Google reCAPTCHA

reCAPTCHA v3 Setup

reCAPTCHA v3 is the version of reCAPTCHA we recommend for use on your forms as it requires no interaction from individuals filling out your forms. This typically means better form conversions compared to using reCAPTCHA v2.

Step 1: Register your website(s) with Google to receive your reCAPTCHA v3 Site Key and Secret Key

  • https://www.google.com/recaptcha/admin/create
  • Be sure to select Score Based (v3) under reCAPTCHA type
  • Under Domains, Google only allows live sites/domains to be registered. Sites hosted locally (e.g. through MAMP, WAMP, Local, and others) cannot be registered.
  • You will receive the Site Key and Secret Key on submission of the registration form

Step 2: Enter the Site Key and Secret Key in Ninja Forms

In your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Ninja Forms > Settings > reCAPTCHA Settings. Paste the Site Key and Secret Key received in Step 1 into the appropriate setting fields. Don’t forget to save your settings.

image showing the settings fields where reCAPTCHA v3 Site Key and Secret Key are entered in the Ninja Forms plugin

Step 3: Add the reCAPTCHA v3 action to any individual form

Open the form and navigate to the Emails and Actions tab, click Add new action, then click reCAPTCHA v3:

image of the Ninja Forms actions window with the reCAPTCHA v3 action inside.

Optional: adjust the Score Threshold of the reCAPTCHA v3 action

We do not recommend adjusting this setting unless reCAPTCHA has been running for a while and you are still receiving questionable submissions or experiencing rejection of valid submissions. Adjusting this setting without understanding how the Score Threshold is used in reCAPTCHA may result in valid submissions being rejected, or spam submissions getting through. Use at your own risk. An explanation of how this setting works can be found in Google’s Developer Documentation for reCAPTCHA v3 under Interpreting the score. The setting can be found in the Ninja Forms reCAPTCHA v3 action under the Advanced settings for that action.

image of the reCPATCHA v3 action in Ninja Forms with the Advanced settings for the action expanded to display the Score Threshold setting.

reCAPTCHA v2 Setup

While your website can have both v2 and v3 active at the same time, only one version of reCAPTCHA should be enabled on any one form at one time. We recommend v3 wherever possible due to it causing far less friction to the people you want to be submitting your form… which translates to higher form conversions 🙂

Step 1: Register your website(s) with Google to receive your reCAPTCHA v2 Site Key and Secret Key

  • https://www.google.com/recaptcha/admin/create
  • Be sure to select Score Based (v2) under reCAPTCHA type
    • Both “I’m not a robot” and “Invisible” methods are supported. Be sure to remember your choice as you will need to tell your new field which to use in Step 4.
  • Under Domains, Google only allows live sites/domains to be registered. Sites hosted locally (e.g. through MAMP, WAMP, Local, and others) cannot be registered.
  • You will receive the Site Key and Secret Key on submission of the registration form

Step 2: Enter the Site Key and Secret Key in Ninja Forms

In your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Ninja Forms > Settings > reCAPTCHA Settings. Paste the Site Key and Secret Key received in Step 1 into the appropriate setting fields. Don’t forget to save your settings.

image showing the settings fields where reCAPTCHA v2 Site Key and Secret Key are entered in the Ninja Forms plugin

Step 3: Add the reCAPTCHA v2 field to any individual form

Open any form and add the reCAPTCHA v2 field form the Add New Field window (opened via the little blue circle (+) in the bottom right hand corner).

image of both the reCPATCHA v2 field in the add new fields window and the reCAPTCHA v2 field placed on the form inside the form builderStep 4: Configure the field to use Visible or Invisible reCaptcha

In Step 1 while registering your site with Google, you chose to use either visible (“I’m not a robot”) or invisible reCAPTCHA type. Visible (“I’m not a robot”) reCAPTCHA type is the default when registering your site, so if you did not select one or the other, this is the one that will be used.

If using Visible, no action is required in this step.

If using Invisible, open your reCAPTCHA v2 field by clicking on it and see the Visibility setting. Toggle this to Invisible.

reCAPTCHA v2 field setting with the Visibility setting highlighted. You can Visible or Invisible from this dropdown.

 

reCAPTCHA Language (v2 Visible users only)

reCAPTCHA v3 users can ignore (leave blank) this setting.

reCAPTCHA v2 “Invisible”-only users can ignore (leave blank) this setting.

If you are using the reCAPTCHA v2 Visible field, the reCAPTCHA Language setting controls the language that the reCAPTCHA will be shown in. See the reCaptcha language documentation for the appropriate language code and enter it here. Don’t forget to save your settings.

reCAPTCHA Theme (v2 Visible users only)

reCAPTCHA v3 users can ignore (leave blank) this setting.

reCAPTCHA v2 “Invisible”-only users can ignore (leave blank) this setting.

If you are using the reCAPTCHA v2 Visible field, the reCAPTCHA Theme setting can be used to help your visible reCAPTCHA field better blend with the rest of the page if your theme lacks CSS that adjusts the display of reCAPTCHA fields.

Troubleshooting reCAPTCHA

If you have followed the steps in this document and reCAPTCHA is not displaying properly, Google offers a reCAPTCHA troubleshooting guide that may help. You are also always welcome to reach out to us for a hand any time!

Need some help?