Essential Form – The lightest plugin for contact forms, ultra lightweight and no spam vs Anti-Spam Protection – No API Key, GDPR Friendly

Looking for a no-fuss, ultra-lightweight contact form that just works? Essential Form gives you exactly what you need — no more, no less. Use the shortcode [essential_form] wherever you want a simple contact form with the following fields: Name Email Message Agreement checkbox That’s it. No extra fluff, no performance hit. ⚡ Zero Bloat. Zero Requests. Zero Spam. Essential Form adds no HTTP requests, loads no external libraries, and runs on pure Vanilla JavaScript — only 1 kB of inline script, injected only on pages with a form. When we say it’s the lightest contact form ever made, we mean it. The entire plugin zip is just 14 kB. 🛡️ Anti-Spam, Reinvented (No Captchas, Ever) Our invisible anti-spam system blocks all automated bots — no annoying captchas, no puzzles, no headaches. Here’s how it works: Each form submission uses a unique, random token 20 random security keys are generated per site AJAX actions have unpredictable names like essential_form_fbe52b696 Robots can’t guess or simulate a valid submission The result? Only real humans get through. Bots don’t stand a chance. 🧘‍♀️ Keep It Simple Most of the time, all you need is a name, email, message, and a simple checkbox. That’s exactly what Essential Form gives you. If you need complex forms with extra fields or logic, this plugin isn’t for you — try Contact Form 7 instead. But if you want something fast, clean, and incredibly secure, Essential Form is for you. Try Essential Form today — and enjoy a faster, cleaner contact form experience. How to add a contact form on the page Add the shortcode [essential_form] Done! Features of the Contact Form Extremely lightweight – The plugin inlines about 1 kB of pure Vanilla JavaScript (even smaller when compressed) only on the page where you use the shortcode — and never above the fold. On all other pages, it doesn’t exist at all. You could say it only “exists” on a page because the form is visible — otherwise, you’d never know the plugin is there. No tool will be able to measure any meaningful resource usage caused by this plugin. The contact form includes only four fields: name, email, message, and an agreement checkbox. Nothing else. If you need more fields, this plugin isn’t for you. But if that’s all you need — you’ll love how simple and fast it is. It inherits your theme’s styles automatically. If you want custom styling, you can add your own CSS — or use a different plugin if you need more built-in design options. It includes a powerful, invisible anti-spam system. Bots won’t be able to send messages through your form. Only real humans can submit it — and if you ever get spam, it will be from a human doing it manually. No captchas, no puzzles, no user frustration. The anti-spam system works entirely behind the scenes — quietly and effectively. Shortcode Parameters You can customize the form labels and messages using these shortcode parameters: label_email label_message button_text agreement_text success_message Example usage: [essential_form label_email="Your email" label_message="Your message" button_text="Send" agreement_text="You agree with our privacy policy" success_message="Thank you for your message!"] If you don’t provide these parameters, the plugin will use the default values. How to customize the contact forms You can also customize the contact forms throught the filter hook ‘essential_form_settings’. Here an example. add_filter( 'essential_form_settings',function( $options ){ return array_merge( $options, array( 'email_from' => '[email protected]', 'email_to' => '[email protected]', 'email_subject' => sprintf( esc_html__( 'Message from %s','your-domain' ),get_bloginfo( 'name' ) ), 'label_name' => __( 'Name','your-domain' ), 'label_email' => __( 'Email','your-domain' ), 'label_message' => __( 'Message','your-domain' ), 'button_text' => __( 'Send','your-domain' ), 'agreement_text' => __( 'By submitting this form I agree with the privacy policy','your-domain' ), 'success_message' => __( 'Form submitted successfully! Thank you for your message!','your-domain' ), 'name_missing_error' => __( 'Name is a required field!','your-domain' ), 'email_missing_error' => __( 'Email is a required field!','your-domain' ), 'email_not_valid_error' => __( 'Email not valid!','your-domain' ), 'message_missing_error' => __( 'Message is a required field!','your-domain' ), 'message_too_long_error' => __( 'This message is too long! Please, write not more than 50000 characters.','your-domain' ), 'missing_agreement_error' => __( 'You have to agree with our privacy policy to submit the form.','your-domain' ) ) ); } ); If you need to do a custom action after the sending of the email, you can use the action hook ‘essential_form_after_sending’. Here an example. add_action( 'essential_form_after_sending',function( $name,$email,$message,$post_id ){ //$name is the name of the user who submitted the contant form //$message is the message which is sent through the contact form //$post_id is the ID of the page where is included the contact form //Your code here },10,4 ); If you need to customize the message that is included in the email, use the filter hook ‘essential_form_message’. Here you have an example. add_filter('essential_form_message',function( $message,$name,$email,$post_id ){ if( isset( $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'] ) ){ $message .= ' IP: '.sanitize_text_field( $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'] ).' '; } return $message; },10,4 ); If you need to customize the agreement text, use the filter hook ‘essential_form_agreement_text’. Here you have an example. add_filter( 'essential_form_agreement_text',function( $text ){ return 'By submitting this form I agree with the Privacy Policy '; } ); Limitations The limits of Essential Form are many, but they are what make this plugin the best if you need a ultra-lightweight contact form with just name, email, comment, and privacy agreement. If you need more, you can always install more complete but also heavier contact forms like: Contact Form 7 WPForms Forminator Formidable Forms Ninja Forms and many other amazing plugins for contact forms. How to speed up the form submission and avoid conflicts with other plugins Install and activate Freesoul Deactivate Plugins Go to Freesoul Deactivate Plugins => Plugin Manger => Actions => Essential Form Deactivate all the plugins for the actions “Getting secret key during submission” and “Form submission” By using Freesoul Deactivate Plugins to clean up all the other plugins, the form submission will be faster and without any conflict with third plugins. Demo You can see Essential Form in action on my blog post The Lightest Contact Form Plugin Ever You don’t need any demo for the backend, because there are no settings for this plugin. Just use the shortcode [essential_form] where you want to add the form, and customized as mentioned in the description. I need this plugin to do something custom If you want to integrate this plugin with other tools or workflows, I offer a custom development service for WordPress plugin integrations and feature extensions. Learn more about advanced custom functionality for WordPress.

Is Contact Form 7 spam destroying your mornings? No API key. No data leaving your server. No charges for commercial use. Just effective spam protection that works the moment you activate it. What Gets Protected (FREE) ✅ Contact Form 7 – Block bot spam automatically ✅ WPForms Lite & Pro – Stop automated submissions ✅ Jetpack Contact Forms – Filter bot spam instantly ✅ Fluent Forms – Eliminate bot attacks ✅ SureForms – Block bot spam submissions ✅ WordPress Comments – Clean comment spam from badbots ✅ Business sites included – No commercial fees ever Works immediately after activation. No configuration. No learning curve. No monthly costs. How It Works 3 Steps to Spam-Free Contact Forms: Install – Search “Contact Form 7 spam” in your WordPress dashboard Activate – One click to turn on protection Relax – Your Contact Form 7 and WPForms and others are now protected from bots The moment you activate, spam bots are automatically blocked on all your forms and comments. No settings to configure. No technical knowledge required. No ongoing maintenance. Most users report 95-100% spam reduction within the first 24 hours. Tomorrow morning, check your inbox. Instead of dozens of spam submissions, you’ll see only real customer inquiries. That’s the peace of mind this plugin delivers. Why Contact Form 7 Needs This Contact Form 7 is WordPress’s most popular form plugin with over 5 million active installations. It’s lightweight, flexible, and completely free. But it doesn’t include spam protection. Without protection, Contact Form 7 sites get hammered. Bot networks discover unprotected forms and flood them with submissions. Your inbox fills with junk. You waste time sorting real inquiries from spam. Worse, you risk missing legitimate customers buried in the noise. This plugin fixes that problem. For free. Forever. Free vs Pro: What You Get FREE Version (Most Sites Need Only This): ✅ Contact Form 7 bot spam blocked ✅ WPForms automated spam stopped ✅ Jetpack forms protected ✅ Fluent Forms secured ✅ SureForms protected ✅ WordPress comment spam eliminated ✅ Works on business/commercial sites ✅ Spam statistics dashboard Automated bots cause 95%+ of spam. The free version handles this completely. PRO Version (For Advanced Needs): ⚡ Private Machine Learning human spam detection (runs on your own server, learns from your spam) ⚡ Gravity Forms integration ⚡ WooCommerce registration protection ⚡ Email quarantine for review ⚡ Custom IP blocklists ⚡ Allow/deny pattern rules ⚡ Priority support Most Contact Form 7 users never need Pro. But if you’re getting manually-typed spam or need enterprise features, Pro has you covered. Why This Works Better Than CAPTCHA CAPTCHA makes your visitors prove they’re human by solving puzzles. It’s annoying, hurts conversions, and still lets some spam through. This plugin takes a smarter approach: Invisible honeypot fields – Bots can’t resist filling hidden fields that humans never see Timing analysis – Bots submit forms instantly; real people don’t Behavioral fingerprinting – Bot patterns are detectable and consistent No user friction – Your visitors never know the protection exists Lightning fast – All processing happens locally on your server Your Contact Form 7 stays fast. Your conversion rates stay high. Spam disappears. It just works. Quietly. Effectively. Completely free. Common Questions Answered “Will this work with my existing Contact Form 7 setup?” Yes. It integrates automatically with all CF7 configurations, custom fields, and extensions. Nothing breaks. Spam just stops. “I’m not technical. Can I install this?” If you can install a WordPress plugin, you can use this. There’s literally nothing to configure. Install, activate, done. “What about sites that aren’t in English?” Works perfectly on all languages. The spam detection doesn’t depend on language – it detects bot behavior patterns. “My site sells products. Do I have to pay?” No. Unlike some popular anti-spam solutions that charge business sites, this is free for commercial use. No exceptions. No hidden fees. Ready to Stop Contact Form 7 Spam? Installation takes 30 seconds: In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins → Add New Search for “Contact Form 7 spam” Click Install, then Activate Done – your forms are now protected Check your email tomorrow. Enjoy the silence. For detailed statistics and settings, visit Settings → Anti Spam after activation. Go Pro Most Contact Form 7 users never need Pro – the free version eliminates their spam problem completely. What makes Pro unique – private Machine Learning: Unlike cloud filters that ship your visitors’ messages off to an external service, the Pro classifier runs entirely on your own server. It learns from the spam you classify, gets smarter the more you use it, and never sends data to a third party outside your control – no external cloud service, no data sharing, no privacy trade-off. Pro delivers: ✅ Private Machine Learning Human Spam Detection – Stops manually-typed spam that gets past basic filters, using Machine Learning that runs entirely on your own server and learns from your spam classifications – your visitors’ data never leaves your site or goes to a third party outside your control ✅ Gravity Forms Integration – Complete protection for premium form users ✅ WooCommerce Registration Blocking – Stop fake account spam ✅ Email Quarantine – Review and rescue any legitimate messages caught by mistake ✅ Quarantine / Audit Log – Full spam traceability: see every submission the plugin checks, allowed or blocked, and exactly why it was decided (bot trap, Machine Learning human-spam score, single-word, deny rule, real-time IP blocklist or allow list) – with the analysed content, masked IP and country, plus one-click allow/deny actions to fix any mistake ✅ Custom Allow/Deny Rules – Block specific IPs, patterns, or keywords ✅ IP Blocklist Checking – Automatic blocking of known spam networks ✅ Priority Support – Get help directly from the developers Perfect for: – High-traffic sites getting manually-entered spam – Agencies managing multiple client installations – Enterprise sites requiring advanced controls – Gravity Forms and WooCommerce users Start Your Free 30-Day Pro Trial Try Pro features risk-free for 30 days. A card is required to start, but you won’t be charged if you cancel before the trial ends. No pressure, no hassle.