Web-to-Lead¶

Lead Capture¶

By utilizing the Lead Capture feature 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 API.

Create Email Template that will be used for a double opt-in. You can use 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 a placeholder in the email template.

Note: When sending empty values (for Varchar, URL, Email, Phone fields), use null rather than an empty string.

Posting API request¶

Your web site needs to make a POST request to send the form data to your CRM. A 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 Lead Capture detail view.

Required headers:

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

PHP¶

You can use API client for PHP.

Example:

<?php

require_once('EspoApiClient.php');

$client = new EspoApiClient('https://URL_OF_YOUR_CRM');

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

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

$client->request('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">
    let 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');

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

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

        let 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) {
                let 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 the separate campaign record for the lead-capture form).

You can also utilize formula (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.