Contact Form 7 plugin is currently the most used contact form plugin in WordPress. In fact when you search on the internet for procedures of creating a contact page for your blog, most blogs will ask you to download Contact Form 7. The plugin is absolute free and survives on donations but has a lot of great features. However, there have been a few misconceptions about WordPress not sending emails not knowing the problem lies within the plugin and it’s the contact form not sending emails.
From my own experience, Contact Form 7 WordPress plugin is not compatible with every theme or plugin out there. In some cases using it alongside certain themes or plugins will cause a JavaScript conflict which is the main reason behind the infinite spinning arrow when you are trying to send a message using the form. This is mainly because the Ajax script of the plugin is conflicting with either one of the scripts on your theme or another plugin causing it to stay rolling infinitely.
What you should also know is the infinite spinning arrow in Contact Form 7 issue also happens when post permalinks are changed from default to %postname%. Sometimes contact form 7 cannot send emails on a %postname% permalink structure. However, If the permalink structure is remains on Default then the form should just work fine.
Solving spinning arrow in Contact Form 7
Is contact form 7 not sending emails? Am going to show you two ways you can fix the infinite spinning arrow issue in Contact Form 7 plugin. I’ve tested all these methods and they have worked fine for me. Am sure they will help you solve the issue as well.
Method 1 – Change Permalink Structure to Default
This is usually the easiest fix and doesn’t require altering with any codes in the plugin. All you have to do is visit your website’s administration dashboard in WordPress (wp-admin), then go to Settings >> Permalinks and choose the default option box. This will restore your permalink structure to it’s defaults and make the Contact Form 7 to work just fine. However, this is not the best method since it’s a good practice to keep your permalink structure to %postname%. It’s very vital when it comes to SEO and besides, some WordPress SEO plugins like WordPress SEO by Yoast require the %postname% permalink structure to enable sitemap functionality on your blog. If you are having difficulties with the default permalink structure then i recommend you try out the alternative below.
Method 2 – Disable Ajax Load
This is actually the best option. All you have to do disable Ajax load from the plugin configuration file to disable the form from sending messages using JavaScript. Usually when JavaScript is enabled the page doesn’t refresh while sending messages but when disabled, the page will refresh. To disable the plugin from using JavaScript to send messages simply go to Plugins, Contact Form 7, click on edit and locate the wp-contact-form-7.php file then make the amendments below.
//Change define( 'WPCF7_LOAD_JS', true); //To define( 'WPCF7_LOAD_JS', false); //
Method 3 (Permanent Fix) – Disable Ajax from wp-config.php file
The second method works perfectly but you have to keep editing the wp-contact-form-7.php file after every update which can be irritating. Sometimes when you forget to make the changes, the same issue comes back. This might cost you a few customers.
So i had to think of a third permanent fix to the updates. Fact is you need the updates if you are to keep secure. I do not advise you to change your plugin version to disable updates. It is not advisable! Keep updating your plugins often.
This last method is a patch to the second but offers a permanent fix. It however, requires a lot of caution. I advise you first backup your wp-config.php file before committing any changes to it. If you do not know where to find the wp-config.php file on the server or how to edit it, you can read this definitive guide from wp-beginner.
Please note that if you have no technical knowledge about WordPress and PHP, i advise you contact your web host technical customer care to add the code for you otherwise, you risk a brick on your site. We are going to disable ajax by pasting the following code on your wp-config.php file.
// Begin Disable Ajax define( 'WPCF7_LOAD_JS', false); // End Disable Ajax
After pasting the above code in your wp-config.php file, check your site to ensure its running perfectly. If you see any error it means you did not paste the code properly. Restore the previous file and paste the code again.
If your site runs perfectly after pasting the code, try filling out a contact form on the site to confirm ajax has been disabled. It should reload the page and not show any spinning arrow. If the message sends successfully, consider it done. You can now update CF7 as many times as you want and use it without Ajax.
The three methods will usually solve the infinite spinning arrow issue in Contact Form 7 plugin. Is your WordPress Contact Form 7 plugin not sending emails still? if you disable Ajax and still face the same problem then it could be a problem with your theme or one of the installed plugins.
Have you encountered the same situation before? how did you solve the infinite spinning arrow Contact Form 7 plugin issue? share with us below. If this article has solved your issue feel free to share it with your friends.
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