Honeypot spam protection is a simple way to help block automated spam submissions on forms for WordPress. It works silently in the background, so legitimate website visitors do not need to complete a CAPTCHA or any additional verification.
WS Form includes built-in honeypot spam protection. Once enabled, WS Form automatically adds the honeypot to your form and checks it when a submission is processed.
What Is Honeypot Spam Protection?
Honeypot spam protection is a technique used to identify automated spam bots submitting forms.
It works by adding a hidden field to your form. Legitimate website visitors do not see or complete this field, but spam bots often attempt to complete every field they find.
When a form is submitted, WS Form checks the honeypot field server-side. If the field has been completed, WS Form identifies the submission as automated spam and rejects it.
This makes honeypot protection a useful way to reduce automated form spam without adding an extra step for legitimate website visitors.
How To Enable Honeypot Spam Protection
Honeypot spam protection is built into WS Form and can be enabled individually for each form.
To enable honeypot protection:
- Edit the form you want to protect.
- Open Form Settings.
- Select Spam Protection.
- Enable Honeypot.
- Save the form.
That’s it! WS Form automatically adds honeypot protection to the form. You do not need to manually add a hidden field or configure any additional settings.
Does Honeypot Protection Affect Website Visitors?
No. The honeypot field is hidden from legitimate website visitors and does not require them to complete any additional steps.
The honeypot is checked server-side when WS Form processes the submission. For legitimate visitors, the form continues to work normally.
Using Honeypot With Other Spam Protection
Honeypot protection can be used alongside other WS Form spam protection features.
Different spam protection methods detect or prevent spam in different ways. Honeypot protection specifically helps identify bots that attempt to complete hidden form fields, while other methods can provide additional protection against different types of automated or unwanted submissions.
Combining honeypot protection with other spam protection features can provide broader protection against unwanted submissions on forms for WordPress.