Question Contact form e-mails I put on pages on this domain will not land in inbox

[etcbbu]

Here are five screenshot of the current Plesk settings we are currently using:

https://www.ktravisj.com/scrn1.png
https://www.ktravisj.com/scrn2.png
https://www.ktravisj.com/scrn3.png
https://www.ktravisj.com/scrn4.png
https://www.ktravisj.com/scrn5.png

(I used to run the website at this particular domain on a "Shared" server with our web-host. Every Contact form we had on our website used the phpmail function and always ended up in whatever e-mail box we ever configured it to just fine.)

But now, we've moved to a VPS, and we're using Plesk; and a couple of these Contact forms we're trying to use on various pages just simply don't seem to land in any mailbox that I try to configure for them to land, whenever a user logs onto the site and attempts to "Submit" these Contact forms.

I can tell from landing on a "Success" page after the user submits the Contact form that it *is* jumping off of my page ok.

But I am sort of at a loss as to why I cannot seem to get any mail to actually fall into any e-mail box to which I try to configure it.

I really just need some guidance on what may be some pretty basic, functioning Plesk stuff.

Someone told me something about they observed that I'm using "Postfix", but that I should give a try to something called "Sendmail" because it may work better? And that if I use that method, that I am supposed to set up some sort of mailbox from within my Plesk Admin Panel, and somehow designate *that one* as the one that will be the one used with this Contact form..?

I'm open to that idea, but the only thing is , I am not seeing an option to somehow change to "Sendmail" within my Plesk Admin Panel..? I tried using this link that says, "You can install and use another mail server", but then when I get there, and it seems to layout in an Expand/Collapse tree of various types of things I can enable/disable/install/uninstall, I am not seeing "Sendmail" listed *ANYWHERE* for me to use..? Is that something I have to ask my Host to make available to me, in some way, or something..?

 

[Ales]

The fact that you're using Posfix is fine. The advice about actually using Sendmail instead is misleading. Sendmail used to be a popular program decades ago, now its name mostly appears as a placeholder so that old scripts can continue to use the path to it (and the API, partially) if needed be.

I have checked the DNS settings for your domain (the one visible in the screenshots) and the MX record for it is pointing to an external mail server, not to the Plesk server your web page is on. So your actual mail server is elsewhere? If this is the case, the "Activate mail service on this domain" setting, as visible on your first screenshot, should be disabled.

Please tell us what is your web page using to send mail, is it a PHP mail function? Or a SMTP connection to a specific SMTP server?

In any case, you'll have far less problems if you can configure your web page to use the latter, a connection to a SMTP server. If you happen to be using Wordpress, I recommend something like Post SMTP.

 

[Bitpalast]

As always @Ales description and solution is perfect. The only think I'd like to add as clarification is that your mails from the contact form are delivered locally, because the server thinks that he is responsible for deliverying mail to the domain. For that reason you won't find it in your "real" inbox (at your external server). For that Reason Ales has recommend to disable the local mail service, because then the mail won't be delivered locally but mailed out to the Internet to reach your real mail server.

 

[etcbbu]

@Ales and @Peter Debik

Thank you for the answers. The ktravisj.com is actually *not* the domain/web-space about which my questions are, with this particular question. I know, conclusively, the e-mail inboxes that are in-use on this Domain/Web-Space/Host account about which I have this question and created this Thread/Topic are actually still being handled on a "Shared" thing with the web-host, as we sort of "left all of the e-mail functioning as-is" whenever we moved the primary website to being held on the VPS/Plesk. Would it be possible for me to private-message you that domain URL, and then perhaps you post again, here, to let me know what you discover? I am truly sorry to ask such a roundabout way, but I'd just rather not share this particular URL in a public setting, if that makes sense..?

 

[Ales]

The domain I did check for is b.......nnel.com, that is the domain visible in the actual screenshot. I assume that is the correct one..?

 

[etcbbu]

@Ales - Ok, that one is correct, thank you.

So, at the moment:

- definitely *not* using WordPress for these pages I'm creating, that have these Contact forms I'm trying to get working

- at the *moment*, it's using automatic "php mail" function, I believe; here's a screenshot of what my builder/chooser looks like:
https://www.ktravisj.com/current.png

- I have the ability to set it working as SMTP, here's what is made available to me in my chooser:
https://www.ktravisj.com/able.png

And so you're recommending I go the SMTP route? I am fairly certain I can ask our Web-Host what the best things to fill in, there, would be, since, as I said, our e-mail boxes are still used on an old "Shared" server rather than being included here in our VPS/Plesk.

That's what you're saying you would recommend I do?

If so, let me ask this--

So, while I am trying to get all of this back-end work done, such that I can get these Contact forms functioning correctly before I take it live to our live website, I'm working on a live .php page, but it's sort of a sandbox page that is not a part of the actual site. So, ultimately and eventually, we want the e-mails to land in an e-mail box that is part of this domain like the one you checked, which is OUR domain, and it's the same .com of our mailboxes where we *do* want mail to land, from Contact form(s), etc. *BUT*, in the meantime, while I am just troubleshooting and rapid-application-developing, here on this sandbox .php page, to try to make it all work right--if I go this SMTP route where I set the Contact form to utilize SMTP to function, is it possible to set the "To" address where these e-mails will land to be in another .com domain--just, a completely OTHER location, for these filled-out e-mails to land? I'd like to use my own personal .com mailbox while I am, here, trying to get all of this working in the back-end, and then ultimately get to where I get e-mails that fly out as a result of these Contact forms on our website, to land in our same mailboxes that are on our same .com domain. Does that change anything? Or, when I utilize the SMTP method, like you're saying, it is of no consequence about the "To" address where they will land, at all..? Like, doesn't matter whether it's on our same local .com domain or not..?

 

[mow]

The SMTP route has the advantage of working with a remote and local mailserver, as long as your DNS entries are correct.
You can have it deliver to any valid address, but you should then match the SMTP data to the mailserver that belongs to that address (the same host/port/user/pass you use when you want to send mail from that address, usually the same user/pass as used for fetching mail); if you use any other mailserver, messages might get delayed, filtered to spam folder or even lost.

 

[Ales]

@etcbbu, since your software enables you to use SMTP easily, I would recommend using it.

The "to:" address can be set to any valid e-mail address. The "from:" address must also be correctly set - e.g. if you end up using a SMTP address of [email protected] to send the messages out, do set the "from:" address to [email protected]. Use a "reply-to:" field to direct the replies to a proper address, if receiving replies to a "from:" address is not desirable.

 

[etcbbu]

This seems to be working like a charm, thank y'all for the help *SO FAR*.

Another issue has now popped-up, and I am desperately in need of assistance, again:

The form started working well. So well that spambots started filling it out and submitting it...a LOT. So I added a CAPTCHA. Now the form delivers me to my "Error" page and will not submit, anymore.

It has to do with the CAPTCHA I added. My desktop-publishing software with which I use to build the pages of this website has stated that

"Usually problems with CAPTCHA are related to issues with PHP sessions on the server.
You will need to contact the webhost and ask them to reset/ clear PHP sessions."

and

"I think it's related to the PHP sessions not working on the server."

and

"session_destroy() will destroy the session so I am not sure why you want to use this."

and my web-server technicians keep telling me "contact the web-designer/developer, sounds like a coding issue". So I don't know--is there anyone who can help me and point me in the direction within my Plesk dashboard of a way to accomplish clearing session cache to try to help make this form deliver..?

 

[etcbbu]

Sorry to double-post; but as a piggy-back onto my previous post, these are what my web-server technicians tell me:

"I think you can edit where sessions are stored by editing the website's php.ini file.

I am not really sure how to reset or clear those, I am afraid.

As the VPS is as self-managed service, I can only make general checks if everything is ok with the system.

I have checked and there are no resource issues with the server - you have plenty of free Disk space, RAM and CPU.

Coding and other design-related issues should be checked by a professional programmer."