// WORDPRESS FORMS
Contact Form 7 not sending emails after an update? Check these first
Contact Form 7 not sending emails after an update usually means one of four things: the update broke the form’s script so it spins and never submits, the mail settings changed, the site’s email connection stopped, or the emails are sending and landing in spam. Web Blend maintains WordPress sites for Australian trade and service businesses, and fixes the form so it keeps working after the next update. Contact Form 7 Fix, from $290 + GST.
Updated October 2026. Checked against the Contact Form 7 changelog on 30 October 2026.
// CHECK IT NOW
Six checks before you change anything
- Send a test and watch the button. If it spins forever, the problem is in the browser, not the email. Open the browser console (F12). Several users on the WordPress support forum reported forms that spin after updating to Contact Form 7 6.2.2 or 6.2.3, with “TypeError: Cannot set properties of null (setting ‘innerText’)” in the console. As of 30 October 2026 that thread was unresolved and no release note mentioned a fix.
- Read the message the form shows. “There was an error trying to send your message” means WordPress tried to send and the mail was refused. Go to check 4.
- Check the Mail tab. Open the form in Contact Form 7, then the Mail tab. Is the “To” address still yours? Is “From” an address on your own domain? An outside “From” address is a common reason mail never arrives.
- Check how the site sends email. WordPress on its own sends through the web host, which many inboxes reject. If you use an SMTP plugin, send its test email. If the plugin’s test arrives and the form’s doesn’t, the problem is the form. If neither arrives, it’s the mail connection.
- Check the PHP version and the plugin list. Contact Form 7 6.2 lists PHP 8.3 as its minimum. If your host is on an older PHP, or another plugin updated the same day, the form can stop.
- Check spam, then Flamingo. Look in your spam folder. If you run Flamingo, check its inbox and its spam list for real enquiries.
// SECURITY
Don’t roll back to 6.2 to 6.2.3
Contact Form 7 6.2.4 (29 October 2026) is a security release. The developer’s release notes describe an unauthenticated arbitrary file upload problem seen only in versions 6.2 to 6.2.3, and recommend 6.2.4 or later for every site.
So if the form broke after an update, the answer isn’t to sit on an older 6.2 release. Fix the form on the current version. If you need a stopgap while it’s being fixed, restore from a backup taken before the problem (see WordPress backups) and plan the proper fix the same week.
// WHY
Why Contact Form 7 breaks after updates
Contact Form 7 is one link in a chain: the form script in the browser, the plugin, WordPress, PHP on your host, the email connection, and your inbox’s spam filter. An update to any one of them can break the chain, and the chain has no alarm. The form keeps showing. Customers keep filling it in.
The fix that lasts isn’t a one-off patch. It’s mail sent through an authenticated email service, a saved copy of every entry on the site, a test after every update, and a second destination that doesn’t depend on WordPress email at all.
// PRICING
Contact Form 7 Fix: from $290 + GST
from $290 + GST. You get the exact figure in writing before we start. It depends on how many forms you run and whether the mail service and DNS records need setting up.
Keeping it fixed: our WordPress maintenance plans start from $170/month + GST. For an alert when enquiries go quiet, see contact form monitoring.
Who should not buy this: if the test arrives in your inbox and enquiries are still down, the form is fine; start with contact form stopped working to rule out the other causes. If you want to move off WordPress entirely, that’s a rebuild, not a fix.
-
We find the break: script, settings, mail connection or spam filter - We send the form’s mail through an authenticated sending service, with your domain’s SPF and DMARC records checked
- We turn on a saved copy of every entry, so an email failure never loses the enquiry
- We test from a phone and from a desktop, and check every destination
- You get a short written note of what changed, so the next person can repeat it after an update
// SPAM
Blocking spam without blocking customers
Stronger blocking can cut real enquiries. Use a hidden honeypot field first, which stops most bots and is invisible to people. Add a captcha only if spam keeps coming, and test it on a phone afterwards, because a captcha that fails to load blocks everyone. See WordPress security for the rest of the site.
// QUESTIONS
Questions owners ask
Not sure which link in the chain broke? Send us the site and what you see when you submit.
Ask usWhy is Contact Form 7 spinning and not sending?
A spinning button means the form’s script failed before the enquiry was sent. Open the browser console. Several users reported a TypeError after updating to 6.2.2 or 6.2.3. As of 30 October 2026 no release note mentioned a fix for it, so check the changelog before you update again.
Why does Contact Form 7 say it sent but I get nothing?
The form did its job and the email didn’t. Check the Mail tab’s “To” and “From” addresses, then send a test through your SMTP plugin, then check spam. If you run Flamingo, the enquiry may be sitting there.
Does Contact Form 7 save submissions?
Not on its own. Contact Form 7 doesn’t store submitted messages anywhere. The free Flamingo plugin, by the same author, saves a copy of each submission in the WordPress database. Treat it as a backup, not the only copy.
What PHP version does Contact Form 7 need?
Contact Form 7 6.2 and later list PHP 8.3 as the minimum in the plugin’s readme. Check your host’s PHP version before you update, and update on a staging copy or straight after a backup.
Do I need an SMTP plugin for Contact Form 7?
Most sites do. WordPress’s default mail goes out through your web host, and many inboxes treat it as junk. An SMTP plugin connected to a proper email service gets mail delivered and keeps a log.
How much does it cost to fix Contact Form 7?
Our Contact Form 7 Fix is from $290 + GST, fixed before we start, including the written note of what changed.
// GET HELP
Get your Contact Form 7 sending again
Send us the site and what you see when you submit. We’ll tell you what probably broke and a fixed price, from $290 + GST.
// CONTACT FORM 7 FIX
Tell us what the form does
Send the site and what you see when you submit. A person at Web Blend replies within one business day with what probably broke and a fixed price.