Understand reCAPTCHA:

Creating forms on your website allows visitors to your website to send you a message. Forms added to your website can be accessed by humans and non-human "bots". The non-human programs that automatically fill out forms and submit them to create spam messages. You can eliminate most of the spam by adding “reCAPTCHA” to your website. reCAPTCHA will verify the submission process is done by a human and not an automated process. reCAPTCHA does a great job of eliminating most of these unwanted submissions.

You can choose to integrate reCAPTCHA on your forms to help prevent spam submissions. It is easy to sign up for a free account, and the steps are simple to complete. When you have completed the integration with ReCaptcha, all of your public forms will contain the spam prevention check at the end of the form.

Note: reCAPTCHA is optional - BUT there are significant advantages to setting it up. . . 

If you choose to integrate reCAPTCHA on your website, you will get email containing the message from the form. You can then reply to the email.

If you opt NOT to integrate reCAPTCHA, you will receive an emailed notice that a form submission has been made. You will then need to go to forms and view the messages online. If you wish to respond, you will need to copy and paste the email address into your email processor as the Forms responses list is only a list. You cannot respond directly from the list.

Setup reCAPTCHA:

From the dark gray admin bar on the left side of your website, click Settings > Integrations you can scroll down and see the reCAPTCHA area. Here you will see the fields that will hold your reCAPTCHA keys.

You can apply for a set of "keys" to integrate reCAPTCHA into your website: 
https://www.google.com/recaptcha/admin/create

Note: You will need a google email account so if you don't already have one, pause and go create one at:
https://support.google.com/mail/answer/56256?hl=en

1. On the reCAPTCHA site, click the "Admin Console" link at the top right of the screen.
2. Give your account a label. The name of your website works well. Note: because it is possible - though not probable - to set up multiple websites on the same account it is important to distinguish them from each other. 
3. We have Select the option: reCAPTCHA v3.
4. Domains: you will want to add all the domain names that are associated with your website. If you are not sure what domain names are associated with your website, you can go to your website, Settings, Domains and Email - there is a list of all associated domain names there.
   
   Note: a domain name does not use http or www 
   
   example correct domain name: simpleupdates.com
   incorrect example domain name: www.simpleupdates.com
   incorrect example domain name: https://simpleupdates.com
   Note, be sure to use YOUR PRIMARY domain name when you set up your reCAPTCHA codes.
5. Optional: If you'd like to add owners to this Label, add their email addresses.
6. Accept the reCAPTCHA Terms of service
7. Indicate whether or not you (and any other owners you've added) would like to get alerts.
8. Submit the form.
   On screen you will see two alphanumeric keys - a Site Key and a Secret Key.
9. Copy and Paste these keys into the fields also named 'Site Key' and 'Secret Key' on the integrations page of your website.
10. Save the integrations page. (you may have to scroll down to see the save button on the bottom left.

When you have added these keys and saved the page all the forms your website has now and will create in the future, will be automatically protected with reCAPTCHA.

reCAPTCHA will stop the automated (non-human) filling out of your forms which is the most common reason for receiving email with content not relating to your website. If a spam message does make it through, perhaps their message did not look to reCAPTCHA to be spam, or perhaps was filled out by a person paid to send spam as advertising messages. Spam blockers do not stop real people submitting your form.