This stage exists because of the sharpest question the owner asked in the whole project: "Where will the form submissions end up going? I don't want them to land in nowheresville."
Here's the thing a beginner can't be expected to know: a form on a web page is just a picture of a form until something catches the submission. Our first version quietly relied on the visitor's own email app — which fails silently for anyone whose computer doesn't have one set up. Real leads, gone.
The rule: before you promote your site, know exactly where a form submission lands, and test it yourself with fake info.
The fix — Netlify Forms — is free, plus invisible spam protection: a hidden field only bots fill in, so their submissions are discarded.
You handle
- Asking the "where does it land?" question out loud
- The test submission with fake info after launch
- Turning on email notifications (Stage 5, one click per form)
Hand to Claude
- Wiring every form to the hosting dashboard
- Spam protection and a fallback path if a submission fails
- Formatting submissions so they arrive tidy and skimmable