First, separate the three problems
- The form will not submit. You see an error, the send button does nothing, or the page keeps asking for a field you have already filled in.
- The form says it worked, but the message is missing. Submission may have succeeded while saving the enquiry or sending its notification failed.
- A test arrives, but real enquiries are quiet. Look at website visits and the enquiry journey before deciding that delivery is broken.
For example, a customer uses the contact page on yourbusiness.ie and sees a thank-you message. That message shows what the page told them. It does not prove that your office received the enquiry.
Run a manual test on your own site
- Open the contact page in a private browser window. Use the public page, without an administrator login.
- Enter an email address you control and a clearly labelled message such as “Website form test, 6 October”. Use only the details needed to test the form.
- Submit once. Note the page address, time, browser, any error and whether a thank-you message appears.
- Check the intended inbox, spam folder and any shared mailbox rules. Allow for the delivery time your provider normally expects.
- If your form stores submissions, check its administration screen. Some systems do not save a copy; ask your provider rather than assuming the message is there.
- Repeat on a phone if the first test works. A form can behave differently on a small screen or with a different browser.
If the enquiry is saved but its notification is absent, you have evidence of a notification problem. If it is not saved, investigate the submission handler and its logs. Avoid repeatedly pressing send: it can create duplicate enquiries and make the trail harder to follow.
What to check when submission fails
Write down the exact error and whether the problem started after an update, hosting change or new anti-spam setting. Ask your website provider to check required fields, the submission destination and browser errors. Take a backup before changing plugins or settings; use a test copy when possible.
If a link to the contact page is broken, the form never gets a chance to work. Use the free broken-link checker and confirm important menu links yourself.
What to check when notification fails
Confirm the destination mailbox and the sending address in the form settings. These may differ from your website administrator address. Look for a rejected message in the sending service logs and check mailbox filtering before changing DNS records.
The SPF and DMARC checker reads public authentication records. A missing record deserves investigation, but a passing DNS check cannot confirm that the form uses the right sending service or that its messages reach an inbox. Review a received message or rejection with your email provider. Google explains its email authentication and sender requirements.
If the test works, investigate the customer journey
Check whether people reach the contact page, can read the form on a phone and understand what happens after they send it. An unusually long form, an unclear offer or low website traffic requires a different response from a delivery fault.
If people are not finding the site, start with indexing versus Google rankings. If you are considering rebuilding it, use the repair or redesign decision guide first.
Send your provider a useful fault report
Include the contact-page URL, test time, device, visible result, destination mailbox and whether a saved submission exists. Ask for evidence that the fix works: a test enquiry received in the correct place, not just a screenshot of the thank-you page.
Add an occasional manual test to your website maintenance checklist, especially after changes. The public health report can flag technical concerns, while end-to-end testing remains a separate job for you or your provider.