Overview
This article helps you set up Google reCAPTCHA on your Access Volcanic website. reCAPTCHA prevents spam and bot submissions on forms. It adds a verification step that ensures only human users can submit forms. This includes contact forms, job applications, newsletter sign-ups, and other public-facing forms. Your role involves generating authentication keys through your Google account. Access Volcanic Support handles the technical implementation on your website.
Key benefits
Reduce spam and bot traffic on all website forms significantly.
Protect job application and contact forms from automated submissions.
Maintain legitimate user experience with simple I'm not a robot verification.
Integrate seamlessly with existing Access Volcanic website functionality.
Support multiple domains, including staging and live environments with single key setup.
Complement other platform features like Killer Questions (screening questions that filter unsuitable applicants) and Internal Jobs for comprehensive form protection.
Before you start
Before setting up reCAPTCHA, make sure you have:
A Google account to register your website in the Google reCAPTCHA admin area.
Your Access Volcanic website domain names for both staging and live environments.
Admin access to raise support cases with Access Volcanic.
Knowledge of which forms you want to protect with reCAPTCHA verification.
📌 Note: Access Volcanic supports Google reCAPTCHA v2 I'm not a robot checkbox verification as standard.
Setting up reCAPTCHA with Google
Registering your website
Log in to your Google account.
Go to the Google reCAPTCHA admin console.
Click Register a new site to begin the setup process.
Enter a descriptive Label to identify your website in the Google admin.
Under reCAPTCHA Type, select Challenge (v2).
Select I'm not a robot tick box as your verification method.
Adding your domains
In the Domains section, click the field next to the + icon.
Enter your website domain without the https:// prefix (for example, www.example.com).
Enter additional domains if needed, such as your staging environment.
Review the Google Cloud Platform section and confirm settings unchanged.
Select Accept for Google's Terms of Service and click Submit.
🤓 Tip: You can add multiple domains to the same key set, making it easy to protect both staging and live environments.
Retrieving your authentication keys
After submitting your registration, Google displays your authentication credentials.
Select the Site Key using the blue key icon or by highlighting the text.
Select the Secret Key in the same way.
Confirm both keys are saved securely to provide to the Support team.
📌 Note: Keep these keys confidential and only share them with Access Volcanic Support through secure channels.
Enabling reCAPTCHA on your website
Submitting your keys to Support
Contact the Support team via the Digital Assistant.
Provide both the Site Key and Secret Key in the chat for the support team.
Wait from the Support team to confirm when reCAPTCHA has been enabled using your keys.
Testing your implementation
Confirm Access Volcanic Support has enabled reCAPTCHA.
Go to your website forms and confirm the I'm not a robot checkbox appears.
Review the form submission process to confirm verification works correctly.
Best practices
Register both staging and live domains under the same key set to simplify management and testing.
Test reCAPTCHA thoroughly on staging before requesting activation on your live website.
Keep your Google account credentials secure and up to date to maintain access to key management.
Monitor form completion rates after enabling reCAPTCHA to ensure legitimate users aren't experiencing difficulties.
Confirm Access Volcanic Support receives updates when adding or removing domains from your Google registration.
Review combining reCAPTCHA with other Access Volcanic features. This includes Killer Questions (screening questions that filter unsuitable applicants) for comprehensive application filtering.
FAQs
Q1: Do I need different reCAPTCHA keys for staging and live environments?
Answer: No, you can add multiple domains including staging and live to the same key set in Google reCAPTCHA admin.
Q2: Which type of reCAPTCHA does Access Volcanic support?
Answer: Access Volcanic supports Google reCAPTCHA v2 with the "I'm not a robot" checkbox verification as standard.
Q3: Who actually enables reCAPTCHA on my website?
Answer: You generate the keys in your Google account. Access Volcanic Support applies them to your website and enables the reCAPTCHA functionality.
Q4: Can I use reCAPTCHA alongside other spam protection features?
Answer: Yes, reCAPTCHA works well with other Access Volcanic features. This includes Killer Questions (screening questions that filter unsuitable applicants) for application screening. It also works with Internal Jobs for hiding certain roles from public view.
Q5: What should I do if reCAPTCHA stops working?
Answer: Review that your Google account is active and keys haven't expired. Confirm your domains are still listed correctly in Google admin. Contact Access Volcanic Support if the issue persists.
Q6: How long does it take for reCAPTCHA to be enabled after submitting keys?
Answer: Access Volcanic Support processes reCAPTCHA requests within 2-3 business days, though urgent requests may be prioritised.
Q7: Can I remove reCAPTCHA from specific forms later?
Answer: Yes, contact Access Volcanic Support to modify which forms have reCAPTCHA enabled or to disable it entirely if your needs change.
Q8: Will reCAPTCHA slow down my website?
Answer: Google reCAPTCHA is designed to load efficiently and shouldn't significantly impact your website's performance when properly implemented.
Q9: How do I add new domains to my reCAPTCHA setup later?
Answer: Go to the Google reCAPTCHA admin console and select your existing site registration to edit. Enter the new domain in your domain list. Confirm Access Volcanic Support receives the domain addition details.
Q10: What's the difference between standard and legacy reCAPTCHA keys?
Answer: Standard keys provide full functionality with comprehensive usage analytics and monitoring. Legacy API keys include a free tier with 10,000 initial assessments but may have limited features. Most organisations benefit from using standard keys for complete functionality and detailed usage insights.
Q11: Why isn't reCAPTCHA showing on my forms?
Answer: Review your domains in Google admin and confirm domains are listed without the https:// prefix. Confirm Access Volcanic Support has applied your keys to your website.
Q12: Why isn't reCAPTCHA accepting user responses?
Answer: Review that you're using the correct Site Key and Secret Key combination for your domain. Confirm the keys match your specific website domain.
Q13: I have multiple domains but reCAPTCHA isn't working on all of them. What should I check?
Answer: Review all domains where you want reCAPTCHA enabled and confirm they are listed in your Google registration. Each domain must be explicitly added to work correctly.
Q14: reCAPTCHA works on one environment but not the other. How do I fix this?
Answer: Confirm you've added both staging and live domains to the same key set. When troubleshooting, review with both staging and live domains to isolate environment-specific issues.