You better check your website contact forms. A significant change in the popular WordPress plugin Contact Form 7 (CF7) could break your contact forms if you’re using reCaptcha.
A recent update to CF7 removes support for reCaptcha version 2; now it supports version 3 only. If your site has the latest version of CF7 and was using reCaptcha version 2, your forms might not work or they’re letting more spam through. If your site is set to automatically update plugins, it could happen without you knowing it.
The Solution
Several options are available.
- Register reCaptcha version 3 for your site. (reCaptcha is a free service of Google.) And add the codes to CF7.
- Install the plugin “Contact Form 7 – reCaptcha v2“. This plugin adds version 2 support back to CF7. You might have to register an updated reCaptcha at Google and add the new codes to CF7.
Auto Update – This is Why You Shouldn’t
This is why we disable automatic updates in WordPress. You never know when it will break something. In December 2018, WordPress changed its page editing software. One of my current clients lost the ability to update his site because the automatic update conflicted with the Divi theme that was installed. (Full disclaimer: He wasn’t a client at the time. I got it fixed for him.)
So if you have automatic updates turned on, check your website forms. Even if you don’t, check your forms anyway. Go to your site and submit the contact form. Make sure you get it.
Test Your Website Periodically
It’s good to test your website periodically–submit a form, make a purchase, comment on a blog post. Test whatever functions you have on your site.
And, by the way, update the content, even if it’s just the small changes in wording you’ve been meaning to do. It’s good for SEO.