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Troubleshooting the 'Error Occurred While Trying to Send Your Message' in Contact Form 7

25 threads Sep 7, 2025 Plugin → Contact form 7

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Understanding the Contact Form 7 Submission Error

A common and frustrating issue reported by many Contact Form 7 users is the sudden appearance of an error message after submitting a form. The message typically reads: "An error occurred while trying to send your message. Please try again later." or a similar variation. This error is often accompanied by an orange or red border.

Based on community reports, this problem can occur even on sites where the form was previously working perfectly, and it often persists after updating WordPress, the plugin, or migrating to a new domain. The key insight from user experiences is that the form submission process is often being flagged or blocked before the email is ever sent, even though submissions might still be recorded in the Flamingo plugin.

Why Does This Error Happen?

The generic nature of the error message means it can be triggered by several underlying causes. The most prevalent reasons, identified through user troubleshooting, are:

  • Spam Filtering Conflicts: This is the most common culprit. Anti-spam plugins like Akismet or Contact Form 7's built-in filtering can incorrectly flag legitimate messages as spam. This is often indicated by submissions appearing in Flamingo's "Spam" tab instead of the "Messages" tab.
  • reCAPTCHA Configuration Issues: Problems with Google reCAPTCHA keys (v2 or v3) are a frequent source of failure. This includes invalid, missing, or misconfigured keys, especially after a domain change. Users have reported browser-specific behavior linked to reCAPTCHA problems.
  • Plugin or Theme Conflicts: Another plugin or the active theme can interfere with the form's JavaScript or AJAX submission process.
  • Outdated Software: Running severely outdated versions of WordPress, PHP, or the Contact Form 7 plugin itself can lead to compatibility issues and unexpected errors.

Step-by-Step Troubleshooting Guide

Follow these steps to identify and resolve the issue. Always start with the simplest solutions first.

Step 1: Check the Spam Log

Install and activate the Flamingo plugin. After a failed form submission, check both the "Inbound Messages" and the "Spam" sections within Flamingo in your WordPress admin.

  • If the submission is in "Spam": Your issue is likely related to spam filtering. Mark the message as "Not Spam". Proceed to Step 2.
  • If the submission is in "Inbound Messages": The form data is being submitted correctly, but the email is failing to send. This points to a mail server configuration issue, which is often best resolved by configuring an SMTP plugin.
  • If the submission is not there at all: The form submission is being blocked before it can be processed. This suggests a JavaScript conflict or a fatal error. Proceed to Step 3.

Step 2: Investigate Spam Filtering

  • Temporarily disable Akismet: As multiple users found, simply deactivating the Akismet plugin resolved the sending error immediately. If this works, you will need to reconfigure Akismet or find an alternative spam solution.
  • Review Disallowed Words: The Contact Form 7 team has implemented stricter spam filters. Check the "Disallowed Words" list mentioned in the plugin's FAQ. Common words like .com in an email address can sometimes trigger a false positive.

Step 3: Verify reCAPTCHA Settings

If you use reCAPTCHA, it is a prime suspect.

  • Go to Contact » Integration in your WordPress admin.
  • Ensure your reCAPTCA keys are set up for the correct version (v2 or v3).
  • If you have recently changed your domain name (e.g., from minmester.dk to bygo.nu), you must generate new reCAPTCHA keys in the Google reCAPTCHA admin console and add the new domain to the allowed list for the existing keys.

Step 4: Perform a Conflict Test

This classic troubleshooting step remains highly effective.

  1. Switch your theme to a default WordPress theme like Twenty Twenty-Four.
  2. Deactivate all plugins except for Contact Form 7 (and Flamingo, if testing submissions).
  3. Clear any caching on your site (server, plugin, or browser cache).
  4. Test the form submission. If it works, the problem is a conflict. Reactivate your theme and plugins one by one, testing the form after each, to identify the source of the conflict.

Step 5: Update Everything

Ensure your WordPress core, Contact Form 7 plugin, and all other plugins and themes are updated to their latest versions. Furthermore, confirm your hosting provider is using a modern, supported version of PHP (7.4 or higher).

Conclusion

The "Error occurred while trying to send your message" message in Contact Form 7 is notoriously vague but is most frequently resolved by addressing spam filtering settings or reCAPTCHA configuration. The systematic approach outlined above—checking Flamingo logs, testing for plugin conflicts, and validating third-party integrations—will help you efficiently diagnose and fix the problem, restoring functionality to your vital contact forms.

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