Home
>
Web Development
>
Email Addresses in Web Pages

Email Addresses in Web Pages

You want to give your site's visitors a way to contact you by email but don't want your emali address to be abused. Here are a few ways to protect your email address when building your website.

1. Use defined users and filters

Don't use the catch all email facility. Instead define users such as enquiry@ or sales@. It's better if you can avoid the most obvious ones like info@ as some people might speculatively try these. It's best to use a person's name which does not appear elsewhere on the site.

Most email providers or email software offer you filters to use on incoming email. You define a parameter in the email and then filter out any incoming mail which does not contain it. For example, you could set your email link as mailto:info@companyname.com?body=security%20code%20123%20 (please%20leave%20intact%20in%20message%20body) then filter out any mail which does not contain the text "security code 123". Please note that a space is replaced by "%20" ni the mailto parameter.

This will prevent email from automated systems but you could miss out on genuine mail if the sender fails to understand this measure. Be sure to explain it well on your contact page.

It is important when using filters on an address that you don't use this address to send other mail as your replies could be filtered out. Keep one address purely for email from your website.

2. Use a form

Use a form for your site's visitors to contact you. This hides the email address in the browser but it may still appear in the HTML coding. If it does yuo can get around this by defining a subject line, e.g. info@companyname.com?subject=enquiry and filtering out all incoming mail which does not have this subject line.

3. Use JavaScript for links

It is possible to write the text link in JavaScript instead of HTML. The script breaks the email address down into its elements and then puts it back together. It appears just as a normal HTML link in the browser even down to the way it appears in the browser's status bar. This method keeps everything looking as the visitor would expect but protects your address from Spam harvesters, programs designed to crawl sites and find mailto links in the code.

Copy this code replacing the 4 variables user, domain, extension and link with your own information. This example uses the made up email address info@companyname.com. It should be obvious which parts to change and to what.

[script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript"][!--

var user = "info";
var domain = "companyname";
var extension = "com";
var link = "Email Us";

document.write('[a href="mailto:' + domain + '.' + extension + '"]'); document.write(link + '[/' + 'a]');
// --][/script]

Please note that the square brackets must be replaced with angled brackets for the script to work. The square brackets are merely to enable me to display the coding here.

Chris Smith is a full time web developer building websites for small businesses and individuals.

Please visit his site to see live examples of these techniques in action and for further information on web design and development.

web development | web development

car service from Midway Burlington .. Lockport Chicago limo O’Hare

In The News:

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says a malware app called SpyLend is posing as a financial tool, hitting 100,000-plus downloads.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says Clone Robotics’ Protoclone mimics humans with 1,000 muscles – too human for comfort.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson urges you to use Apple’s App Privacy Report to see what your apps are really up to.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson talks about how to smoothly transfer your data from an old laptop to a new one using cloud storage or external drives.

Kurt the CyberGuy offers tips to safeguard your personal information as scammers become more sophisticated with scam texts and other methods.

WeRide's unmanned electric delivery van, the Robovan W5, has 194 cubic feet of cargo space and can carry payloads up to about 2,205 pounds

Kurt the CyberGuy recommends deleting 16 browser extensions immediately in response to a report saying more than 3.2 million web users were affected by a security breach.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

A robotics firm in China claims a robot has performed the world's first humanoid robot front flip, which is significantly more difficult than a backflip.

A digital ID may be even more secure than a physical ID. Storing your driver's license in your Apple Wallet is an ideal solution for commuters.

A cybersecurity firm has shed some light on just how common tax scams have become. Kurt the CyberGuy offers his advice for how to protect your refund.

Lifesize Plans offers immersive walk-throughs that allow customers the opportunity to tour a home's design before construction actually begins.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

A man invested $4 million in bitcoin and lost it all with a single click when he was targeted by a vishing scam, which uses phone calls to trick people.

Expandable's Touchdown is a designer trailer that promises a luxury off-grid living experience and unfolds into a home in about 15 minutes.

Major employee screening company data breach affects 3.3 million people. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson explains what happened and gives five ways to protect your data.

Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson reveals mind-blowing tech that gives you sunlight on demand.

New malware "FrigidStealer" targets Mac computers. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson offers four ways to stay safe from infostealer malware.

Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson talks about how lab-grown muscles power a biohybrid hand for scalable prosthetics and research.

Reports of task scams have significantly risen in the past four years, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Kurt the CyberGuy offers some red flags.

iPhones have a hidden folder that eats up storage without you knowing it. Kurt the CyberGuy offers some tricks to free up storage on your device.

A recent ransomeware attack targeted Zacks, an American investment firm, and a cybercriminal claimed to have stolen records for millions of customers.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Researchers unveiled a new soft prosthetic hand that combines the natural coordination patterns of our fingers with the decoding of motoneuron activity in the spinal column.

Accidentally deleting a text message on your iPhone or iPad is not a problem if you still need the message. Apple has a built-in way to recover it.

Email Addresses in Web Pages

Web Development