Hi,
simpleContact Lite does store its settings and form submissions in a MySQL database. Storing data this way, rather than by generating files on the server, is actually easier from an end-user point of view. Setting file permissions can be tricky and can create server errors and security vulnerabilities. Even the cheapest of shared server hosting providers should allow you to create at least one database.
The original reason I made it was to solve my own problem (programmers call that "scratching your own itch"). At the time, it seemed like I was writing a lot of form scripts, for my job and for freelance projects. Everyone dislikes repeatedly doing the same work, so I wanted something that I could use to save myself time. After looking around, I didn't find any products (free or paid) that I liked, so I decided to make one for myself.
I soon realised that what worked for me might work for other people, so the application I made evolved into the first version of simpleContact Lite.
Making an HTML form is simple enough, but my applications aim to solve certain problems:
1) It's easy to write very bad HTML and CSS. I wanted to help users by writing good code for them.
2) The data that people enter needs to be validated, whether it's for fields that the website owner wants, or that information (like an email address) appears to be entered correctly.
3 It's not enough to just validate a form with JavaScript, because spammers easily bypass it. The form needs to be validated by a script on the server.
4) Actually sending an email is trickier than it seems. The built-in mail() function in PHP is very basic and doesn't support many features. That's why simpleContact Lite and Pro both integrate the PHPMailer library. Also, you need to configure a script to successfully communicate with an SMTP server.
5) It's not enough to just send an email, the data should be stored. I've seen it before where a form didn't store an email, and the message was deleted by the recipient was therefore was lost.
6) Everyone with a business website should have a mailing list. Very few scripts support adding a mailing list opt-in to your form.
7) It should be easy to install, without knowing PHP. It should also be easy to change your settings without editing files, just by using the browser admin.
As you can see, there was quite a lot to think about when building the application. If you only need something very simple, then try simpleContact Lite. It's completely free, and if you wanted to upgrade to Pro later it's very easy to import all your data.
