Contact forms are a vital bridge between your website and the outside world – whether it’s for client inquiries, job opportunities, or support requests. But they’re also an open door that bots and spammers love to exploit. If your site runs on shared hosting, you may not have the luxury of advanced anti-spam infrastructure. Still, with the right tools and best practices, you can secure your forms, protect your inbox, and maintain a professional communication channel – all without writing complex code.
Here’s how to effectively secure contact forms on shared hosting in 2025, using tools and techniques that are both practical and accessible.
1. Use reCAPTCHA or hCaptcha
CAPTCHAs are one of the most effective and widely used tools to prevent spam bots from submitting forms. Google reCAPTCHA (v2 and v3) has long been the standard. Version 2 prompts users to check a box or solve a simple challenge, while v3 runs silently in the background, assigning a score to each user interaction to determine if it’s likely from a bot. Both can be integrated easily into most modern form builders.
hCaptcha is a privacy-respecting alternative that works similarly to reCAPTCHA but avoids sending data to Google – ideal for users who are privacy-conscious or operating under GDPR constraints.
Most major WordPress form plugins like WPForms, Ninja Forms, and Contact Form 7 support these CAPTCHA systems out of the box. For static HTML forms, you can embed CAPTCHA manually or use a third-party form processing service (like Formspree or Basin) that includes CAPTCHA integration.
To avoid annoying genuine users, limit CAPTCHA usage to important forms (e.g., your contact form, newsletter signup, or comment forms), and avoid putting it on every minor interaction.
2. Configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for Secure Email Delivery
Even if your form submissions look secure on the front end, they can still harm your domain’s reputation behind the scenes. If spammers hijack your form or spoof your email address, it can lead to your messages being marked as junk- or worse, your domain being blacklisted by mail providers.
That’s where SPF (Sender Policy Framework), DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), and DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) come in. These are DNS-based email authentication protocols that ensure only approved mail servers can send emails on your behalf and help receiving servers verify the integrity of your messages.
At Hostens, you can configure these records using the following methods:
- Using our DNS manager. You can refer to our guides on using the DNS manager and adding an SPF record.
- Configuring SPF and DKIM using the Email Deliverability feature in cPanel.
Please note: To use our DNS manager and the Email Deliverability feature in cPanel, you need to use Hostens nameservers. Otherwise, you’ll have to manually update your DNS records through the DNS manager of your current nameserver provider.
This step is especially crucial if your form emails are being sent to clients or external services, as proper authentication improves deliverability and helps avoid the spam folder.
3. Limit Form Submissions Per IP
A common spam tactic is to flood your form with repeated entries from the same bot or IP address. One effective way to combat this is by rate-limiting submissions based on the visitor’s IP.
To prevent spam or abuse of your contact form, blocking specific IP addresses directly through your .htaccess file is a simple and effective option. To do this, just open your site’s .htaccess file (usually located in the public_html) and add a few lines to deny access from troublesome IPs. For example:
<Limit GET POST>
order allow,deny
allow from all
deny from 123.123.123.123
</Limit>
For more information about .htaccess you can refer to this article.
This will block the specified IP address from making GET or POST requests, effectively cutting off their access to your contact form. You can list multiple IPs by repeating the deny from line. To find abusive IPs, you can check logs by following our guide.
While this method is manual, it’s a solid way to stop repeat offenders. For best results, combine it with tools like Google reCAPTCHA to protect your form from both bots and persistent spam attempts.
4. Use Secure and Actively Maintained Form Plugins
When it comes to security, not all form plugins are created equal. Using a well-maintained, widely used form builder ensures you’re getting regular updates, reliable support, and built-in protection against spam attacks.
For WordPress users, we recommend:
WPForms – User-friendly with built-in CAPTCHA, spam protection, and rate limiting.
Forminator – A powerful free option with good spam defense and modern design.
Ninja Forms – Flexible, modular, and well-supported for advanced configurations.
Make sure you keep your plugins updated – outdated plugins are one of the top vectors for security vulnerabilities, especially on shared hosting where attackers may scan for common weaknesses across many sites.
Conclusion
Securing your contact form doesn’t have to mean adding friction for visitors or spending money on premium tools. With our hosting, you can effectively reduce spam, protect your domain’s reputation, and maintain reliable communication with your audience.
By using reCAPTCHA or hCaptcha, setting up proper email authentication records, choosing secure plugins, and limiting abuse with basic rate limiting, you can transform your basic contact form into a well-defended inbox gateway.
And the best part? Hostens provides all the tools you need to set this up easily!