It's a smart webmaster or web designer that is aware of the pitfalls that are out there and can protect your church from abuse. If your site is designed with PHP coding, you are practically home free. It is very difficult for a webbot or a Human Spammer to harvest information that is hidden in PHP database coding. However, as most websites are written in html code, we will provide some (relatively) simple solutions that can hide your email addresses from bots or spammers. Keep in mind that technology ALWAYS advances and if a clever bot or spammer REALLY wants your email address-- they will eventually get it, even if they have to get on the phone and call the church for the information. These solutions will protect the average church website from the average webbot/spammer.

On a personal note: Remember that your website is a reflection of your Church. Don't just have an impersonal form as the only way someone can contact your church. It gives the impression that your staff is hiding behind a steel-encased brick wall. Do you really want to have an internet presence yet not allow easy staff contact when needed?  When people fill out a form, they don't generally have much confidence that it will be viewed by someone very soon.  If you're that paranoid about spammers-- perhaps your church should think twice about having a website. And if you assume that anyone interested will pick up a phone and call-- you must not be aware that email/texting is soon to be the contact medium of choice.

Email Disguising Solutions

• Use an image graphic instead of actual text
• emailaddress[at]mydomain[dot]com
• Use a hexadecimal code instead of the @ symbol
• Use a commercial email address service
• (my favorite) Use a simple JavaScript
• (last resort) Use form email