Create a Contact Form with PHP and MySQL — Practical Guide

Create a Contact Form with PHP and MySQL — Practical Guide. Get practical lessons and hands-on examples at AIComputerClasses in Indore to master programming & IT development skills quickly. Ideal for beginners and working professionals seeking fast skill gains.

2025-10-28 14:23:36 - AiComputerClasses

🎓 Create a Contact Form with PHP and MySQL — Practical Guide

Creating a contact form using PHP and MySQL is one of the most practical beginner projects for anyone learning web development in 2025. Whether you’re a student at AI Computer Classes, Indore or an aspiring web developer, mastering this concept helps you understand how websites collect and process user input — a skill that forms the backbone of all dynamic web applications.

In today’s digital-first world, almost every business website includes a “Contact Us” section. It allows users to share feedback, ask questions, or request services — and behind that simple interface lies the powerful combination of HTML, PHP, and MySQL. In this blog, we’ll walk you through how to design, code, and connect a working contact form that stores messages securely in a database.

🧩 Step 1: Understanding the Purpose of a Contact Form

Before diving into the code, it’s essential to understand why we create contact forms:

They allow visitors to communicate directly with website owners.
They collect valuable user data (like name, email, and message).
They prevent spam compared to exposing an email address.
They can be customized for feedback, support, or business inquiries.

At AI Computer Classes – Indore, we teach students how to connect frontend design with backend logic — an essential step toward becoming a full-stack web developer.

💡 Learn from Experts at AI Computer Classes – Indore!

Boost your career with hands-on courses in Web Development, PHP, and Database Management.

👉 Join our latest batch now at AI Computer Classes

📍 Located in Old Palasia, Indore

🧱 Step 2: Setting Up the Project Folder

To start building, you’ll need a simple folder structure:

contact-form/
│
├── index.html
├── style.css
├── process.php
└── database.sql

Tools Required:

XAMPP or WAMP Server (for running PHP locally)
Code Editor like VS Code or Sublime Text
Web Browser (Chrome, Edge, or Firefox)

Once your environment is ready, open the project folder inside your editor.

🧰 Step 3: Designing the HTML Contact Form

Let’s create a simple, clean contact form in index.html:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <title>Contact Form</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="style.css">
</head>
<body>
  <div class="contact-container">
    <h2>Contact Us</h2>
    <form action="process.php" method="POST">
      <input type="text" name="name" placeholder="Your Name" required>
      <input type="email" name="email" placeholder="Your Email" required>
      <textarea name="message" placeholder="Your Message" required></textarea>
      <button type="submit" name="submit">Send Message</button>
    </form>
  </div>
</body>
</html>

This form uses the POST method to send data to process.php.

💅 Styling the Form (style.css)

body {
  font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
  background: #f3f3f3;
  display: flex;
  justify-content: center;
  align-items: center;
  height: 100vh;
}

.contact-container {
  background: #fff;
  padding: 30px;
  border-radius: 10px;
  box-shadow: 0 0 10px rgba(0,0,0,0.1);
  width: 400px;
}

.contact-container h2 {
  text-align: center;
  margin-bottom: 20px;
}

input, textarea {
  width: 100%;
  padding: 10px;
  margin-bottom: 10px;
  border: 1px solid #ddd;
  border-radius: 5px;
}

button {
  width: 100%;
  padding: 10px;
  background: #0078D7;
  color: #fff;
  border: none;
  border-radius: 5px;
  cursor: pointer;
}

Now your form is ready with a beautiful, minimal look.

🗄️ Step 4: Creating the MySQL Database

To store user submissions, we’ll create a database table.

SQL Script (database.sql):

CREATE DATABASE contact_db;

USE contact_db;

CREATE TABLE messages (
  id INT(11) AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
  name VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
  email VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
  message TEXT NOT NULL,
  submitted_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
);

Import this SQL file into phpMyAdmin or run it using your local MySQL console.

💡 Learn from Experts at AI Computer Classes – Indore!

Join our Web Development and PHP Mastery Program today!

👉 Enroll Now

📍 Practical learning with real-world projects in Indore.

🧠 Step 5: Writing the PHP Backend Logic

Let’s handle the form submission in process.php:

<?php
if (isset($_POST['submit'])) {
    $name = $_POST['name'];
    $email = $_POST['email'];
    $message = $_POST['message'];

    // Database Connection
    $conn = mysqli_connect("localhost", "root", "", "contact_db");

    if (!$conn) {
        die("Connection failed: " . mysqli_connect_error());
    }

    $sql = "INSERT INTO messages (name, email, message) VALUES ('$name', '$email', '$message')";
    if (mysqli_query($conn, $sql)) {
        echo "Message sent successfully!";
    } else {
        echo "Error: " . $sql . "<br>" . mysqli_error($conn);
    }

    mysqli_close($conn);
}
?>

✅ This script connects to MySQL, inserts data into the messages table, and displays a success message.

⚠️ Tip: Always validate and sanitize input in real-world applications to prevent SQL injection and XSS attacks.

🔒 Step 6: Enhancing Security and Validation

Here’s how to make your form more secure and user-friendly:

Input Validation: Use filter_var() to validate emails.
Prepared Statements: Replace direct SQL queries with mysqli_prepare().
ReCAPTCHA Integration: Prevent spam submissions.
Success/Error Feedback: Redirect users with clean alert messages.

Example snippet using prepared statements:

$stmt = $conn->prepare("INSERT INTO messages (name, email, message) VALUES (?, ?, ?)");
$stmt->bind_param("sss", $name, $email, $message);
$stmt->execute();

By learning these secure methods, students at AI Computer Classes, Indore gain confidence in developing real-world PHP applications safely.

🌐 Step 7: Testing Your Contact Form

Now it’s time to test your project locally:

Start your XAMPP/WAMP server.
Place your project folder inside the htdocs directory.
Open a browser and go to:

http://localhost/contact-form/

Fill out the form and click Send Message.
Check the MySQL table to verify that the data is stored successfully.

This step gives you hands-on confidence in handling real backend processes.

💡 Start Your Coding Journey with AI Computer Classes – Indore!

Master PHP, MySQL, JavaScript, and more with guided mentorship and live projects.

🚀 Apply now at AI Computer Classes

📍 Old Palasia, Indore

💬 Step 8: Adding Email Notification (Optional)

You can enhance your form by sending an email whenever a message is submitted.

$to = "your-email@example.com";
$subject = "New Contact Form Submission";
$body = "Name: $name\nEmail: $email\nMessage: $message";
$headers = "From: $email";

mail($to, $subject, $body, $headers);

This feature ensures that every submission instantly reaches your inbox.

🧭 Conclusion

Creating a Contact Form using PHP and MySQL is one of the most valuable beginner projects for understanding how web applications communicate with databases. It teaches you real-world skills — from frontend design to backend integration and database handling.

At AI Computer Classes – Indore, learners practice these projects step-by-step to build confidence and become job-ready in Web Development, Full-Stack Programming, and Database Management.

So what are you waiting for? ✨

Start coding, keep experimenting, and bring your ideas to life!

📞 Contact AI Computer Classes – Indore

✉ Email: hello@aicomputerclasses.com

📱 Phone: +91 91113 33255

📍 Address: 208, Captain CS Naidu Building, near Greater Kailash Road, opposite School of Excellence For Eye, Opposite Grotto Arcade, Old Palasia, Indore, Madhya Pradesh 4

Create a Contact Form with PHP and MySQL — Practical Guide

More Posts