The recipient’s email provider/service (Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Outlook.com) usually decides whether an incoming email is placed in the Spam/Junk folder. Some email clients/apps (Microsoft Outlook, Apple Mail, Mozilla Thunderbird, Gmail app) may also apply additional filtering rules. Spam filtering is usually based on factors such as the sender’s reputation, suspicious content, email authentication, and the recipient’s own spam settings or previous actions.
- If you receive many spam emails, we could obfuscate your visible email address and we could add some protection to your contact form, but even then spammers could still find your email address and send spam. Spammers can reach your email in two main ways:
- Directly: If your email address is exposed or visible on the website, automated bots may be able to collect it and use it to send spam >>> We could use something like “click here for email” and obfuscate the visible email address, but this is not a guarantee that you will stop receiving spam, especially if your email address has already been collected or is available elsewhere online.
- From the contact form: Although we can add some basic protection, such as a simple question like “What is 3 + 4?”, this can still be bypassed by more advanced bots or by someone completing the form manually >>> We could add stronger protection to your contact form, such as CAPTCHA or other anti-spam measures.
- You can also try adding some rules or filters to your email provider/service or email client/app to automatically send certain unwanted emails to the Spam/Junk folder.
- If your email is hosted by your hosting provider, you may also find spam filtering or a spam threshold setting in the hosting control panel. This can sometimes be adjusted, although it is best to monitor it closely and keep an eye on the Junk folder to make sure that genuine emails are not being incorrectly filtered. You can then adjust the level until you find the setting that is most suitable.
- Email authentication: If the issue is that legitimate emails generated and sent by the website are being placed in Spam/Junk, the domain’s email authentication should also be checked. Correct SPF, DKIM and DMARC records help receiving email providers verify that messages are genuinely being sent on behalf of the domain.
These measures can help reduce spam, but unfortunately it is not possible to guarantee that all spam will be prevented.
> Related article: Email Address Exposure and Link Text Best Practices