Website Form Submission Diagnostics — Overhead Door Madison
Overview
During the January 14, 2026 marketing review, Jeff flagged that website form submissions had dropped to near-zero for approximately two weeks. Sebastian committed to running diagnostic tests and sending test submissions to John and Jeff to confirm whether the forms were functioning correctly. The issue may be technical, seasonal, or both.
Status at time of meeting: Unresolved — investigation pending.
Related meeting: [1]
Client: [2]
Observed Symptoms
- Form submissions from the website had effectively halted for roughly two weeks prior to the January 14 meeting.
- One recent submission ("Tom Wilson") was identified as a fake/test entry, not a genuine lead.
- Jeff described the drop as "crazy down," though he acknowledged January is typically a slow period for the business.
Possible Causes
1. Technical Failure
The forms may have stopped delivering submissions due to a configuration or integration issue — e.g., a broken email notification, a plugin update breaking form behavior, or a server-side delivery problem. This is the highest-priority hypothesis to rule out first.
2. Seasonal Slowdown
January is one of the slowest months for garage door service and installation. Reduced search volume and consumer intent naturally suppresses inbound lead flow. This is a contributing factor but does not fully explain a complete halt.
3. Reduced Organic Visibility
The site's ranking for "garage door repair Madison" sits at #6, limiting top-of-page organic traffic. Fewer visitors means fewer form opportunities. This is a structural issue being addressed separately via the [3].
Diagnostic Plan
| Step | Action | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Submit test form entries from multiple devices/browsers | Sebastian |
| 2 | Confirm test submissions arrive in John/Jeff's inbox | Sebastian → John/Jeff |
| 3 | Check form plugin or integration for recent errors or updates | Sebastian |
| 4 | Verify notification email addresses are current and not bouncing | Sebastian |
| 5 | Review spam/junk folders on client side | John/Jeff |
Sebastian noted during the meeting: "You might see a test or two come across as we problem-solve those."
Seasonal Context
January is expected to be a low-volume period for this client. However, a complete cessation of form submissions — rather than a gradual decline — is a signal worth investigating technically before attributing the drop entirely to seasonality. A healthy baseline should still produce occasional submissions even in slow months.
Relationship to Other Initiatives
Resolving the form issue is a prerequisite for accurately measuring the impact of other ongoing work:
- Service page rewrite — improved organic rankings should drive more traffic and form fills; a broken form would mask this lift. See [4].
- Location pages — Verona and Dane County pages will include embedded quote request forms; the same delivery infrastructure must be confirmed working. See [5].
- Google Reviews push — more reviews improve local pack visibility and drive direct calls, partially offsetting form-based lead flow while the form issue is investigated.
Action Items
- [ ] Sebastian: Submit test form entries and confirm delivery with John/Jeff
- [ ] Sebastian: Audit form plugin/integration for errors or configuration drift
- [ ] John/Jeff: Check spam/junk folders and confirm whether any submissions were silently filtered
Notes
"I'll double check. I'll make sure those forms are working... we don't want it to be quiet on that end."
— Sebastian Gant, January 14, 2026