Contact messages

Everything sent through your storefront's contact form, split across two tabs so you can see at a glance whether anyone is waiting. The count also rides on the Messages link in the sidebar.

Working the inbox

The box above the list filters it by sender, subject or message as you type.

View & reply opens the whole message with a box to answer it in. Sending emails the customer and moves the message to Replied, so you never have to leave this screen. Mark handled does the same move without sending anything, for a message you dealt with some other way. Delete removes it for good.

The address your replies come from

Under Settings you choose the part before the @. Replies go out from that address at your own domain if you have one connected, otherwise at your yourshop.setupshop.online address. It starts as noreply. If the customer hits reply it still reaches the email address on your shop settings, so nothing lands in a dead box.

You are emailed as well

Every message that gets through also lands in your own inbox, so you don't have to watch this screen. The wording of that email is yours to change under Email templates — it is the one called Contact form (to you).

What never reaches you, and why

The form is open to anyone on the internet, so it carries two silent guards:

• A hidden field no person ever sees. An automated form-filler completes it and gives itself away. It is thanked in exactly the same words a real customer gets and nothing is sent — telling a bot it failed only teaches it to try again.
• A small puzzle the browser solves while the form is being submitted, which costs a person nothing and costs somebody sending thousands a great deal.

Worth knowing for one reason: if a customer insists they sent you a message and it isn't here, they may have tripped the first guard — some browser extensions and password managers fill hidden fields. They'll have been thanked, so they have no idea. Ask them to email you directly.