.
Example Zapier flow: contact form → webhook → create lead in HubSpot → send Slack notification → start welcome e-mail sequence.
Form submissions are stored in Sitejet for 90 days (configurable). Export as CSV for records, UK GDPR subject-access requests, or offline CRM import. Settings → Forms → Export.
For long-term storage, set up a webhook that pushes each submission into Google Sheets or your CRM — gives you an indefinite record without relying on the 90-day retention.
Contact form e-mails are sent via the Plesk SMTP server included with your smartxhosting.uk hosting. Default reputation is good but for maximum deliverability:
If notifications land in spam, check these three records first. See our UK GDPR guide for compliant handling of submitted data.
Q: Do I need a Google reCAPTCHA key?
A: No — Sitejet provides invisible reCAPTCHA by default. Free and requires no configuration.
Q: Can I send submissions to multiple e-mail addresses?
A: Yes — comma-separate multiple addresses in the notification field.
Q: How do I handle consent under UK GDPR?
A: Add an unticked checkbox: “I consent to my data being used to respond to this enquiry”. Required for lawful basis. See the UK GDPR guide.
Q: Can I add a file upload field?
A: Yes — File upload element supports images, PDFs and common document formats up to 10 MB.
Q: How do I add a newsletter signup checkbox?
A: Add a checkbox field labelled “Subscribe to our newsletter”, unticked by default. Required for PECR-compliant marketing consent.
Q: Can I route different enquiry types to different teams?
A: Yes — use a dropdown field for enquiry type, then configure conditional routing via webhook to different e-mail aliases or team inboxes.