Well-Known Fields
Special form fields that control how FormWit processes your submissions: redirects, spam protection, email settings, and more.
Overview
Well-known fields are special hidden fields you can add to your HTML form to control FormWit's behavior. They let you customize redirects, email notifications, and spam protection directly from your form markup. No dashboard changes needed.
How they work
- 1. Add a hidden
<input>field to your form with a well-known field name - 2. FormWit reads the field and applies the behavior (redirect, set subject, etc.)
- 3. The field is stripped from your submission data. It won't appear in your dashboard or emails
Well-known fields override the equivalent dashboard setting on a per-submission basis. Your dashboard settings remain the default for submissions that don't include the field.
Supported Fields
These fields are live and available today in all FormWit plans.
redirect_to Available Redirect the user to a custom URL after submission
Overrides the redirect URL configured in your dashboard. The user is redirected to this URL after a successful form submission. Only valid http:// or https:// URLs are accepted.
<input type="hidden" name="redirect_to"
value="https://yoursite.com/thank-you" />_gotcha (configurable name) Available Honeypot spam protection field
A hidden field that catches spam bots. If this field has a value when submitted, the submission is flagged as spam. Real users never see or fill this field.
The default honeypot field name is _gotcha. You can change it to any name in your dashboard under Form Settings → Honeypot Field.
<!-- Hidden honeypot — bots fill this, humans don't -->
<input type="hidden" name="_gotcha"
style="display:none" />type="hidden" and style="display:none" for maximum protection. Some bots skip type="hidden" fields but still fill visible ones.
_subject Available Set a custom email notification subject line
Overrides the default "New submission on your form" subject line on notification emails. The value is trimmed, newlines are stripped, and it's capped at 200 characters.
<input type="hidden" name="_subject"
value="New contact form lead" />_replyto Available Set the reply-to address on notification emails
When you click "Reply" in your email client, it replies to this address instead of the FormWit sender. Typically set to the form submitter's email. Must be a valid email address.
<!-- Dynamically set via JavaScript, or use a static value -->
<input type="hidden" name="_replyto"
value="" />_replyto on submit, so you can reply directly to the person who filled out the form.
_gotcha Available Hardcoded honeypot - always checked regardless of settings
A hidden field that catches spam bots. If this field has a value when submitted, the submission is flagged as spam. Unlike the configurable honeypot, _gotcha is always checked, even if you haven't enabled honeypot protection in your dashboard. This is also the default honeypot field name.
<!-- Hidden honeypot — bots fill this, humans don't -->
<input type="hidden" name="_gotcha"
style="display:none" />_honey Available Alternative hardcoded honeypot alias
Works identically to _gotcha. A hardcoded honeypot that's always checked. Provided for compatibility with other form backends that use this field name.
<input type="hidden" name="_honey"
style="display:none" />_gotcha _next Available Alias for redirect_to
Works identically to redirect_to. Provided for compatibility with other form backends. If both _next and redirect_to are present, redirect_to takes priority.
<input type="hidden" name="_next"
value="https://yoursite.com/thank-you" />redirect_to wins if both present
Planned Fields
These fields are on our roadmap. They'll work the same way: add a hidden field, FormWit handles the rest, and the field is stripped from stored data.
| Field | Purpose | Status |
|---|---|---|
| _autoresponse | Send an automatic reply email to the person who submitted the form. | Planned |
| _template | Choose an email notification template (e.g., minimal, branded). | Planned |
cf-turnstile-responseg-recaptcha-responseh-captcha-response | CAPTCHA verification tokens. FormWit will verify these server-side and reject invalid tokens. | Planned |
Smart Display Fields
These fields are not stripped from your data. FormWit recognizes them to show a richer preview in your submissions dashboard, like a contact name or email next to each entry.
| Field Names | Used For |
|---|---|
| name, firstname, lastname, first_name, last_name | Contact name shown in submission list |
| Contact email shown in submission list | |
| phone, phonenumber, phone_number | Phone number shown in submission list |
firstName, first-name, and first_name all work the same way.
Full Example
A complete contact form using well-known fields for redirect and spam protection, plus smart display fields for dashboard previews.
<form action="https://app.formwit.com/api/s/your-form-id"
method="POST">
<!-- Well-known fields (hidden, stripped from data) -->
<input type="hidden" name="redirect_to"
value="https://yoursite.com/thank-you" />
<input type="hidden" name="_subject"
value="New contact form lead" />
<input type="hidden" name="_replyto"
value="" />
<input type="hidden" name="_gotcha"
style="display:none" />
<!-- Smart display fields (stored, shown in dashboard) -->
<label for="name">Name</label>
<input type="text" id="name" name="name" required />
<label for="email">Email</label>
<input type="email" id="email" name="email" required />
<label for="phone">Phone</label>
<input type="tel" id="phone" name="phone" />
<!-- Regular form fields -->
<label for="message">Message</label>
<textarea id="message" name="message" required></textarea>
<button type="submit">Send Message</button>
</form>Frequently Asked Questions
Are well-known fields stored in my submission data?
No. All well-known fields (those prefixed with _ or redirect_to) are stripped from the stored submission data. They are processed by FormWit and then discarded. Your submission data only contains your actual form fields.
Can I use custom field names instead of the well-known ones?
Yes. Well-known fields are optional shortcuts. You can always configure behavior (like redirect URLs, honeypot field names, and email subjects) through the FormWit dashboard instead of using hidden fields.
What happens if I use both a dashboard setting and a well-known field?
The well-known field in your form takes priority. For example, if you set a redirect URL in the dashboard and also include a redirect_to hidden field, the hidden field value is used for that submission.
Do well-known fields work with AJAX/JSON submissions?
Yes. Include well-known fields as properties in your JSON body. For example: { "_subject": "New lead", "name": "Jane", "email": "jane@example.com" }. The _ fields are stripped the same way.
Is there a limit to how many well-known fields I can use?
No. You can use any combination of well-known fields in a single form. They don't count toward any submission size limits.