Get started in 60 seconds

1. 1

   Create your SecureSMTP account

   Head to securessmtp.com/signup and create an account. Email + password, or sign in with Google. The free tier covers 100 form submissions per month, forever — no credit card required.

   Already have a SecureSMTP account? Log in.

2. 2

   Add your WordPress site in the dashboard

   Open /app/forms/sites → click Add site → enter your site URL (e.g. https://acme-marketing.com). SecureSMTP generates a per-site API key automatically — that’s what the WordPress plugin uses to authenticate.

   Why per-site keys? If a key leaks, you only have to rotate that one site, not your entire account.

3. 3

   Copy the API key

   Go to /app/forms/api-keys. You’ll see the key for the site you just added (looks like qcs_sk_live_a1b2c3...). Click the copy icon — keep this tab open, you’ll paste in WordPress shortly.

   Keep your key private. It’s a server-side credential — never paste it into a frontend file, never commit it to a public git repository.

4. 4

   Install the plugin in WordPress

   Download qcs-form.zip (v1.21.0). In WordPress admin:

   1. Go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin
   2. Click Choose File and pick the qcs-form.zip you just downloaded
   3. Click Install Now, then Activate Plugin

   After activation you’ll see a new SecureSMTP item in the WordPress sidebar.

5. 5

   Paste the API key in WordPress

   In WordPress admin, go to QCS Forms → Settings. Paste your API key into the SecureSMTP API key field and click Save and test connection. You should see a green Connected to SecureSMTP banner with your site name, plan, and usage.

   

   That’s the whole setup. Everything below is about using the plugin to build and embed forms.

6. 6

   Create your first form from a template

   In WordPress admin: QCS Forms → Add New. Pick from 13 ready-made templates — Contact, Quote, Newsletter, Demo, Booking, Support, Lead Magnet, Event RSVP, Job Application, Real Estate, Wedding, Restaurant Reservation, Feedback. You can always customise later, so just pick the closest one.

   

7. 7

   Edit fields and style the form

   Each field is a collapsible card. Click to expand the label / placeholder / required toggle. Drag the left-side handle to reorder. Need a different field type? Click + Add field.

   The Design meta-box on the same page lets you pick a brand colour, corner radius, field background tone, button alignment, and an optional card wrapper. Live preview updates as you edit.

   

8. 8

   Publish and copy your shortcode

   Click Publish (top-right). The Embed meta-box in the sidebar shows the shortcode for this form — something like:

   > [qcs_form id="42"]

   Paste that shortcode into any page or post — Gutenberg Shortcode block, Classic editor, page-builder shortcode widget, or even inside a theme template via <?php echo do_shortcode('[qcs_form id="42"]'); ?>.

9. 9

   Submit a test entry on the frontend

   Visit the page where you embedded the shortcode. You should see the form rendered with the styling you picked. Fill it in and submit — within ~1 second the email lands in your notification inbox and the submission shows up in your SecureSMTP dashboard.

   

10. 10

    Review submissions in your dashboard

    Open /app/forms/submissions to see every entry across all your sites. Each submission shows:

    • The visitor’s name, email, and message
    • An AI-generated classification (Genuine / Spam / Suspicious / Newsletter)
    • A spam score (0.00 = clearly genuine, 1.00 = clearly spam)
    • Email-delivery status (Delivered / Soft bounce / Held for review / Blocked)

    

Common questions