How to Set Up ActiveLayer in WPForms (Step by Step)

Tired of spam submissions cluttering your WPForms inbox? In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to set up WPForms spam protection with ActiveLayer, an AI-powered filter that blocks spam before it ever reaches you. Your visitors won’t see any CAPTCHAs or puzzles to solve. Everything happens invisibly in the background, in milliseconds.

ActiveLayer works with both WPForms Lite and WPForms Pro, and the free plan includes 1,000 spam checks, so you can complete this entire tutorial without spending anything.

What you’ll need before starting: a WordPress site with WPForms installed (Lite or Pro, any version), and admin access to your WordPress dashboard. That’s it.

Step 1: Create Your Free ActiveLayer Account

First, head over to activelayer.com and sign up for a free/pro account. The free plan includes 1,000 spam checks, and you don’t need to enter a credit card.

Once you’ve signed up, you’ll be redirected to the ActiveLayer dashboard at app.activelayer.com. Click the New Project button to create a new Project.

Enter your Project Name (which can be used to recognize your site), select your Platform, and then click on the Create Project button.

From the next page, you’ll be able to copy the API key. This key connects your WordPress site to ActiveLayer, so copy it or keep this tab open. You’ll need the key in Step 3. Also, note that this key is displayed only once.

Step 2: Install the ActiveLayer Plugin

Now switch over to your WordPress dashboard.

1. Go to Plugins > Add New.
2. Search for ActiveLayer.
3. Click Install Now and then activate the plugin.

Once activated, you’ll see a new ActiveLayer item in your WordPress admin menu.

Step 3: Connect Your API Key

Next, let’s connect your site to your ActiveLayer account.

1. In your WordPress dashboard, go to ActiveLayer > Settings.
2. Paste the API key you copied in Step 1 into the API key field.
3. Click Verify key.

When the key is verified successfully, you’ll see a green checkmark. That means your site is now talking to ActiveLayer.

If you don’t see the green checkmark, double-check that you copied the entire key with no extra spaces at the beginning or end.

Step 4: Enable the WPForms Integration

From the ActiveLayer menu, click on Integration. This is where you tell ActiveLayer which form plugins to protect.

1. Check the box next to WPForms.
2. Click Save Changes.

This will enable ActiveLayer for all your forms in WPForms. To enable it for individual forms, click Configure, then select the form you’d like to protect.

Alternatively, you can do this directly from WPForms.

1. Go to WPForms > All Forms and open your form in the form builder.
2. Click Settings in the left menu, then choose Spam Protection and Security.
3. Find the ActiveLayer option and tick the checkbox.
4. Save your form.

That’s it! Your form is now protected. You’ll follow the same steps to protect other forms with ActiveLayer.

What Happens Next?

From now on, every submission on your protected forms is checked by ActiveLayer’s AI in milliseconds. Real messages arrive in your inbox exactly as before. Spam gets caught before it’s ever delivered, so your visitors never see a CAPTCHA.

You can review everything ActiveLayer catches in your ActiveLayer dashboard, where each submission shows a confidence score and the signals behind the decision. And if ActiveLayer’s service is ever briefly unreachable, your forms keep working normally, so you’ll never lose a legitimate message.

Ready to stop spam for good? Create your free ActiveLayer account, and you’ll be protected in the next five minutes.

Need help?

Contact ActiveLayer support if you run into issues with the installation, API key, or configuration.

Support & billing: [email protected]