Messages

Where messages come from

When a visitor fills in a form on your Site, the message is saved on the Messages page of your dashboard. Each message says where it came from, under "Source".

"Contact form" is your Site’s contact form. "Homepage lead" is a sign-up form in a section of your Home page. "Reader note" is a private note a reader leaves on one of your pieces, sent to you instead of being shown in public.

Messages is in your Site’s menu, in the "Audience" group. The number beside it counts the messages you have not read yet.

Finding a message

The newest messages are at the top, 25 to a page. Use "← Previous" and "Next →" at the bottom to see older ones.

Click "Unread" to see only the messages you have not read, or "All" to see every one.

Type in "Search messages" to find a message by the sender’s name, their email address or words in the message. The list updates as you type. If a search matches more than 2,000 messages, only the newest 2,000 are shown, so add more words to narrow it.

"Mark all as read" appears when you have unread messages. It marks every one as read at once.

Reading a message

Click a message to open it. You see the sender’s email, when it was received, its source and the full text. If the visitor gave no name, it shows "(no name given)".

Opening a message marks it as read. To keep it on your list of things to do, click "Mark as unread".

Close the message with its close button, the Escape key or your browser’s Back button.

Replying to a message

"Reply by email" opens your own email app in a new tab, addressed to the visitor. The subject starts with "Re:" and their message is quoted below, so you only write your answer. It is sent from your own email, not from etweb.dev.

If nothing opens, your computer may have no email app set up. Click "Copy email address" and paste the address into the email service you use.

If a message has no usable email address, "Reply by email" cannot be clicked and the page says there is no one to reply to.

Photos sent with a message

Some forms let visitors attach a photo. It appears in the message under "Attached photo". Click "Open full size" to see it in a new tab, or "Download" to save it.

Photos are kept for 180 days after they are sent, then deleted automatically. The message stays and says the photo was deleted. Download any photo you want to keep before then.

Only you can see these photos, after signing in. They do not have a public address.

Deleting a message

Open the message, click "Delete message" and confirm. The message and its photo are deleted for good. This cannot be undone.

Messages are also deleted automatically 2 years after they were sent.