Huggins email form script
A Free PHP Email Script that Doesn't Require You to Know Anything At All About PHP

If you were using the previous version 2.2.5 your old forms (if you kept them) should still work if you just publish the script to your server. If you were using an earlier version, you will need to edit the form code itself.

   

James Huggins was a former FrontPage MVP and member of the Expression Web community. Back in Nov 2005, he created an email form script that could be used for all sorts of forms, long or short, simple or complicated. He kept it updated until his death in 2018. The form continued to work until php version 7 was introduced. As servers were updated to the newer version, James script was broken and many of us were forced to move to another type of form.

I always found James' script easy to use and it suited my purposes. Fast forward to 2020 and I posted on one of the Expression Web groups looking for a replacement similar to James script or someone who might know enough about php to fix the broken one. Tony Rudzki contacted me and offered to update the script.

James offered the script free and also allowed me to host it on my site. I am sure he would be pleased to know his creation is still in use. The contact form on this site, makes use of Huggins Email Form Script.

What Is It?

Huggins' Email Form Script is a free PHP script to process Web Forms, specifically those forms which accept information and send an email with that information back to the webowner/webmaster. The latest version of the script is 2.2.5 first released in September 2013. It was updated in July 2020 to version 2.2.6.

Examples to Look At

• Example Form #1 (created by James as an example)
• Contact Form for Expression Web Tutorials & Templates
• Family Group Sheet
• Employment Application Form

Why This Script?

It is ideal for people who don't know how to write a script, don't want to use a script that exposes their email to spambots, want more features than their current script offers or who are/were using FrontPage Server extensions which are going/have gone away.

What Do You Need to Know to Use This Script?

In general, you need to know:

1. How to construct a web form; or, at least how to modify the one I give you;
2. How to download and expand a Zip file;  
3. How to upload a file to your web server;  
4. How to make simple HTML changes.

What Does My Web Host Need to Use this Script?

Thw revised script works with php version 7 and above.

How Easy is the Script to Use?

To use the minimal functionality of the script, you must:

1. Download the Script Package. The script comes packaged in a Zip file. Sample Contact Form package includes:
   •  form.css
   •  basic contact form
   • huggins email form script 2.2.6
   •  instructions for editing the sample form
   •  sample error page
   • sample thank you page
   You must download this file onto your PC. (I recommend downloading it into its own folder.) Then you must expand the Zip file to have access to all the individual files.
2. Build a Web Form with the Script Parameters
   While this script does not build the web form for you, it does come with a basic model to start you off. Many people find that the basic model is more than enough for them. You may use any tool you like to build or modify that form (e.g., Expression Web). If you need help on the creation of HTML Email Forms check W3schools.
3. Upload the Script and the Web Form to Your Server
   You will need to use your FTP program and/or your web development tool (e.g., Expression Web) to copy the Script File and the Web Form from your PC to your server. Note that you never ever need to make changes to the Script File.

But What If I Want to Use All the Fancy Features?

Lots of the fancy features, not all, but lots, are included in the basic model forms.

For example, the pre-made forms already protect you against spambots harvesting your email address. They also stop spambots from using the forms to spam you.

They already check to be sure that email addresses people enter in your form are legal email addresses.

In fact, many, many people use the sample forms with almost no changes, but you can make all the changes you want.

All the other changes require just adding parameters. You don't have to add them. But you can.

Again, pretty simple. Remember, you never ever need to touch the PHP code (the script itself).

The Current Distribution Package

Version 2.2.5, 28.Sep.2013 Revised to 2.2.6 July 2020

Sample Contact Form package includes:

•  form.css
•  basic contact form
• huggins email form script 2.2.6
•  instructions for editing the sample form
•  sample error page
• sample thank you page

For the Advanced User

User Manual 5-01-064 updated 03.Nov.2013