How to set a ‘Reply-To’ address in WordPress contact forms for one-click responses

By setting the ‘Reply-To’ email address in your WordPress contact form, you make it easy to hit ‘Reply’ and have the email go straight to the person who filled out the form. No need to copy and paste email addresses. This guide shows you how to set this up using three popular WordPress form plugins: Contact Form 7, WPForms, and Ninja Forms.

Setting ‘Reply-To’ in Contact Form 7

1. Accessing Settings
   Navigate to the form you want to edit within the Contact Form 7 interface.
2. Setting a ‘Reply-To’ email address using ‘Additional Headers‘
   In the “Mail” section, locate the “Additional Headers” field. Input Reply-to: [your-name] <[your-email]>. This allows you to reply directly to the email address provided in the form submission.

Setting ‘Reply-To’ in WPForms

1. Accessing settings
   Go to your form builder and navigate to Settings » Notifications to access your form’s notification settings.
2. Enabling form notifications
   Notifications are usually enabled by default. Double-check by making sure the “Enable Notifications” option is toggled on.
3. Adding a new notification
   Create a new notification by clicking on the “Add New Notification” button. Name it for internal use.
4. Setting a ‘Reply-To’ email address
   Locate the “Reply-To Email Address” field. If you want replies to go to the person who filled out the form, use a Smart Tag that pulls the user’s email from the form submission, like this:

Setting ‘Reply-To’ in Ninja Forms

1. Accessing settings
   Open the form you want to edit and go to the “Emails & Actions” tab. Click on the “Add new action” button and select “Email.”
2. Setting ‘Reply-To’ Email Address
   Locate the “Reply To Field.” This is where you specify the email address that will be used when the form submitter clicks ‘Reply’ on the received email notification.

Setting the ‘Reply-To’ address on other WordPress form plugins

While this guide focuses on Contact Form 7, WPForms, and Ninja Forms, the ability to set a ‘Reply-To’ address for one-click replies to form submitters is a feature commonly available in many WordPress form plugins. The process is generally similar across various plugins, and configuring this setting allows you to easily respond to the person who filled out the form with just a single click. Here’s a generalized approach:

1. Access plugin settings
   Navigate to the settings or configuration area of your chosen form plugin.
2. Locate email notifications
   Find the section that deals with email notifications or actions. This is often labeled as “Emails,” “Notifications,” or “Actions.”
3. Edit or add a new notification
   Look for an option to edit existing notifications or add a new one. This is where you’ll specify the details of the email that gets sent upon form submission.
4. Set ‘Reply-To’ address
   Locate the field for setting the ‘Reply-To’ email address. This is often under advanced settings or additional headers. Input the appropriate field or tag that captures the user’s email address from the form.
5. Save changes
   Don’t forget to save any changes you’ve made.
6. Test the setup
   Test the form to ensure the ‘Reply-To’ address is working as expected. Follow the testing steps provided in the next section of this guide.

Testing the ‘Reply-To’ Functionality

1. Complete a contact form
   Fill out a contact form on your website that you’ve configured with one of the mentioned plugins. Use a different email address than the one you’re sending the form notifications to.
2. Check your destination email
   Open your email client and look for the new form submission notification. Make sure it has arrived at the destination email address you specified in the form settings.
3. Click ‘Reply’
   In your email client, click the ‘Reply’ button on the received email notification.
4. Check the ‘To’ address
   Verify that the ‘To’ address in the reply email is automatically set to the email address you used when filling out the contact form. This confirms that the ‘Reply-To’ setting is working as expected.

By following these steps, you can ensure that the ‘Reply-To’ address is correctly configured for your WordPress contact forms, allowing you to respond to the sender with just one click.

References

• https://blog.cf7skins.com/reply-to-contact-form-7-emails/
• https://wpforms.com/docs/setup-form-notification-wpforms/
• https://ninjaforms.com/blog/customize-email-message-in-wordpress