The ProCoders Guide for Contact Form 7 Integration with Salesforce

Integrating Contact Form 7 with Salesforce is a powerful way to streamline lead management and enhance CRM capabilities. This guide provides a step-by-step process for integrating Contact Form 7 with Salesforce, allowing businesses to capture leads and convert them into customers.

With this integration, businesses can manage multiple contact forms, track form submissions, and sync data between WordPress and Salesforce. By automating the transfer of contact data, you can ensure that every form submission is accurately recorded in your Salesforce CRM, reducing manual data entry and minimizing errors.

Contact Form 7 and Salesforce Basics

What is Contact Form 7?

Contact Form 7 is a super popular WordPress plugin to create and manage multiple contact forms with ease. It has a simple yet powerful form builder and handler.

Our developers love this plugin for:

• Ease of Use: СА7 has a simple interface to create and customize forms without coding knowledge.
• Customizable Forms: Users can design forms with text boxes, radio buttons, checkboxes, and more.
• Spam Protection: The plugin has built-in CAPTCHA and Akismet support to prevent spam submissions.
• Flexible Email Configuration: Contact Form 7 allows multiple email recipients and customizable email content.
• Third-Party Integrations: The plugin supports integration with other third-party services and plugins.

What is Salesforce?

Salesforce is a leading customer relationship management (CRM) platform that has tools to manage sales, customer service, marketing automation, analytics, and more.

Here are its best features:

• Comprehensive CRM: Salesforce has tools to manage customer interactions and track sales and customer service inquiries.
• Customizable Dashboards: Users can create custom dashboards to visualize key metrics and track performance in real time.
• Automation and Workflows: Salesforce allows automation of repetitive tasks and creation of complex workflows to improve efficiency.
• Integration with Third-Party Applications: Salesforce supports other third-party applications and services to extend its functionality.
• Advanced Analytics and Reporting: The platform has robust analytics and reporting tools to help businesses make better decisions.

Pre-requisites for the Integration

Before you start the integration process, here are the basics you need:

• WordPress Setup: Ensure you have an active WordPress site with the Contact Form 7 plugin installed. This plugin will be the base for creating and managing forms.
• Salesforce Account: Make sure you have an active Salesforce account with permissions to create API connections and manage data integrations.
• Contact Form 7 Plugin: Verify that the Contact Form 7 plugin is installed and active on your WordPress site. This plugin will handle form creation and management.
• Salesforce Integration Plugin: To connect Contact Form 7 with Salesforce, you need a dedicated integration plugin. Recommended options are “Contact Form 7 Salesforce Plugin” for direct integration or the use of a third-party automation tool like “Zapier.”

Requirements

To integrate Contact Form 7 with Salesforce, you need to have a Salesforce account and a WordPress site with Contact Form 7 installed. Make sure you have admin access to both and the necessary permissions to connect your Salesforce account to Contact Form 7.

Also, basic knowledge of Salesforce and Contact Form 7 is required to navigate the integration process. This basic knowledge will help you configure the settings and map the fields correctly so that data flows smoothly between your contact forms and Salesforce CRM.

Integration with Contact Form 7 Salesforce Plugin

To start the integration, you need to install the plugin. Here’s how:

1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
2. Go to Plugins > Add New.
3. Search for “Contact Form 7 Salesforce Plugin” in the search bar.
4. Find the plugin in the search results and click “Install Now.”
5. Once installed, click “Activate” to enable the plugin on your website.

This will convert all submissions into Salesforce leads and give you a clear tracking of where they came from.

After installing the plugin, you need to configure it to connect with your Salesforce account. First, you need an API access:

1. Log in to your Salesforce account.
2. Go to Setup > Apps > App Manager.
3. Create a new connected app or modify an existing one to generate API credentials (Client ID and Client Secret).
4. Make sure API (Enable OAuth Settings) is selected and necessary OAuth scopes are added.

Then, sync Contact Form 7 with the Salesforce account:

1. Go back to your WordPress dashboard.
2. Go to Contact > Salesforce Integration.
3. Enter your Salesforce API credentials (Client ID, Client Secret, and Security Token).
4. Click “Save Settings” to connect Contact Form 7 with Salesforce.

Easy peasy, right? But if you want to make it even easier, use our Salesforce Integration with Contact Form 7 Plugin!

Map Contact Form 7 Fields to Salesforce

To ensure data is transferred correctly, you need to map the form fields in Contact Form 7 to the corresponding fields in Salesforce:

1. Go to Contact > Salesforce Integration.
2. Select the Contact Form 7 form you want to integrate.
3. Map each form field to the corresponding Salesforce field by selecting from the dropdown menus.
4. Make sure all required fields are mapped correctly to avoid any data transfer issues.

Pro tip: If you have custom fields in your form, make sure they are created in Salesforce as well. Map these custom fields in the integration plugin to their corresponding fields in Salesforce.

Testing

To test the integration, fill out a form on your WordPress website with sample data to simulate a real submission. Go to the page on your WordPress website containing the CF7 and complete all the form fields with test data and click submit.

Then, check your Salesforce account to see if the test submission data appears correctly in the right records:

1. Log in to your Salesforce account.
2. Go to the object (e.g., Leads, Contacts) where the form data should be stored.
3. Find the newly created record and verify all fields, including any custom fields, are populated correctly.

Troubleshooting

If data doesn’t appear in Salesforce, go back to the field mapping settings in the plugin. Make sure all fields are mapped correctly between CF7 and Salesforce. Adjust the mappings if needed and save the changes.

Also, verify that the API credentials used to connect Salesforce and Contact Form 7 are correct and have the necessary permissions. Go to the integration plugin settings and confirm the API credentials. Re-enter them if needed.

Pro tip: Check the plugin’s documentation for help with specific issues. Many common problems and their solutions are documented. Check the FAQs, troubleshooting sections, and user forums for more information.

Of course, if issues persist, contact the plugin’s support team. Provide as much detail as possible about the problem, including any error messages and steps taken so far.

Make sure to gather screenshots or logs that might help diagnose the issue and share them with the support team.

Contact Form 7 Salesforce Tutorial Using Zapier

Another way to connect Contact Form 7 with Salesforce? Through Zapier.

If you don’t have a Zapier account, follow these steps to create one:

1. Go to the Zapier website
2. Click on the “Sign Up” button and provide the necessary details, such as your email address and password.
3. Check your inbox for a verification email from Zapier and click on the verification link.
4. Choose the right plan based on your needs. Zapier has several plans, from free to enterprise-level, each with varying features and task limits. For basic tasks, the free plan might be enough, but for complex integrations, consider a paid plan that has more tasks and advanced features.

The next step is to create a new Zap:

1. Go to Zapier’s website and log in to your account.
2. Click on the “Make a Zap” button in the top right corner.
3. Set the CF7 submission as the trigger.
4. Search for and select “Webhooks by Zapier” as the trigger app.
5. Choose “Catch Hook” as the trigger event.
6. Copy the unique webhook URL provided by Zapier.
7. Go to your WordPress dashboard, navigate to CF7, and paste the webhook URL in the settings to enable submissions to Zapier.

Now, we connect all of this to your Salesforce account, setting it up as the action to perform after the trigger:

1. Search for and select “Salesforce” as the action app.
2. Choose the specific action you want to perform, e.g., “Create Record” or “Update Record”.
3. Log in to your Salesforce account when prompted to authorize Zapier to access your Salesforce data.
4. Choose the Salesforce object (e.g., Lead, Contact) you want to update.
5. Map each field from Contact Form 7 to the corresponding field in Salesforce. Use the dropdown menus to select the correct form fields.
6. Click “Test & Continue” to ensure the data is correctly mapped and transferred.

Now, we test and activate the new Zap by running a test to ensure data flows correctly from Contact Form 7 to Salesforce:

1. Submit a test form on your WordPress site to trigger the Zap.
2. Check Zapier’s task history to confirm the data was captured correctly and sent to Salesforce.
3. Log in to Salesforce and verify that the test data appears as expected.
4. Once testing is successful, click “Turn on Zap” to activate it.
5. Monitor the integration and make any necessary adjustments to field mappings or automation rules as needed.

ProCoders’ Advanced Contact Form 7 Salesforce Settings and Best Practices

Here are some pro tips and best practices for Contact Form 7 Salesforce.

Data Validation and Error Handling

Create validation rules in Salesforce to enforce data quality standards and form validation in Contact Form 7 to ensure users provide the correct data format before submission.

To handle errors, use Zapier’s built-in error handling to set up notifications for failed tasks. You can also Configure email alerts in Salesforce to notify you of data transfer errors or validation rule violations.

Automating Tasks with Contact Form 7 and Salesforce

Another tip is to set up automation rules in Salesforce to trigger follow-up tasks or notifications based on form submissions.

You can also use Salesforce Workflow or Process Builder to create complex automations that streamline your business processes or define triggers and actions to automate tasks like sending follow-up emails, updating records, or creating new opportunities.

Security

• Store API credentials securely and don’t share them publicly.
• Make sure all data transfer between Contact Form 7, Zapier, and Salesforce uses secure (HTTPS) connections.
• Store sensitive data both in transit and at rest.
• Implement consent management practices to comply with regulations like GDPR, so users consent to data collection and processing.

By following these advanced tips and best practices, you can improve the reliability, security, and efficiency of your Contact Form 7 and Salesforce integration.

Advanced Salesforce CRM Features

The Contact Form 7 and Salesforce integration also gives you access to advanced CRM features like lead tracking, sales forecasting, and marketing automation. With these features, you can analyze customer behavior, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions to drive business growth.

Salesforce CRM’s powerful analytics and reporting tools give you deeper insights into your sales pipeline and customer interactions. By leveraging these advanced capabilities, you can optimize your marketing strategies, improve customer engagement, and increase your sales and revenue. All your form data is readily available in Salesforce, so you can make informed decisions and stay ahead of the competition.

Conclusion

Integrating Contact Form 7 with Salesforce is a powerful way to streamline your lead management and enhance your CRM capabilities. By following the steps outlined in this guide for Contact Form 7 Salesforce setup, from setting up necessary plugins to configuring automation rules and ensuring data security, you can ensure a seamless and efficient integration.