Appearance

Messages ​

When a visitor fills in the contact form on your website, it appears here as a message. This guide explains how to read, reply to, and manage your enquiries.

Finding Your Messages ​

  1. Click Messages in the left menu.
  2. You will see a list of every enquiry submitted through your website's contact form, with the most recent at the top.

Unread messages are shown with a closed envelope icon. Once you open a message, it is automatically marked as read.

If you have unread messages, you will see a number next to Messages in the left menu.

Reading a Message ​

Click on a message in the list to open it. You will see:

  • Who it is from (name, email, and phone number if they provided one).
  • The subject and the message itself.
  • When it was received.
  • Any reply that has already been sent, and when.
  • Internal notes (only visible to your team, never to the sender).

Replying to a Message ​

Replying directly from within Foundry (click Reply, type your response, click Send reply) is a feature that is coming soon, and is not yet available on most sites.

For now, reply using your own email client:

  1. Open the message.
  2. Click Reply by Email near the top of the message.
  3. This opens a new email in your default mail app, addressed to the visitor and pre-filled with a quote of their original message, ready for you to write your reply.
  4. Send it as you would any other email.

Once you've replied, update the message's status to Responded so your team can see it's been actioned - this does not happen automatically since the reply is sent from your own inbox, not from Foundry.

Tip: If you don't want to use the Reply by Email button, the visitor's email address is also shown directly on the message - you can copy it into a new email manually.

Marking Messages as Read or Unread ​

If you want to come back to a message later, you can mark it as unread again:

  1. Tick the checkbox next to one or more messages in the list.
  2. Choose Mark as Unread (or Mark as Read) from the bulk actions menu.

Updating a Message's Status ​

Each message has a status to help you track where it is in your process:

  • New - Not yet actioned.
  • In Progress - You are currently dealing with this enquiry.
  • Responded - You have replied.
  • Archived - Closed and filed away, but kept for your records.

To change the status, or add a private note for your team:

  1. Open the message, or click Update Status from the list.
  2. Choose the new status.
  3. Add any internal notes (optional). These are only visible to you and your team.
  4. Click Save.

Testing That Your Contact Form Works ​

If you want to confirm enquiries are reaching the right inbox:

  1. Click My Website in the left menu (shown as Sites if you have more than one site).
  2. Open the Contact & Social tab.
  3. Find the Email field under Contact Details and click Send test submission.
  4. Check the inbox for that address - you should receive a confirmation email within a few moments.

Tip: If test emails are not arriving, double-check the email address in the Contact & Social tab and check your spam folder before contacting support.

Foundry by Brass Labs