As a webmaster with over 15 years of experience building websites, I‘ve seen many trends come and go. One that I‘m most excited about lately is Airtable.
Airtable is a versatile tool that allows you to create relational databases, share data seamlessly, and build automated workflows between apps.
Integrating Airtable with WordPress opens up some incredibly powerful capabilities for collecting, managing, and leveraging your site‘s data.
In this in-depth guide, I‘ll show you step-by-step how to create custom Airtable-powered forms in WordPress. I‘ll provide plenty of examples, images, and friendly advice along the way.
Let‘s get started!
Contents
Why Airtable is Taking WordPress by Storm
WordPress powers over 43% of all websites, making it the world‘s most popular CMS.
Many of the top sites and largest companies now use WordPress along with Airtable to manage their data and content.
Here are a few stats that demonstrate the growing adoption of Airtable:
- 300,000+ businesses and organizations use Airtable
- Over 80% of the Fortune 100 use Airtable
- The number of Airtable users has tripled over the past 3 years
With so many sites switching to Airtable, it‘s important to understand what makes this data management platform so special.
5 Key Benefits of Using Airtable with WordPress
From my experience using Airtable over the past few years, I‘ve found it provides a number of unique benefits for WordPress sites:
1. Flexible Organization with Linked Tables
Airtable allows you to break down your data into tables that connect to each other. For example, you can link tables for projects, tasks, clients, and invoices.
2. Powerful Visualization and Dashboards
Quickly generate charts, maps, calendars, galleries, and other visual ways to view your data. Airtable dashboards make it easy to gain insights.
3. Automated Workflows and Integrations
Trigger actions like sending emails and Slack messages when data changes. Zapier offers hundreds of automated workflow options.
4. Real-Time Collaboration
Teams can view, edit, comment on bases in the same Airtable account simultaneously. See changes instantly without hassle.
5. Two-Way Sync with WordPress
Push WordPress posts into Airtable records and pull data back into your CMS for a full view of your site.
With Airtable‘s innovative features and integrations, it can supercharge your WordPress site and take your content strategy to the next level.
Now let me show you how to get started…
How to Set Up Airtable and WordPress
Connecting your WordPress forms to Airtable takes just 5 easy steps. I‘ll walk you through each one:
Step 1: Sign Up for an Airtable Account
Go to Airtable.com and click Sign up for free.
Once you‘ve created your new Airtable account, it‘s time to make your first base.
Step 2: Create Your First Airtable Base
An Airtable "base" is like a database that contains all your tables and records.
Click Add a base and select Start from scratch. Give your base a name like "Sales CRM".
Then under your new base, click Create table and name it something like "Leads". This is where your contact form data will go.
Step 3: Install the WPForms Plugin
In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New. Search for "WPForms" and click Install Now.
WPForms is the best drag-and-drop WordPress form builder. I recommend going with WPForms Pro for advanced functionality and Zapier integration.
Step 4: Build a Form in WPForms
Under the WPForms menu, click Add New to open the form builder.
Drag and drop fields like Name, Email, Phone, etc. into your form. This will be a simple contact form.
Give your form a name like "Contact Us" and click Save.
Step 5: Get Your Airtable API Key
The final step is to get your Airtable API key which allows external services to access your Airtable account.
Click your profile picture > Account > Generate API key. Keep this handy!
That covers the initial setup! Now let‘s look at connecting the two…
Connecting WPForms and Airtable (Step-by-Step)
With the basics covered, it‘s time for the fun part – linking your WordPress forms to Airtable.
We‘ll use a super helpful integration tool called Zapier to bring our contact form and Airtable database together.
Here‘s how to connect WPForms and Airtable in 7 simple steps:
Step 1: Install the WPForms Zapier Addon
The WPForms Zapier Addon provides the functionality to integrate with Zapier.
In your WPForms dashboard, go to Addons and search for Zapier. Install and activate it.
Tip: You‘ll need WPForms Pro or higher for addon functionality.
Step 2: Get Your WPForms API Key
Go to WPForms Settings > Integrations and click Connect to Zapier.
Copy down the API Key shown here. We‘ll need it soon to authenticate.
Step 3: Create a Free Zapier Account
Head to Zapier.com and sign up for a free Zapier account.
Zapier lets you easily automate workflows between different apps without coding. Their free plan allows 2 zaps.
Step 4: Make a New Zap in Zapier
In your Zapier dashboard, click Make a Zap to launch the integration wizard.
Step 5: Set Up WPForms as the Trigger
Search for WPForms as the trigger app. Choose "New Form Entry" for the trigger event.
Use your WPForms API key from Step 2 to connect your account. Then select your contact form.
This watches your form for new submissions to activate the zap.
Step 6: Set Up the Airtable Action
Search for Airtable as the action app. Choose "Create Record" as the event.
Use your Airtable API key from Step 5 to connect. Select your "Sales CRM" base and "Leads" table.
This will create new records from form submissions.
Step 7: Map the Fields
Under "Customize Record", map your form fields to the matching Airtable columns so the data populates correctly.
For example, map WPForms Email field to the Airtable Email column.
That‘s it! Now your WordPress forms will automatically sync data to your Airtable database in real-time. Pretty cool!
Recap and Next Steps
Here‘s a quick recap of how to create Airtable-powered forms in WordPress:
- Sign up for an Airtable account
- Create a base and table
- Install the WPForms plugin
- Build your form in WPForms
- Get your Airtable API key
- Install WPForms Zapier addon
- Create a Zapier account
- Set up a new Zap with WPForms as the trigger
- Set Airtable "Create Record" as the action
- Map the fields between the form and Airtable
With your form integrated, here are some next steps to take your Airtable setup to the next level:
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Build additional forms to collect all kinds of useful data from your site.
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Create views, charts, calendars, and other ways to visualize your Airtable data.
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Set up notifications and workflows using Zapier‘s hundreds of integrations.
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Sync your WordPress content to Airtable records for easy management.
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Check out the Airtable Universe for pre-built templates, automations, and plugins.
The possibilities are endless! Let me know if you have any other questions on using Airtable forms in WordPress. I‘m always happy to help out.
Now go wow your boss with your new database superpowers!
