RSContact is a free Russian-language contact form for Joomla with customizable fields, emails and spam protection. The form is very simple in terms of customization, responsive and quite well integrates with different templates. You can create a form with at least one “E-mail” field and a submit button. And you can include about 18 more fields of different types. It is possible to display the consent checkbox for the processing of personal data in accordance with the GDPR and 152 FZ. If you have already configured mail in the general Joomla settings and some kind of "general" captcha plugin is activated, then you do not need to bother with sending letters and protecting against spam. Naturally, an extension like RSForm cannot be replaced with RSContact. But to quickly create a feedback form, it will be more than enough.

General information

Let's consider the main, in my opinion, the capabilities and features of RSContact.

• Support for Joomla 3.2 and newer versions.
• Responsive design (Bootstrap).
• Ability to create forms consisting of 1-18 pre-configured fields (of different types) (figure below). There are three fields that you can customize. For example, create a drop-down list with the options you need to choose from.
• Field labels can be inside or outside the fields.
• The presence of a field for giving consent to the processing of the user's personal data.
• The ability to make fields required or optional. You can change the symbol of a required field.
• The presence of options for editing letters coming to administrators. With the ability to insert placeholders and design letters (text layout).
• The ability to send letters to one or several administrators.
• It is possible to insert your own CSS and Javascript code to change the appearance of the form and change its functionality.
• Possibility to insert additional information above or below the form.
• The ability to create horizontal and vertical shapes.
• The ability to edit the message that will be shown to the user after submitting the form.
• Spam protection with Joomla captcha plugins.
• Simple setup.
• Ability to disable jQuery loading for a form. This can improve compatibility with other extensions.
• There is translation into Russian, English, German and other languages.
• Availability of documentation (in English).

Joomla Feedback Module settings are divided into 7 tabs. On tabs Module, Binding to menu items and Rights collected options "familiar" for all Joomla modules. In the tab Extra options everything except option Load jQuery, is also similar to other modules. The option itself Load jQuery allows you to enable / disable the loading of the jQuery library, which is needed for the normal functioning of the feedback module. If this library is loaded by other extensions or you have a conflict on the site, then try disabling this option.

Fields

This tab (picture below) contains options to enable or disable different fields of the feedback form. All available fields are shown in the form in the picture above. Most of the fields have these "display options":

Required. The field will be shown at the front of the site. To submit the form, the user will be required to fill it out. A special marker specified on the tab will be displayed next to the field signature in field .

Yes. The field will be shown at the front of the site. The user does not need to fill it out.

No. The field will not be shown on the front of the site.

You can disable all fields except the field E- mail... It is required to fill in.

Basically, all fields are regular text fields or text areas. Consider only those that are different.

Type Name. It is possible to display the username field on one line ( Name) or two ( Last name and first name).

Type of the Subject field. This field can be one of the following types: then in the field Predefined themes you can enter options, one per line, that users can select from the front of the site. The image below shows an example of a subject type field Drop-down list... By setting the topics, you can, for example, configure the rules for processing letters (filters) in the mail and, having received a letter with a particular subject, redirect it to the desired recipient automatically. You can read more about how this can be done for Yandex, Mail.ru and Gmail in their help. Plus, it can be done for other mail services and mail clients, for example, for Thunderbird.

The length of the message. Limit on the number of characters in a field Message.

Joomla! Captcha. Captcha activation for spam protection. To do this, you need to have configured and enabled any plugin of the "captcha" type in the plugin manager. Also check option settings CAPTCHA (default) v System - General Settings.

Send a copy. You can configure the ability to send a copy of the letter to the user by mail. The following options are available: Let the user decide- a special checkbox will be displayed in the Joomla feedback form (picture below), by checking which, the user will receive a copy of the letter to his mail; Yes- in the feedback form, the checkbox will not be shown, but a copy of the letter will be sent to the user by mail; No- in the feedback form, the checkbox will not be shown and a copy of the letter will not be sent to the user's mail.

Show the checkbox for consent to the processing of personal data. Activates the checkbox output (figure below) to obtain consent from the user to process his personal data in accordance with the GDPR and 152 FZ.

In the feedback form on Joomla, you can create up to 3 custom fields of different types: Text box, Text area, Drop-down list, Radio button, Checkbox... If you have chosen one of these types: Drop-down list, Radio button, Checkbox then in the field Predefined themes you can enter options, one per line, that users can select from the front of the site. Text Box, Text Area and Drop-down list discussed in the figures above in the article, and the figure below shows an example of a custom field type Radio button(at the top of the figure) and Checkbox(at the bottom of the figure).

Also worth noting is the field Region... By default, it contains the names of the US states. To change this, open the file "modules / mod_rscontact / helper.php" and about line 33, after "static $ states = array", the list of scopes begins. Change it as needed. You can add and remove areas.

Here are the settings that allow you to configure the Joomla feedback form itself (picture below).

Form header. Form footer. You can add content above and / or below the form using a visual text editor. You can insert an image, a table, and so on into it. Unfortunately, plugins are not processed in it. Therefore, you will not be able to insert a video using, for example, AllVideos.

Customizable CSS. You can add CSS styling to change the appearance of the form. But it is better to do this with a stylesheet. In my example, I added the line:

# mod-rscontact-counter-231 (display: none;)

It hides the display of the field with the counter of the remaining number of characters (figure below).

Customizable JavaScript. You can enter your own Javascript code, without the "script" tag, which will be loaded with the form.

Mandatory field marker... Will be displayed next to the field caption when the field is required to be filled.

Signature position... You can place field labels inside or above fields (figure below).

The figure below shows a feedback form with captions above the fields, a hidden counter of the remaining characters, and captions above and below the form itself.

Horizontal shape... Lets you apply styles that are more suitable for creating a horizontal shape. Moreover, for the option Signature position you need to choose an option Outside.

Automatic margin width... This option affects the margin setting.

Thank you message... Here you can specify the message that will be shown after submitting the form. You can apply formatting and add pictures.

This tab (figure below) contains options that will allow you to customize letters sent to the administrator and user. The settings work the same for both admins and users.

In options Recipient (administrator e-mail), Cc, Bcc You will be able to specify the recipients of the letters. At a minimum, you need to specify an e-mail in the field Recipient (administrator e-mail)... You can specify multiple addresses, separating them with a comma or semicolon.

In field Theme You fill in the subject line. Placeholders can be used. Placeholders are special tags that will be substituted for certain data. The list of available placeholders is listed below the email content entry field. In the Content box, you can enter the text of the letter using placeholders. The picture above shows the settings for the content of the letter. And this is what the letter itself looks like (picture below). As you can see, all tags have been replaced with data from the form that the user specified, and data that the form could pull from other sources (date, IP address, site name).

Option Use Reply to sender will make it so that by pressing the button To answer in the mail interface, when viewing a letter received by the administrator, the e-mail address of the sender of the form will be automatically added to the address of the recipient of the letter. The recipient's address can be redefined by specifying it in the settings To answer.

If the letters are not sent, then try these solutions to the problem.

1. Disable the cache. Alternatively, you can use a third-party cache component such as JotCache to exclude the RSContact module from caching.
2. Check your mail settings in System - General Settings - Server - Mail Settings... Try different sending methods. Contact your hosting provider to clarify the mail configuration on your server.

As you can see, this Joomla feedback form is very functional and easy to configure. I hope this overview will help you in choosing a suitable extension and subsequent configuration of the RSContact module. In the next article “DJ-EasyContact Review. Contact Form Module in Joomla ”we will consider another similar free extension.

Business communication is its own world with its own laws. A lot depends on how we comply with these laws: the impression we make on colleagues and partners, work productivity, and even career advancement.

A special place in business communication is occupied by business correspondence, which is the daily duty of most office workers and not only. The ability to conduct business correspondence correctly can be a good help for concluding profitable deals and shaping your business image.

Let's take a look at some of the features of a business letter. So, business correspondence is:

• use of template phrases and clichés
• emotional neutrality,
• semantic accuracy and brevity of presentation,
• well-built argumentation.

Business correspondence in English is the same set of rules and clichés, some of which we recommend to use for everyone who works with foreign partners or in international companies. We bring to your attention several useful phrases that will brighten up your business correspondence. These phrases will emphasize your professionalism and help shape the image of a business person. Start? M!

1.Please find attached

Let's start with the classics. It is often necessary to attach various documents or other files to a letter. In order to notify the recipient about the presence of an attachment, this phrase is perfect. After all, the word "Attachment" in translation means "attachment". The phrase should be used at the end of the letter.

Here are a couple of examples of use:

• Please find attached my portfolio.
• Please find attached copy of the agreement / contract.

2.I have forwarded

This phrase can be used if you need to forward the letter to other recipients. To notify the addressee of this, the phrase "I have forwarded" is perfect. For example:

• I have forwarded Anna's CV to you.
• I have forwarded John's email to you.

3.I’ve cc’ed

A person who is not familiar with all the secrets of the peculiarities of business correspondence may not understand what this strange abbreviation means. But we are professionals. “I’ve cc’ed” is an abbreviation that stands for I have carbon copied. The phrase means "put someone in a copy to receive letters."

So if you need to inform someone that you have put other recipients in the copy, feel free to use this phrase. For example:

• I’ve cc’ed Sara on this email.
• I’ve cc’ed Jack and Jimmy on these emails.

As for abbreviations that cannot be used in business correspondence, an exception is usually made for this case.

4.For further details

This phrase is a proven way to politely end your letter in English. “For further details” means “for more details”, “for more details”. Examples of using:

• For further details contact me any time.
• For further details write to our Sales-manager.

Another phrase to help you finish politely is "If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me." Translated, this means "If you have any questions, feel free to write to me."

5.I look forward to

The phrase "look forward" means "look forward." So if you are impatiently awaiting a response or some other action from the addressee, then it will be quite appropriate to use this phrase. For example:

• I look forward to your answer.
• I'm looking forward to your reply.

The phrase is best used at the end of the letter.

When writing a letter, you need to be polite even when you don't really feel like it. The ability to write competent letters in any situation reflects your professionalism, good manners and knowledge of business ethics. In conclusion, we remind you that in business correspondence you must show the accuracy of the wording and impeccable literacy. It is also unacceptable to use abbreviations (with rare exceptions).

Write emails in English correctly, dear friends! Good luck!

Good day, friends! Today another article dedicated to CMS Joomla, or rather not the engine itself, but the creation of contacts with a feedback form. A feature of the Joomla feedback form is that all the tools necessary for its creation are at the webmaster's hand, and there is no need to download and install additional extensions. The CMS is equipped with a built-in "Contacts" component, as well as an anti-spam plugin "reCAPTCHA".

Conventionally, the implementation of the set idea can be divided into several stages, namely:

Create and configure a contact.

Organization of the page output, which will contain all the necessary feedback information.

Enabling, configuring and adding captcha.

Why do I need a feedback form

The feedback form is the connecting element of the site, thanks to which users and the owner of the web project can keep in touch. It is in the feedback form that especially important information (mobile number, e-mail) is indicated, which allows the user to send his suggestions and wishes to the owner or order a product.

Joomla Feedback Form represents empty fields required for the visitor to enter specific data (his name, e-mail address, subject line), after filling in, it is necessary to activate sending by clicking the special button "Send".

For the greater convenience of visitors, it is recommended to place the feedback form in a visible place (most often this is the header of the site). And since we organize its output using the created menu item, it will be displayed on all pages at the location of the horizontal menu.

What information is it desirable to leave to the site owner?

Mobile number (commercial web projects, online stores).

Address (commercial web projects, online stores).

Opening hours, delivery method and possible payment methods (commercial web projects, online stores).

E-mail, Skype, etc. (blogs, business card sites, one-pages, commercial web projects, online stores).

Joomla contacts

After these steps, you will be presented with a page similar to the one below, only with empty fields. " Edit contact"- one of three tabs in which you need to make some settings.

Name - you can specify any name you like, it will still be hidden from the eyes of users.

Alias ​​- the field is filled in automatically, that is, we leave it blank.

The linked user is the name that will be displayed when commenting. You can specify your nickname or leave the default name assigned by the system "Super Users".

Image - provides the ability to select an image that will be linked to this contact.

Position - allows you to set the position of the employee to which the contacts will be linked.

E-mail - is responsible for displaying the email address of the contact person.

With the rest of the fields, you will figure it out anyway, you can specify the address, postal code, mobile and landline phone number, fax, etc. in them.

In the right area of ​​the screen (sidebar), select Status / Published, Category / Uncategorised, Favorites / None.

« Additional Information"- a tab with a text editor, in which it is recommended to write a short greeting.

You can use my greeting as a template by following the link.

« Configuring content display»- is responsible for displaying the feedback form.

Show feedback form - "Show".

Send a copy to the sender of the letter - depending on your choice, allows you to hide or show the sender a copy of his own letter.

Creating a Joomla menu item for displaying contacts and feedback forms

The next step is to go to the Menu / Main Menu / Create menu item.

On the opened menu page, assign a title. So we write "Contacts".

Menu item type - press the blue "Select" button, then on the page that opens, select Contacts / Contact.

Selecting a contact - this is where we need to bind the previously created contact to the menu item. Click "Select" and click on the corresponding contact.

After making the necessary adjustments, click the "Save" button. As a result, a new "Contacts" menu button will appear on your site, by clicking on which the user can find a feedback form and easily contact you.

This could have ended, if not for one thing, but! A bunch of useless letters that spam bots will flood your email address with.

Protecting Joomla from spam by configuring the built-in reCAPTCHA plugin

What are CAPTCHAs? This is a protection tool that allows you to effectively fight against automatic registration and sending of letters. This is a special form in which an Internet user undertakes to perform a certain action (enter characters, answer a well-known question, or add an image from parts).

CMS Joomla acquired built-in captcha starting from version 2.5, before that you had to be content with third-party extensions. Despite the fact that Joomla uses reCAPTCHA, we will try to set up a more modern and, in my opinion, convenient version. This is how it will look after completing all the settings.

First, let's enable the plugin by heading to Extensions / Plugin Manager. For a more convenient and quick search, I recommend registering in the search bar - captcha and clicking the icon responsible for the search. As a result, you will see a similar window. Click on the cross next to the "Status" item, thereby launching the plugin and clicking on the phrase - CAPTCHA - reCAPTCHA.

It's time to get the "Public Key" as well as the "Private Key".

To get the keys you need follow the link... This is one of the many services owned by Google. You must have your own account. You can easily log in by entering your details that you previously used to add an RSS feed to the Feedburner service or by installing the Google Adsense code on Joomla.

Using the form that opens, you need to register the site.

Title - assign a title (let's say the name of the main page).

Select the type of reCAPTCHA - allows you to select the type of captcha - reCAPTCHA V2 - a standard form, for which you need to check the box next to the phrase "I am not a robot"; Invisible reCAPTCHA - checking users in the background.

We put a tick next to the sentences "Accept the terms of use of reCAPTCHA" and "Send notifications to owners", and then click the "Register" button.

Well, our keys are ready. There is nothing left. Copy the value of the "Secret Key" field into the "Private Key" field in the standard reCAPTCHA plugin, and the "Key" field into the "Public Key" field.

After receiving and entering the keys, you can choose the "Style" that is most suitable for your site, as well as the "Size". Now you need to click "Save and close", then go along the path System / General settings / CAPTCHA (by default) and select the only value provided by the system "CAPTCHA - reCAPTCHA". Click "Save" again and check the performance of the captcha by going to the Joomla feedback form.

As you can see, everything works. If you have any difficulties, let's solve them together in the comments.

Thank you for your attention and see you soon on the pages of Stimylrosta.

Found a grammatical error in the text? Please inform the administrator about this: select the text and press the hotkey combination Ctrl + Enter

The article will focus not on the technology for creating the form code, but on the development of the logic of its interaction with the site visitor, increasing the number of their active actions.

It is rare to find a site that does not. But how often do site visitors submit something through this site owner form? Let's be honest - very, very rare. And why? The correct answer is that these forms do not correspond to the user's idea of ​​communication.

How to make the feedback form user-friendly

It just so happened that many site owners leave the construction of logic at the mercy of the site developers. As a result, these forms look something like this:

If you do not approach it too critically, then everything looks pretty good. The visitor can fill out the form and send his message to his owners. Moreover (about happiness :)), he can even send a copy of such a message to himself personally.

But let's put ourselves in the shoes of the visitor. Moreover - let us force ourselves to remember when was the last time we filled out such a form ourselves? Don't you remember? Why do you think other visitors are doing much more often?

Why do we separately ask the visitor for the subject of the message and the text of the message? He just wants to ask a short question. We expect a phone number from the visitor, but how should he guess about it?

How should the feedback form on the site look like?

Minimalism, minimalism, minimalism - this is the main motto for. The site visitor who has just visited it, for the most part refers to the so-called "cold contacts". He does not yet have any level of trust in either the site or its owner. Therefore, he is ready to fill in, write, fill in anything only "under the threat of execution."

That is why the feedback form itself should be designed in such a way that it would convince the visitor that you really want to communicate with him. He needs to believe that you are ready to help solve his problem. That is why the feedback form must meet the following conditions:

1. The feedback form should be located in a good viewable place on the site and on most pages that visitors can visit
2. Use the minimum required fields to start a dialogue with your website visitor.
3. Do not torment the visitor with all sorts of captchas and other complex verification methods.

On the left of the image is an example of a feedback form that was designed for the sidebar of the site. The form is geared towards customers who prefer to communicate by phone, so only name and phone are required fields.

User verification is also very simple - he just needs to check that he is not a robot. In fact, the internal algorithm for verifying that the requestor is not a robot is much more complicated. It also tracks the receipt of focus in various fields when filling out, keystrokes when entering additional information, the passage of the mouse over the checkbox. But for the visitor, everything looks very simple - he only has to put a mark that he is not a robot, and that's it.

There is no need to highlight the entire shape with a special design or bright graphic elements. This will distract the visitor from the main information on the page. But at the same time, the visitor should be able to notice it even with a cursory glance. To do this, simply highlight the form header and the submit button. In our case, this is done by the increased font size of the inscription "Request a call" and the blue color of the "Send" button.

Should the feedback form send a copy of the message to the sender's e-mail

This is a controversial issue and there is no definite answer to it. If there is no special need to send a copy of the message, then there is no need to send it. This will save you and your site from spammers.

The fact is that spammers very often use such forms to send their advertising messages. To do this, they simply enter in the e-mail field not their mailbox, but those to whom they are going to send.

What other fields should there be on the feedback form?

The more complex the form, the less often site visitors fill it out.

The answer is very short: there should be no more fields. This is a form of feedback, not a form of verification of admission to the Pentagon's secret vault. Therefore, there is no need to force the visitor with additional fields. Remember: the more complex the form, the less often site visitors fill it out.

But this does not mean that you cannot create hidden information fields that collect additional information for you. Hidden fields in the Page Title or Page URL form are very useful. In this case, when you receive a request, you will immediately understand from which page it was sent. Information about the visitor's IP address is also useful, if it belongs to a fixed network, then you can understand from which region your visitor is.

We can also recommend not just sending the data of the feedback form to you by mail, but also saving them in a separate table. After a year, you will collect very interesting statistics for you and your business. After a simple analysis, you can see in which time periods most often visitors sent their requests, both periods of the year and time periods of the day. These statistics will be very useful for building the optimal timing of advertising campaigns.