# Set up the contact form in the classic editor

_Category: Classic template editor_

Give readers who can't find an answer a way to reach your team. The contact form gets its own page on your help center, with a **Contact Us** button in the header, and every message goes to the email address you choose.

**Who can do this:** Owners and Admins · **Plans:** All plans

## Turn on the contact form

1. In the left menu, click **Template editor**, then click **General**.
2. In **Contacts Email**, enter the address that should receive messages.
3. Click the arrow next to **General** to go back, then click **Contacts**. This group appears once **Contacts Email** is filled in.
4. Turn on **Enable contacts form:**.
5. Check the settings below, then click **Publish**.

![Screen recording. In General, enter your Contacts Email. Go back, then open Contacts. Turn on Enable contacts form. Your form is ready to publish.](https://helpcenter-io.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/self/x7NieQOfLZVd3VjLtdJAdjcLqRPlmhbVqMN2vDuz.gif)
The Contacts group appears once you add a Contacts Email.

Your changes save to a draft automatically, and readers see them after you click **Publish**. See [Save, preview and publish in the classic editor](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/classic-editor-publish).

## Where readers find the form

- **The contact page** at `/contacts` on your help center's address.
- **The Contact Us button** in the header menu, which opens that page. **Show "Contact Us" button in the header** controls it. Until you change that switch, it reads off even though the button shows, so to hide the button, turn the switch on and then off again.
- **The Contacts Section** you can add to your home page, category pages and article pages. Its **Ask Us** button opens an email to your Contacts Email rather than the form. You can link to `/contacts` in its text instead. See [Arrange your home page in the classic editor](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/classic-editor-home-page).

## Set the texts and the confirmation email

| Setting | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Header contact us button text** | The button's label. Until you change it, it reads "Contact Us". |
| **Heading** | The heading of the contact page. Until you change it, it reads "Submit a request". |
| **Send confirmation email to users** | Emails each person who sends the form to confirm you received their message. When they reply to it, the reply goes to your Contacts Email. |
| **Confirmation email subject** and **Confirmation email text** | The subject and message of that email. `{companyName}` inserts your brand name, and in the text, `{name}` inserts the person's name. A subject that contains a web address or an email address is replaced with the standard one, "[your brand name Support] Thanks for your support request". |
| **Success message on submit** | What readers see after they send the form. |

## Choose the form's fields

Under **Form Settings**, each field has a card. Click the arrow at the top of a card to open or close it, and drag cards to change the order.

- **Label**, **Placeholder** and **Help Text** set what the field says. Select and attachment fields have no placeholder.
- **Request Type** and other select fields have a list of options. Click **Add**, type the option and click **Save**. Double-click an option to edit it, or click its x to remove it. **Enumerate options:** numbers the options.
- **Remove** deletes a field. The Email field can't be removed.
- **Add new field** adds a field: pick **Name**, **Email**, **Phone**, **Description**, **Request Type**, **Short Text**, **Long Text**, **Select** or **Attachment** and click **Add**. Name, Email, Phone, Description and Request Type can each be on the form once.

**If Form Settings shows no field cards**, your form uses the standard fields: Name, Email, Phone, Request Type and Description. Adding a field now replaces all of them with only the field you add. To edit the standard fields instead, type a **Heading** in the **Contacts** group first, wait for **Auto-saved**, then reload the page: the five standard fields appear as cards. Turning on **Enable contacts form:** alone doesn't bring them.

## What readers can send

- **Email**, **Request Type** and **Description** are required when they're on the form. Your other fields are optional.
- The form is protected by Google reCAPTCHA against spam.
- An attachment can be up to 10 MB.
- Every message goes to your **Contacts Email**. The form has one recipient.

In the new template editor, the contact form is a component you can set up on any page. See [Move your help center to the new template editor](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/move-to-the-new-template-editor).

## Troubleshooting

**There's no Contacts group.** Fill in **Contacts Email** under **General**.

**The contact page or the Contact Us button is missing.** The form needs both a **Contacts Email** and **Enable contacts form:** turned on, and you need to publish. If the button alone is missing, check **Show "Contact Us" button in the header**.

**Messages don't arrive.** Check the address in **Contacts Email** and your spam folder. Messages come from no-reply@helpcenter.io. See [I'm not getting emails from HelpCenter.io](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/not-getting-emails).

## Related articles

- [Arrange your home page in the classic editor](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/classic-editor-home-page)
- [Customize the header, search and menu in the classic editor](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/classic-editor-header)
- [The contact form or "Ask us" button is missing](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/contact-form-missing)
- [Save, preview and publish in the classic editor](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/classic-editor-publish)