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A Contact Form 7 submission on your WordPress site can create a contact and a lead in VGraple CRM and send a WhatsApp follow-up template within seconds. The route is Contact Form 7's own webhook capability (a CF7 webhook add-on such as CF7 to Webhook) posting to Zapier, Make, Pabbly Connect or n8n, or directly to VGraple CRM's REST API from a small server-side snippet; there is no VGraple CRM WordPress plugin, and none is needed. If the form's only job is to start a WhatsApp conversation, VGraple CRM's own hosted-embed forms skip the middle layer entirely.
What syncs
| Data | Direction | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Submission fields: name, phone, email, service, message, hidden UTM fields | Contact Form 7 to VGraple CRM (contact upsert, lead, template) | Seconds after submit |
| Consent checkbox value | Contact Form 7 to VGraple CRM (marketing consent with source) | With the submission |
| Lead stage changes and replies | VGraple CRM to a sheet, CRM or Slack | Instant via webhooks or Zapier |
Setup
- In Contact Form 7, add a phone field with country code (or a separate country field), a consent checkbox worded for WhatsApp, and hidden fields for utm_source and utm_campaign.
- Install a CF7 webhook add-on (for example CF7 to Webhook) and in the form's Webhook tab enable it, choose POST and JSON, and confirm the field names match the form tags.
- Point it at your automation tool's webhook URL (Zapier Webhooks by Zapier, Make Custom webhook, Pabbly Webhook, n8n Webhook), or at your own endpoint that calls the REST API.
- In the automation tool, map the fields and add VGraple CRM steps: Create or Update Contact (phone in international format), optionally Create Lead in the right pipeline, then Send Template Message with an approved utility template such as "Thanks {{1}}, we received your request about {{2}}. Reply here or tap Book."
- Submit a test entry, check the contact, the lead and the WhatsApp message on your own phone, then switch the workflow on.
Field mapping
| Contact Form 7 field | VGraple CRM field | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Contact name | Split first and last if the form separates them |
| Phone | Contact phone | International format; strip spaces and a leading zero with a formatter step |
| Contact email | Used for matching web chat and email records | |
| Service or interest | Lead custom field or tag | Create the field in VGraple CRM first |
| Message | Lead note | Visible to the assigned salesperson |
| Consent checkbox | Marketing consent, source "Contact Form 7 form" | Only send marketing later if true |
| Hidden utm_source, utm_campaign | Lead source and campaign | Feeds source reports |
Why a template, and which one
The visitor has not messaged your WhatsApp number yet, so Meta requires an approved template for the first message. An acknowledgement that names what they asked for is a utility template and costs Rs 0.115 in India; it is also the message most likely to get a reply, which opens a free 24-hour window for the real conversation. Keep one approved template per form type with two variables (name, subject) and a Book or Reply quick reply button, and let the reply route to the right team by an assignment rule.
Three recipes
- Contact form -> lead in the Website pipeline -> utility acknowledgement template with a Book button -> assignment by service.
- Quote request -> lead with the requested service as a custom field -> salesperson notified on the Android app -> follow-up sequence if no reply in two days.
- Newsletter or download form with a WhatsApp consent box -> contact tagged for a monthly marketing broadcast with consent recorded.
Limits and gotchas
- The follow-up is a template because the visitor has not messaged you on WhatsApp yet; an acknowledgement about their own submission is utility, an offer is marketing.
- A phone without a country code cannot be delivered; validate it on the form.
- The consent checkbox must mention WhatsApp explicitly to count as opt-in for marketing.
- Spam submissions create contacts; add the plugin's spam protection and a filter step on obviously fake phones.
- Per-task pricing applies on Zapier, Make and Pabbly; a direct REST call from a server-side snippet has no per-task cost.
The WordPress forms help article covers the same route for Gravity Forms, Formidable, WPForms and Contact Form 7 in one place, and the forms feature page shows the native alternative.