#formintegration

Integrating WPForms with external services is a common need for developers working on modern WordPress projects. Whether you're sending leads to a CRM, pushing user data to a custom backend, or connecting to a third-party SaaS tool, WPForms offers enough flexibility to make this possible, especially when paired with webhooks or custom code.

In this comprehensive developer-focused guide, you’ll learn how to send WPForms to any REST API, with clear steps, code examples, and tips for handling authentication, debugging, and error management.

Why Integrate WPForms with REST APIs?

WPForms is one of the most user-friendly form builders for WordPress. However, out of the box, it doesn’t natively support sending form submissions to external APIs unless you use the WPForms Webhooks addon or write custom functions.

Here’s why integrating WPForms with APIs matters:

📤 Automatically send leads to CRMs like Salesforce, HubSpot, or Zoho

📦 Connect to email marketing tools like Mailchimp or ConvertKit

📈 Push user activity to analytics or BI tools

🔄 Sync with internal systems or external apps via custom APIs

🧩 Enable custom workflows without relying on third-party automation platforms

If you’re a developer building efficient, automated systems—this skill is a must.

 Prerequisites

Before we dive in, make sure you have the following:

A WordPress website with WPForms installed and configured.

A form created in WPForms with necessary fields.

Familiarity with WordPress hooks, PHP, and basic API concepts.

The WPForms Webhooks addon (optional but helpful for no-code or low-code use cases).

An endpoint to test with (e.g., Webhook.site or your own REST API).

Option 1: Using the WPForms Webhooks Addon (No Code)

If you're looking for a simpler method, WPForms offers a Webhooks Addon to send form data directly to any REST API endpoint without coding.

 Steps:

Enable the Webhooks Addon Go to WPForms > Addons and activate the Webhooks Addon.

Edit Your Form Navigate to WPForms > All Forms > Edit your target form.

Enable Webhook Integration

Go to Settings > Webhooks

Click Add Webhook

Provide a Webhook Name

Paste your API Endpoint URL

Configure Request Settings

Choose POST method

Select JSON or Form Data

Map your form fields to the JSON keys or parameters expected by the API

Test the Submission Submit the form and check if data reaches the target API.

This method is best for straightforward integrations and services that don’t require advanced authentication.

Option 2: Custom Code Integration (PHP Hook Method)

For more advanced use cases—like sending data to private APIs, handling tokens, headers, or transforming data—you’ll want to use the wpforms_process_complete hook.

Hook Overview

This action fires after WPForms has successfully processed and saved form data:

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add_action( 'wpforms_process_complete', 'send_wpform_data_to_api', 10, 4 );

Step-by-Step Custom Integration

1. Add Code to functions.php or Custom Plugin

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add_action( 'wpforms_process_complete', 'send_wpform_data_to_api', 10, 4 );

function send_wpform_data_to_api( $fields, $entry, $form_data, $entry_id ) {

    // Get data from form fields

    $name    = $fields[1]['value']; // Change 1 to your field ID

    $email   = $fields[2]['value']; // Change accordingly

    $message = $fields[3]['value'];

    // Create the API payload

    $body = json_encode([

        'full_name' => $name,

        'email'     => $email,

        'message'   => $message,

    ]);

    // Set up headers

    $headers = [

        'Content-Type'  => 'application/json',

        'Authorization' => 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY' // If needed

    ];

    // Send the request

    $response = wp_remote_post( 'https://your-api-endpoint.com/submit', [

        'method'    => 'POST',

        'headers'   => $headers,

        'body'      => $body,

        'data_format' => 'body'

    ]);

    // Log response (optional)

    if ( is_wp_error( $response ) ) {

        error_log( 'API Request failed: ' . $response->get_error_message() );

    } else {

        error_log( 'API Response: ' . wp_remote_retrieve_body( $response ) );

    }

}

🔄 Tip: Replace field IDs with actual IDs from your WPForm. Use print_r($fields) to inspect structure during development.

Testing the Integration

You can test your endpoint using:

Webhook.site for viewing raw request payloads.

Postman to test API endpoints before integrating.

Debug bar plugin to inspect error logs inside WordPress.

Validate the API request method, headers, response status, and body output.

Authentication Handling

Most APIs require authentication. Here are common methods:

1. Bearer Token

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'Authorization' => 'Bearer YOUR_TOKEN'

2. Basic Auth

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'Authorization' => 'Basic '. base64_encode( 'user:password' )

3. API Key in Header

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'X-API-KEY' => 'your_api_key'

4. API Key in URL

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'https://api.example.com/endpoint?api_key=YOUR_KEY'

Check the target API documentation for required formats.

Error Handling and Logging

Good error handling prevents silent failures and helps with debugging.

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if ( is_wp_error( $response ) ) {

    error_log( 'API Request Error: ' . $response->get_error_message() );

} else {

    $status = wp_remote_retrieve_response_code( $response );

    $body = wp_remote_retrieve_body( $response );

    error_log( 'Status: ' . $status );

    error_log( 'Response Body: ' . $body );

}

For production sites, consider using a logging plugin like WP Log Viewer or routing logs to an external service.

Example Use Cases

 Send WPForms to CRM

Map form fields to lead object in CRMs like HubSpot, Zoho, Salesforce.

Trigger workflow automation upon submission.

Send to Google Sheets via Apps Script

Connect to a Google Apps Script Web App URL.

Store submissions as spreadsheet rows.

Custom Backend Integration

Push form data to Laravel/Node.js/PHP backend API.

Trigger real-time email, database actions, or notifications.

Alternatives & Enhancements

Here are some tools and plugins that support advanced WPForms-to-API connections:

WP Webhooks: No-code plugin to trigger external APIs.

Zapier / Make (Integromat): Great for non-devs but may have rate limits or costs.

Contact Form to Any API: Lightweight plugin designed for form-to-API integration.

Formidable Forms: For more complex data structures and logic.

Best Practices

✅ Always sanitize and validate user inputs before sending to APIs.

✅ Backup your site before adding custom code.

✅ Use test mode endpoints during development.

✅ Avoid exposing API secrets in public code (use wp-config.php).

✅ Log both success and failure responses for visibility.

Final Thoughts

WPForms is a powerful form plugin on its own, but its real strength is revealed when you integrate it with external APIs. Whether you're sending leads to a CRM, triggering custom workflows, or updating third-party systems, this guide has shown you how to:

Use Webhooks Addon for simple no-code integrations

Write custom PHP code for advanced and secure API requests

Handle authentication, testing, and logging properly

In the modern digital landscape, capturing and managing leads efficiently is key to business growth. Whether you’re using a WordPress site, Webflow, or any custom-built landing page, the first interaction often begins with a simple contact form. But what happens after a visitor hits submit?

If your answer involves checking emails or manually copying data to your CRM or database — it’s time for an upgrade.

With Contact Form to Any API, you can instantly send form submissions to any endpoint — CRMs, Slack, Notion, Airtable, Google Sheets, or custom-built APIs — without writing any code. This blog will walk you through exactly how to automate your lead capture process with Contact Form to Any API, save time, and avoid costly lead leaks.

🚀 Why Automate Your Lead Capture?

Before diving into the how-to, let’s talk about the why.

Manual lead collection:

Increases the risk of human error

Delays follow-ups (hurting conversions)

Becomes unsustainable at scale

Automating your form-to-API workflow means:

Instant data delivery to your CRM or app

No missed leads, ever

Centralized tracking, so your marketing and sales teams can work faster

🔧 What Is Contact Form to Any API?

Contact Form to Any API is a lightweight, code-free solution that acts as a bridge between your website's contact form and any external REST API.

It works by:

Capturing the form submission

Mapping fields to your target API’s structure

Sending the data in real-time using POST/PUT requests

Optionally adding headers (for authentication or custom needs)

Unlike complex platforms like Zapier or Make, it’s built for developers and marketers who just need to send data — fast, simply, and affordably.

✅ Key Benefits

No code needed – works with WordPress, Webflow, HTML forms, and more

Supports any REST API – including custom ones

Customizable payloads – full control over JSON structure

Flexible headers & auth – works with Bearer tokens, API keys, etc.

Lightweight and fast – no bloat, no middlemen

📝 Step-by-Step Guide: Automating Your Lead Capture

Let’s walk through how to set up your automation using Contact Form to Any API.

Step 1: Create Your API Endpoint

Decide where your leads should go. This could be:

A CRM like HubSpot, Salesforce, or Zoho

Google Sheets via Apps Script

A Notion database

Your own backend or marketing automation platform

Each of these tools provides a public API endpoint to accept data.

Make sure you understand the required format and authorization method.

Step 2: Set Up Contact Form to Any API

Go to ContactFormToAPI.com and sign up.

Create a new endpoint integration.

Paste the API endpoint you want to send data to.

Choose the HTTP method (usually POST).

Add any required headers (Authorization: Bearer, Content-Type: application/json).

Define the request body using field variables from your form.

Example JSON Body:

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{

  "name": "{{name}}",

  "email": "{{email}}",

  "message": "{{message}}"

}

The {{name}}, {{email}}, etc., are dynamic tags from your form fields.

Step 3: Connect Your Frontend Form

Now you need to make sure your contact form sends data to the Contact Form to Any API endpoint.

✅ For HTML Forms:

Use the provided action URL from the dashboard:

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<form action="https://contactformtoapi.com/your-endpoint-url" method="POST">

  <input name="name" required>

  <input name="email" type="email" required>

  <textarea name="message"></textarea>

  <button type="submit">Send</button>

</form>

✅ For WordPress:

Use any form plugin (Contact Form 7, WPForms, Gravity Forms) and set the action to Contact Form to Any API using a webhook or redirect logic.

✅ For Webflow:

Use the built-in Webflow form and update the form action URL in the embed code or via HTML override.

Step 4: Test and Verify the Integration

Submit a test form to ensure:

Data is being captured and sent

The API endpoint is responding successfully (e.g., 200 OK)

The fields are mapped correctly

You receive leads instantly in your destination app

You can use browser tools (Network tab) or your Contact Form to Any API dashboard logs to troubleshoot issues.

Step 5: Add Conditional Logic or Field Formatting (Optional)

Contact Form to Any API allows you to:

Add custom rules (e.g., only send data if email contains @company.com)

Format fields (e.g., convert names to Title Case)

Set default values for missing fields

These options help you clean and qualify data before it hits your backend.

🔄 Bonus: Multi-Destination Lead Sync

Need to send leads to multiple destinations?

For example:

CRM

Slack notification

Google Sheet backup

Contact Form to Any API lets you create multiple integrations from the same form — just duplicate your endpoint and route the data where you need it.

💡 Real-World Examples

1. Send Leads to HubSpot

Use HubSpot’s API endpoint /crm/v3/objects/contacts

Add a Bearer token in the header

Map form fields to HubSpot fields like firstname, email, phone

2. Send Leads to Slack

Use the Slack Incoming Webhook URL

Format the payload like:

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{

  "text": "New Lead: {{name}}, {{email}}, {{message}}"

}

3. Send Leads to Notion

Use the Notion API to create a new page in a database

Authenticate with a Bearer token

Convert form fields to the Notion schema format

🔐 Security Best Practices

Use HTTPS for all endpoints

Validate fields (email, phone) before sending to API

Add CAPTCHA to your contact form to prevent spam

Monitor error logs and webhook failures

📈 What Happens Next?

Once your form is integrated with Contact Form to Any API, you can:

Track and store every submission

Build automations on top of your CRM (email sequences, sales tasks)

Analyze lead sources using UTM fields

Respond faster and close deals quicker

🏁 Conclusion

In today’s fast-moving digital world, speed and automation win. Manually processing leads slows you down, increases error rates, and leads to lost revenue.