FreeBeginnerPHP 8.0+v2.4

PHP Contact Form Script

A production-ready PHP contact form with AJAX submission, SMTP email delivery, reCAPTCHA spam protection, file attachments, and full GDPR compliance. Drop it into any website in minutes.

Overview

Every website needs a reliable contact form. This script provides a complete solution that handles form validation on both the client and server side, sends emails securely through SMTP, and protects against spam bots using Google reCAPTCHA. The form submits via AJAX for a seamless user experience with no page reloads.

Built on top of PHPMailer for robust email delivery, the script supports HTML email templates, file attachments, auto-responders, and stores submissions in a database for backup. It is designed to be easy to configure and integrates into any existing website design.

Key Features

AJAX form submission without page reload
Server-side and client-side validation
SMTP email delivery via PHPMailer
Google reCAPTCHA v3 integration
Honeypot field for extra spam filtering
File attachment support (up to 5 files)

HTML email templates with customization
Auto-responder to form submitter
Database backup of all submissions
GDPR consent checkbox and data handling
CSRF token protection
Rate limiting per IP address

Quick Start Code

Here is the core form handler that processes submissions securely:

// config.php - Basic configuration $config = [ 'smtp_host' => 'smtp.example.com', 'smtp_port' => 587, 'smtp_user' => '[email protected]', 'smtp_pass' => 'your-password', 'recipient' => '[email protected]', 'recaptcha_key' => 'your-site-key', ]; // handler.php - Process form submission if ($_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] === 'POST') { $name = htmlspecialchars(trim($_POST['name'])); $email = filter_var($_POST['email'], FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL); $message = htmlspecialchars(trim($_POST['message'])); if ($name && $email && $message) { $mail = new PHPMailer(true); $mail->isSMTP(); $mail->send(); } }

Installation Steps

Download the script package and extract the files
Upload all files to your web server via FTP or file manager
Edit config.php with your SMTP credentials and reCAPTCHA keys
Import database.sql if you want submission backups (optional)
Include the form HTML snippet in your webpage
Test the form by submitting a message to yourself

Server Requirements

Requirement	Minimum	Recommended
PHP Version	8.0	8.2+
Web Server	Apache / Nginx	Apache with mod_rewrite
Database	Optional	MySQL 5.7+
PHP Extensions	OpenSSL, mbstring	+ PDO for database
SSL Certificate	Recommended	Required for reCAPTCHA

Configuration Options

The script is highly configurable through a single config.php file. You can customize SMTP settings, toggle reCAPTCHA on or off, set file upload limits, define allowed file types, enable or disable the auto-responder, choose between database storage and flat-file logging, and customize the email template with your branding.

Spam Protection

The contact form uses a multi-layered approach to prevent spam. Google reCAPTCHA v3 runs invisibly in the background and scores each submission. A hidden honeypot field catches basic bots. Server-side rate limiting prevents flood attacks by restricting submissions per IP address within a time window. Together, these measures block virtually all automated spam without inconveniencing real users.

GDPR Compliance

The script includes a consent checkbox that must be checked before submission. It logs consent timestamps, provides a data export endpoint for subject access requests, and includes a data deletion function for right-to-erasure requests. All stored data can be automatically purged after a configurable retention period.