Web-to-Lead¶

Lead Capture¶

By utilizing the Lead Capture feature, an administrator can create an entry point for capturing leads through API. Follow Administration > Lead Capture to create the entry point.

Parameters:

Subscribe to Target List – a created lead will be added to a specified target list;
Subscribe Contact if exists – if a contact with the same email exists, then the contact will be added to the target list;
Target Team – a team created leads will be assigned to;
Campaign – statistics will be available in the log of a selected campaign record;
Payload Fields – what fields need to be sent in payload (from the web form to the API entry point).

Double Opt-in (confirmed opt-in)¶

If double opt-in is enabled, then your subscribers will need to confirm their intention to opt-in by clicking on a link in an email. The email will be sent automatically once data is received through the API.

Create an Email Template that will be used for the double opt-in. You can use the following placeholders in a template body:

{optInUrl} – confirmation URL;
{optInLink} – confirmation link;
{optInDate} – date when a subscription request was submitted;
{optInTime} – time when a subscription request was submitted;
{optInDateTime} – date and time when a subscription request was submitted.

A confirmation link will be added automatically if you haven’t inserted the confirmation link placeholder in the email template.

Note

When sending empty values, use null rather than an empty string.

Posting API request¶

Your web site needs to make a POST request to send form data to your CRM. The request doesn't require any authorization. You just need to use a specific URL with an API Key. The information about the request is available in the side panel on the Lead Capture detail view.

Required headers:

Content-Type: application/json
Accept: application/json

PHP¶

You can use the API client.

Example

<?php

use Espo\ApiClient\Client;

$client = new Client($yourEspoUrl);
$client->setApiKey($apiKey);
$client->setSecretKey($secretKey); // if you use HMAC method

$apiKey = 'f1b04885f28ee1a6d55dd203daed68f9'; // specify your API key here

$formData = [
    'firstName' => $_POST['firstName'] ?: null,
    'lastName' => $_POST['lastName'] ?: null,
    'emailAddress' => $_POST['emailAddress'] ?: null,
];

$client->request(Client::METHOD_POST, 'LeadCapture/' . $apiKey, $formData);

Python¶

API client in Python

Directly by a web browser¶

Example

<div id="web-to-lead-form-container">
    <form id="web-to-lead-form">
        <div>
            <input type="text" name="firstName" placeholder="First Name">
        </div>
        <div>
            <input type="text" name="lastName" placeholder="Last Name" required>
        </div>
        <div>
            <input type="email" name="emailAddress" placeholder="Email Address" required>
        </div>
        <div>
            <button type="submit" name="submit">Submit</button>
        </div>
    </form>
</div>

<script type="text/javascript">
    const webToLeadFormElement = document.getElementById('web-to-lead-form');
    let webToLeadFormIsSubmitted = false;

    webToLeadFormElement.addEventListener('submit', event => {
        event.preventDefault();

        if (webToLeadFormIsSubmitted) {
            return;
        }

        webToLeadFormIsSubmitted = true;
        webToLeadFormElement.submit.setAttribute('disabled', 'disabled');

        const payloadData = {
            firstName: webToLeadFormElement.firstName.value || null,
            lastName: webToLeadFormElement.lastName.value || null,
            emailAddress: webToLeadFormElement.emailAddress.value || null,
        };

        // The URL can be found on the Lead Capture detail view.
        const url = 'https://URL_OF_YOUR_CRM/api/v1/LeadCapture/API_KEY';

        const xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();

        xhr.open('POST', url, true);
        xhr.setRequestHeader('Content-Type', 'application/json');
        xhr.setRequestHeader('Accept', 'application/json');

        xhr.onreadystatechange = () => {
            if (this.readyState == XMLHttpRequest.DONE && this.status == 200) {
                const containerElement = document.getElementById('web-to-lead-form-container');

                containerElement.innerHTML = 'Sent';
            }
        };

        xhr.onerror = () => {
            webToLeadFormElement.submit.removeAttribute('disabled');
            webToLeadFormIsSubmitted = false;
        };

        xhr.send(JSON.stringify(payloadData));
    });
</script>

The Access-Control-Allow-Origin header (see CORS) can be set in the data/config.php with the parameter leadCaptureAllowOrigin. The default value is *.

'leadCaptureAllowOrigin' => '*',

Lead assignment distribution¶

By utilizing the Workflow or the BPM tools, you can create an assignment rule that will distribute leads among team users. Round-Robin and Least-Busy rules are available.

To apply the rule only for leads that are coming through the lead capture form, you can use a condition that checks the Campaign field (assuming that you have created a separate campaign record for the lead capture form).

You can also utilize a Formula script (Administration > Entity Manager > Lead > Formula) to set some additional fields.

Hooks¶

It's possible to catch a lead capture event with built-in hooks. Requires coding.