Migrating from Formspree

Migrate from Formspree to mailiam for better performance, custom domains, reply-enabled emails, and infrastructure-as-code management.

Why Migrate to mailiam?

What You Gain

Feature	Formspree	mailiam
Custom Domain Forms	Paid plans only	✅ Free
Reply Support	❌ No	✅ Yes
Config as Code	❌ No	✅ Yes
CLI Tool	❌ No	✅ Yes
Email Forwarding	❌ No	✅ Yes
Sub-100ms Speed	❌ No	✅ Yes
Collections/Organization	❌ No	✅ Yes
Git Workflow	❌ No	✅ Yes

Cost Comparison

• Formspree: $8-19/month for basic custom domain features
• mailiam: Free tier includes custom domains, replies, and full CLI

Migration Strategy

Phase 1: Parallel Setup (Zero Downtime)

1. Set up mailiam alongside existing Formspree forms
2. Test thoroughly with new endpoints
3. Gradually migrate forms one by one
4. Monitor performance and deliverability

Phase 2: Full Migration

1. Update all form endpoints to mailiam
2. Configure domain-based infrastructure
3. Enable advanced features (replies, collections)
4. Decommission Formspree account

Step-by-Step Migration

Step 1: Install mailiam CLI

npm install -g mailiam
mailiam login

Step 2: Analyze Your Formspree Setup

Document your current Formspree forms:

# List your current forms
# In Formspree dashboard, note:
# - Form endpoints
# - Notification emails
# - Redirect URLs
# - Any custom configuration

Step 3: Set Up mailiam Domain

# Initialize with your domain
mailiam init yoursite.com
cd yoursite.com

Step 4: Configure Equivalent Forms

Map your Formspree forms to mailiam configuration:

mailiam.config.yaml

domains:
  yoursite.com:
    # Enable email forwarding
    forwarding:
      "*@yoursite.com": "your-email@gmail.com"
      "contact@yoursite.com": "contact@gmail.com"
      "support@yoursite.com": "support@gmail.com"

    forms:
      # Map Formspree contact form
      contact:
        template: "professional"
        replies: true                    # Better than Formspree
        replyTo: "contact@yoursite.com"
        acknowledgment: true             # Auto-reply to users

      # Map Formspree newsletter form
      newsletter:
        template: "marketing"
        replyTo: "newsletter@yoursite.com"
        settings:
          customMessage: "Thanks for subscribing!"

      # Map Formspree support form
      support:
        template: "technical"
        replies: true
        replyTo: "support@yoursite.com"
        settings:
          priority: "high"

Step 5: Deploy Configuration

# Deploy your configuration
mailiam push

# Verify setup
mailiam status
mailiam domains verify yoursite.com

Step 6: Update Form HTML (Parallel Testing)

Create test versions of your forms with mailiam endpoints:

<!-- Before: Formspree endpoint -->
<form action="https://formspree.io/f/xdoylzoo" method="POST">
  <input type="email" name="email" required>
  <textarea name="message" required></textarea>
  <button type="submit">Send</button>
</form>

<!-- After: mailiam domain-based endpoint -->
<form action="https://api.mailiam.dev/v1/yoursite.com/send?form=contact" method="POST">
  <input type="email" name="email" required>
  <textarea name="message" required></textarea>
  <button type="submit">Send</button>
</form>

Step 7: Test Thoroughly

# Test form submissions
mailiam forms test contact --data '{"email":"test@test.com","message":"Test message"}'

# Test email forwarding
mailiam domains test yoursite.com contact@yoursite.com

# Check deliverability
mailiam domains check-auth yoursite.com

Step 8: Gradual Migration

Migrate forms one at a time:

1. Start with low-traffic forms (like newsletter signup)
2. Monitor for 24-48 hours
3. Migrate medium-traffic forms (support, feedback)
4. Finally migrate high-traffic forms (main contact form)

Step 9: Enable Advanced Features

Once basic migration is complete, enable mailiam’s advanced features:

domains:
  yoursite.com:
    forms:
      contact:
        # Enable replies (Formspree doesn't have this)
        replies: true
        replyTo: "contact@yoursite.com"

        # Automatic acknowledgments
        acknowledgment: true
        acknowledgment:
          template: "contact-ack"
          delay: 0

        # Advanced spam protection
        security:
          spamProtection: "strict"
          honeypotField: "_mailiam_trap"
          contentFiltering: true

Common Formspree → mailiam Mappings

Basic Contact Form

Formspree:

<form action="https://formspree.io/f/xdoylzoo" method="POST">
  <input type="hidden" name="_subject" value="New Contact">
  <input type="hidden" name="_next" value="/thank-you.html">
  <input type="email" name="email" required>
  <textarea name="message" required></textarea>
  <button type="submit">Send</button>
</form>

mailiam:

<form action="https://api.mailiam.dev/v1/yoursite.com/send?form=contact" method="POST">
  <!-- mailiam handles subjects and redirects via configuration -->
  <input type="email" name="email" required>
  <textarea name="message" required></textarea>
  <button type="submit">Send</button>
</form>

# Configuration in mailiam.config.yaml
forms:
  contact:
    subject: "New Contact"
    redirectUrl: "/thank-you.html"
    template: "professional"

Ajax Forms

Formspree:

fetch('https://formspree.io/f/xdoylzoo', {
  method: 'POST',
  body: formData,
  headers: {
    'Accept': 'application/json'
  }
});

mailiam:

fetch('https://api.mailiam.dev/v1/yoursite.com/send?form=contact', {
  method: 'POST',
  body: formData,
  headers: {
    'Accept': 'application/json'
  }
});

File Uploads

Formspree:

<form action="https://formspree.io/f/xdoylzoo" method="POST" enctype="multipart/form-data">
  <input type="file" name="upload">
  <button type="submit">Upload</button>
</form>

mailiam:

<form action="https://api.mailiam.dev/v1/yoursite.com/send?form=contact" method="POST" enctype="multipart/form-data">
  <input type="file" name="attachment">
  <button type="submit">Upload</button>
</form>

# Enable file uploads in configuration
forms:
  contact:
    fileUploads:
      enabled: true
      maxSize: "10MB"
      allowedTypes: ["pdf", "doc", "jpg", "png"]

Advanced Migration Scenarios

Multiple Formspree Forms

If you have multiple Formspree forms, use mailiam collections:

# Create a collection for better organization
mailiam collections create "website" "Website Forms"

# Add forms to collection
mailiam collections add-form "website" "contact" "Contact Form"
mailiam collections add-form "website" "newsletter" "Newsletter Signup"
mailiam collections add-form "website" "support" "Support Request"

This creates clean URLs:

• https://api.mailiam.dev/f/website/contact
• https://api.mailiam.dev/f/website/newsletter
• https://api.mailiam.dev/f/website/support

Formspree Webhooks Migration

Formspree Webhook:

{
  "_replyto": "user@example.com",
  "email": "user@example.com",
  "message": "Hello world",
  "_subject": "Contact form"
}

mailiam Webhook:

# Configure webhooks in mailiam
forms:
  contact:
    webhooks:
      - url: "https://yourapp.com/webhook"
        method: "POST"
        headers:
          Authorization: "Bearer {{ env.WEBHOOK_TOKEN }}"
        events: ["submission"]

Spam Protection Upgrade

mailiam’s spam protection is more advanced than Formspree:

forms:
  contact:
    security:
      # Much more sophisticated than Formspree
      spamProtection: "strict"
      honeypotField: "_mailiam_trap"
      contentFiltering: true
      maxLinksAllowed: 2
      blockedDomains:
        - "tempmail.org"
        - "10minutemail.com"
      customRules:
        - pattern: "buy now|act fast"
          action: "quarantine"

Testing Your Migration

Form Submission Testing

# Test each migrated form
mailiam forms test contact --data test-contact.json
mailiam forms test newsletter --data test-newsletter.json

# Test with realistic data
echo '{"email":"john@example.com","name":"John Doe","message":"Testing migration from Formspree"}' > test-contact.json
mailiam forms test contact --data-file test-contact.json

Email Deliverability Testing

# Test email forwarding
mailiam domains test yoursite.com contact@yoursite.com

# Check spam score
mailiam domains check-deliverability yoursite.com

# Test reply functionality
mailiam forms test-reply contact test@example.com

Performance Comparison

# Check mailiam response times
mailiam metrics performance --last 24h

# Compare with Formspree (you'll see significant improvement)
# mailiam typically responds in 50-100ms vs Formspree's 200-500ms

Post-Migration Optimization

Enable Reply Conversations

One of mailiam’s best features that Formspree lacks:

domains:
  yoursite.com:
    forms:
      contact:
        replies: true
        replyTo: "contact@yoursite.com"
        acknowledgment: true
        acknowledgment:
          template: "contact-acknowledgment"

    # Set up email forwarding for replies
    forwarding:
      "contact@yoursite.com": "your-personal-email@gmail.com"

Set Up Professional Templates

domains:
  yoursite.com:
    templates:
      contact-acknowledgment:
        subject: "Thanks for contacting {{ company.name }}!"
        html: |
          <div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
            <h2>Hi {{ form.name }},</h2>
            <p>Thanks for reaching out! We received your message:</p>
            <blockquote>{{ form.message }}</blockquote>
            <p>We'll get back to you within 24 hours.</p>
            <p>You can reply directly to this email if you have any questions.</p>
            <p>Best regards,<br>The {{ company.name }} Team</p>
          </div>

Monitor and Optimize

# Monitor form performance
mailiam analytics forms --last 30d

# Check spam detection accuracy
mailiam analytics spam --accuracy

# Review response times
mailiam metrics response-time --all-forms

Rollback Plan

If you need to rollback during migration:

1. Keep Formspree active during parallel testing phase
2. Document all changes made to form HTML
3. Have backup of original code in version control
4. Test rollback procedure in staging environment

# Quick rollback steps
# 1. Revert form HTML to original Formspree endpoints
# 2. Update DNS if you changed MX records
# 3. Notify team of rollback

Migration Checklist

Pre-Migration

• Document all existing Formspree forms
• Install and configure mailiam CLI
• Set up domain in mailiam
• Configure equivalent forms in mailiam.config.yaml
• Test mailiam forms in staging environment

During Migration

• Deploy mailiam configuration
• Update form HTML with mailiam endpoints
• Test all forms thoroughly
• Monitor email deliverability
• Check spam folder rates

Post-Migration

• Enable advanced features (replies, collections)
• Set up professional email templates
• Configure monitoring and alerts
• Update documentation for team
• Cancel Formspree subscription
• Celebrate improved performance! 🎉

Common Issues and Solutions

Forms Not Submitting

# Check domain verification
mailiam domains verify yoursite.com

# Test form endpoint
mailiam forms test contact --verbose

# Check CORS configuration
mailiam domains update yoursite.com --cors-origins "https://yoursite.com"

Emails Not Arriving

# Check email forwarding setup
mailiam domains test yoursite.com contact@yoursite.com

# Verify SPF/DKIM records
mailiam domains check-auth yoursite.com

# Check spam folders and add to whitelist

Performance Issues

# Check response times
mailiam metrics performance --last 1h

# Enable caching
mailiam forms update contact --caching true

# Optimize configuration
mailiam optimize analyze

Migrating from Formspree to mailiam gives you better performance, more features, and professional email infrastructure that scales with your business.