Organizing Your Inbox: Never Miss a Website Lead
Adding a custom contact form to your website is a professional way to gather specific data from potential clients. However, even the best custom email accounts can sometimes misinterpret automated notifications, sending your valuable leads directly to the spam folder.
To ensure you never miss an inquiry, we recommend setting up a simple email filter. This tells your inbox exactly how to handle mail originating from your website.
How to Create a Gmail Filter for Your Website Forms
Since many of our clients use Gmail to manage their business correspondence, here is a quick guide to white-listing your website notifications:
- Identify the Subject Line: Open a notification email from your website (it usually says something like “New mail from your website”). Copy that subject line exactly.
- Open Settings: Click the Gear Icon in the top right of Gmail and select “See all settings.”
- Create Filter: Navigate to the “Filters and Blocked Addresses” tab and click “Create a new filter.”
- Enter Criteria: Paste the subject line into the “Subject” field and click “Create filter.”
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Set Actions: In the next window, check the boxes for:
- Never send it to Spam
- Always mark it as important
- Categorize as: Primary
Managing Other Email Platforms
If you aren’t using Gmail, most professional email software offers similar “Rules” or “Filters”:
- Microsoft Outlook/Office 365: Use Inbox Rules to direct messages.
- Yahoo Mail: Utilize Filter Options to organize incoming leads.
Pro Tip: Part of your routine website maintenance should include testing your contact form. Important Note: When testing, use an alternate email address. Many servers will block a form if the “sender” email and the “recipient” email are exactly the same!
Once your filters are set, you can also set up an email alias in Gmail so you can reply to leads using your professional branded address.
