Building a Contact Form with reCAPTCHA in Webflow

In this tutorial, we will dive into creating and customizing a contact form with reCAPTCHA in Webflow to prevent spam and ensure responsiveness across various breakpoints.

What is reCAPTCHA?

ReCAPTCHA, developed by Google, is a security feature consisting of a checkbox that needs to be checked to confirm that the user is not a robot. Its main function is to reduce spam by distinguishing between human users and automated bots.

Adding reCAPTCHA to the Contact Form

To add reCAPTCHA to a contact form in Webflow, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the base breakpoint of your project where the contact form is located.
2. Double click to edit the contact form, as it is a symbol that appears on every page.
3. Go to the Add panel and select "reCAPTCHA" from the "Forms" section.
4. Use the Navigator to place the reCAPTCHA element inside the form, preferably between the message area and the submit button.

Once you've added the reCAPTCHA element to the form, the next step is to set up the reCAPTCHA validation in the project settings.

Setting up reCAPTCHA Validation

To enable reCAPTCHA validation and obtain the necessary site key and secret key, follow these steps:

1. Go to the project settings and navigate to the "Forms" section.
2. Scroll down to the reCAPTCHA validation settings.
3. Click on the plus button to create reCAPTCHA for a new site.
4. Enter the required information, including the site name, reCAPTCHA type (in this case, V2), and the domains where the reCAPTCHA will be used.
5. After adding the domains, accept the reCAPTCHA terms of service and press submit.

Upon submitting, you will receive a site key and a secret key, which need to be added back to the project settings in Webflow.

Testing Responsiveness

Once you've set up reCAPTCHA, it's essential to test its responsiveness across different breakpoints to ensure it works seamlessly on all devices. Here's how you can do that:

1. Check the appearance of reCAPTCHA across desktop, tablet, mobile landscape, and mobile portrait breakpoints.
2. Make adjustments as needed to ensure the reCAPTCHA element fits well within the form on all device sizes.
3. Test fluidity by clicking and dragging the edges of the viewport to see how the form adapts to different screen sizes.

Customizing reCAPTCHA for Mobile Portrait

When assessing the contact form on the mobile portrait breakpoint, you may notice that the reCAPTCHA validation element hangs off the edge due to the limited viewport width. To address this, follow these steps:

1. Double click to edit the contact form symbol and wrap the reCAPTCHA element with a Div block.
2. Assign a class to the Div block, for example, "reCAPTCHA wrapper."
3. Use the Style panel to adjust the size and transform properties of the Div block to scale down the reCAPTCHA element for better fit on narrow viewports.
4. Additionally, consider reducing the padding of the form to ensure optimal use of screen real estate.

Once you've customized the reCAPTCHA for mobile portrait, don't forget to test it on various devices to ensure it appears and functions as expected.

Conclusion

By adding reCAPTCHA to your contact form in Webflow and ensuring its responsiveness and fluidity across different breakpoints, you can create a secure and user-friendly form that effectively prevents spam submissions. Remember to continuously review and optimize your form's design, accessibility, and SEO settings to enhance the overall user experience on your website. In the next part of the course, we'll delve into setting up and optimizing search settings to improve the discoverability of your portfolio site on search engines.

In conclusion, the process of creating and optimizing a contact form with reCAPTCHA in Webflow involves several critical steps, including adding reCAPTCHA to the form, setting up reCAPTCHA validation in the project settings, and testing its responsiveness and customization for different breakpoints. With these elements in place, you can ensure the security and seamless functionality of your contact form across various devices.