Steven Zahm@ Carlos
RE: I just received two emails, but I had sent like a total of 10 messages in the last few hours.
So, it sounds like the emails are being sent. You can always review the logs found on the Connections : Tools admin page under the Logs tab. Or use a third party email log plugin such as:
Also, if your web host provides access to email log that the server sends, you could also review those logs as they would be more definitive when compared to any logs that can be captured at the WordPress level. Because WordPress could record a success but the web host not actually send it.
When testing, if you are using the same email address for send and receive, those will generally get blocked as spam or blocked all together by the popular online email service providers.
The best way to test is to make sure the entry email address is one email address under your control and when you fill out the contact form use a separate different email address under your control. This will help prevent triggering the service provider spam filters.
RE: I’d personally rather use the Captcha approach, but I don’t think there is support for it, from what read.
The purpose of captcha is to prevent email from being sent (in this context) and has nothing to do with the act of sending an email. Contact has built in methods to prevent spamming as captcha has been proven to drastically reduce user engagement. Unless you get an error message after clicking send, the email was passed off successfully to WordPress to complete the sending of the email. This still requires the web host to successfully send the email and the email service provider to successfully receive it.
RE: This is dangerous because a prospective client can send an email, and the attorney will never get it.
If these transactional email are of great importance then you should really use a dedicated email service provider like SendGrid with their plugin and setup SPF/DKIM. These further help prevent email providers from filtering your transactional email as spam. I personally use SendGrid for this site to ensure same confirmation and other transactional email are sent and received. It is far, far better than relying on the web host which is basically a cross your fingers level of service.
Hope this helps!