How to Set Up Email Alerts When Your Contact Form Breaks

Contact forms break silently. One day everything works fine, the next day leads stop coming in and you have no idea why. By the time you notice, you've already lost business.

The solution? Automated email alerts that notify you the moment your form stops working. Here's how to set it up in under 5 minutes.

Why Manual Testing Doesn't Work

Most business owners test their contact form once during setup, then forget about it. The problem is that forms can break at any time:

• After a plugin update
• When your hosting provider migrates servers
• If your email service changes settings
• When SSL certificates expire

Testing once a month isn't enough. You need continuous monitoring.

Method 1: BCC-Based Monitoring (Easiest)

This method works with any form on any platform - WordPress, Webflow, Wix, even Google Forms.

Step 1: Get a Monitoring Email Address

Sign up for a monitoring service that provides a unique email address. This address will receive a copy of every form submission.

Step 2: Add BCC to Your Form

In your contact form settings, add the monitoring email as a BCC recipient. This means every form submission will secretly send a copy to the monitoring service.

For WordPress forms (Contact Form 7, Gravity Forms, WPForms):

1. Go to your form settings
2. Find the email notification section
3. Add the monitoring email in the BCC field
4. Save changes

For other platforms, look for "Additional Recipients" or "BCC" in your form's email settings.

Step 3: Set Your Alert Threshold

Decide how long to wait before getting alerted. If your form typically gets submissions daily, set a 2-day threshold. For weekly submissions, use 10-14 days.

Step 4: Test It

Submit a test through your form. Within 30 seconds, the monitoring service should confirm it received the email. If it doesn't, check your BCC configuration.

Method 2: Webhook-Based Monitoring

If your form platform supports webhooks (like Typeform, JotForm, or custom forms), you can use webhook monitoring instead.

How It Works

A webhook sends data to a monitoring URL every time someone submits your form. If the webhook stops firing, you get alerted.

Setup Steps

1. Get a webhook monitoring URL from your monitoring service
2. Add it to your form's webhook settings
3. Configure what data to send (name, email, message)
4. Test with a submission

The downside? Webhooks require platform support. BCC works everywhere.

Method 3: Email Parsing Rules (Advanced)

If you're technical, you can set up email forwarding rules in Gmail or Outlook to monitor form submissions yourself.

Gmail Method

1. Create a filter for emails from your form
2. Set it to forward to a monitoring address
3. Use a service like Zapier to check if emails arrive
4. Configure alerts if emails stop

This works but requires more setup and maintenance. Most people prefer the BCC method.

What to Do When You Get an Alert

When you receive an alert that your form stopped working, here's your action plan:

1. Test the form immediately by submitting yourself
2. Check your email spam folder
3. Verify your email server settings
4. Review recent plugin or platform updates
5. Contact your hosting provider if needed

The faster you act, the fewer leads you lose.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Setting Alerts Too Sensitive

If you get 1 submission per week but set a 1-day alert threshold, you'll get false alarms. Match your threshold to your typical submission frequency.

Forgetting to Test

Set up monitoring, then test it immediately. Don't assume it works - verify it.

Ignoring Alerts

If you get an alert, treat it as urgent. Every hour your form is broken, you're losing potential business.

The Simple Solution

Setting up email alerts manually takes time and technical knowledge. The easiest approach is to use a dedicated monitoring service that handles everything automatically.

FormWatch monitors any form on any platform using the BCC method. Add one email address to your form, and you're protected. If emails stop arriving, you get alerted within hours.

No plugins. No code. No complex setup. Just add a BCC field and you're done.

Start Monitoring Today

Your contact form is too important to leave unmonitored. Pick a method from this guide and set it up today - it takes less time than your morning coffee.

The peace of mind knowing you'll never miss another lead is worth the 5 minutes of setup.