Send every website form straight into your CRM

Why it matters

A form that only emails you depends on someone reading that email. Leads submitted at night or on weekends wait, and some are never entered. When the form writes to the CRM directly, routing, alerts and follow-up in the next chapters can start on their own.

Step by step

1. 01

   HighLevel option A: build the form in HighLevel and embed it

   Create the form with these fields: First Name, Last Name, Email, Phone, a message box, and a checkbox for text consent. Add a hidden Source field and set it to a name you will recognise in reports, for example Website - Home value form.

   Open the form's Integrate tab, choose a layout (Inline sits in the page), and click Copy Embed Code. Paste it in your site in an HTML block (WordPress: Custom HTML block; Squarespace: Code block or Code Injection).

   Check: Submitting the live form as your test lead creates the contact in Contacts, and the submission is listed under Sites > Forms > Submissions.

2. 02

   HighLevel option B: keep your existing form and add External Tracking

   If you want to keep your current form (Gravity Forms, WPForms, Contact Form 7, or a plain HTML form), copy the External Tracking script and install it before the closing body tag on every page of your site. Do not edit the tracking ID inside the script.

   Your form must be a real HTML form on the page (not inside an iframe), with named inputs, and it should include an email field so HighLevel can create or match the contact.

   Check: After a test submission, Sites > Forms > Submissions > External Forms lists it, and the contact exists with the page URL in its activity.

3. 03

   HighLevel: start a workflow from the form

   Add the trigger Form Submitted and filter it to this form (for External Tracking, filter by external form name or page path). Add one action for now: Add Contact Tag web-lead. Routing and alerts are added in the routing chapter.

   Save and set the workflow to Publish. A workflow left in Draft never runs.

   Check: The test contact carries the web-lead tag and the workflow's Execution Logs show the run.

4. 04

   Follow Up Boss option A: send form notifications to your lead email address

   Every Follow Up Boss user has a lead email address ending in @followupboss.me, shown on Admin > API. Leads emailed there from a supported provider are parsed and added automatically, and assigned to that user.

   Set your website form's notification recipient to that address. For a custom form, format the notification so the generic parser can read it (one Label: value per line works best; see the template). If your form tool cannot send to an extra address, forward with a mail rule.

   Check: One test submission appears in People within a few minutes, and Admin > Lead Flow lists its source.

5. 05

   Follow Up Boss option B: post leads to the events API

   If your site or a developer can make an HTTP call, use POST https://api.followupboss.com/v1/events. Follow Up Boss calls this "the only correct option" for sending leads and activity; it de-duplicates people by phone or email, and new leads of type Registration, Seller Inquiry, Property Inquiry or General Inquiry start automations. Do not send new leads to /people: that skips automations and can duplicate contacts.

   Set source to your website domain without www.. The full request is in the advanced section; Zapier's Follow Up Boss app is the no-code way to make the same call.

   Check: The API returns 201 for a new person (200 for an existing one). A 204 means the Lead Flow for that source is archived and the lead was ignored: un-archive it on Admin > Lead Flow.

6. 06

   Write the consent answer where everyone can see it

   Map the consent checkbox to a contact field named SMS consent (Yes/No) and keep the date. HighLevel: a custom field on the form. Follow Up Boss: a custom field passed in the event, or the text of the inquiry if you use email parsing.

   Check: Your test contact shows SMS consent = Yes when ticked; a second test with the box unticked shows No.

Copyable templates

[ ] Yes, Coastal Key Realty may text me about my real estate inquiry at the number above, including automated texts. Consent is not a condition of any purchase or service. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out at any time.

Source: coastalkeyrealty.com
First Name: {first_name}
Last Name: {last_name}
Email: {email}
Phone: {phone}
SMS consent: {sms_consent}
Message: {message}
Page: {page_url}

Try it

How to test it

1. Open your site in a private browser window.
2. Submit as Jordan Testlead with consent ticked. Start a timer.
3. Find the contact in the CRM. Note the minutes taken, the source and the consent value.
4. Submit again with the same email and consent unticked. Confirm it updated the same contact and consent now reads No.
5. Tag the contact test-lead so it is excluded from reports.

Troubleshooting

Advanced technical details

Optional. You can follow every step above without these.

POST https://api.followupboss.com/v1/events
Authorization: Basic BASE64(API_KEY:)
X-System: CoastalKeyWebsite
X-System-Key: YOUR_SYSTEM_KEY
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "source": "coastalkeyrealty.com",
  "system": "CoastalKeyWebsite",
  "type": "Seller Inquiry",
  "message": "Home value request: 14 Harbor Lane. Timeline 3-6 months.",
  "person": {
    "firstName": "Jordan",
    "lastName": "Testlead",
    "emails": [{ "value": "you+test0001@yourdomain.com" }],
    "phones": [{ "value": "555-010-0001" }],
    "tags": ["test-lead"]
  }
}

{
  "first_name": "Jordan",
  "last_name": "Testlead",
  "email": "you+test0001@yourdomain.com",
  "phone": "+15550100001",
  "source": "Website - Home value form",
  "sms_consent": "yes",
  "message": "Home value request: 14 Harbor Lane"
}