Integrating lead forms onto your site can be confusing, but that’s where we can help. Here are some common troubleshooting tips to help you fix a broken form on your website.
No Success or Error Messages
Many website forms use jQuery embed code to validate the form input data and display response messages like the success message that appears when someone submits a form.
This action is managed by JavaScript, which is particular about what other actions are being performed on the page. Sometimes, multiple scripts on a page can interfere with one another and prevent the form from working correctly. If you don’t see the success message, check for potential JavaScript conflicts
Leads Not Posting
An API (Application Program Interface) is a messenger that makes a request and tells a system what to do, which then returns a response. Essentially, APIs allow you to safely open up your product’s data & functionality to other developers and applications. In the case of affiliate marketing, it helps facilitate the flow of leads.
When a publisher needs to integrate with an API, they are sent API documentation instructing them on how to set it up. They will also need to receive an API Key before being authorized to connect with the system. This type of setup is ideal for publishers who deal with opportunities across multiple categories or if they can categorize their traffic, and they have a development team to integrate to the API.
Try using an API testing tool such as ‘insomnia‘ or ‘postman‘ to make sure leads are posting correctly. These tools allow web developers to test API requests when a specific set of data is passed (or not) to our application, and allow them to inspect the API responses to make sure they’re being passed.
Form Input Field Names
Field names can be finicky when passing information, so making sure you’ve got the correct names, and knowing what each of the fields is intended to capture can help you ensure your data passes correctly.
If you are coding your own web form, it is important to use the correct ‘input type’, ‘class’, ‘id’, and ‘name’ that match with each required field. For example, a field for “first_name” might look like this:
<label for=”first_name”>First Name</label>
<input type=”text” class=”form-control” id=”first_name” name=”first_name” required=””>
Another helpful tactic is to use integers (whole numbers) where possible. Rather than putting a range on your lead form, use a whole number, since it’s more versatile. For example: Salary = $50,000-69,000. In this example it is hard to translate if another advertiser uses a different range, but if you capture a whole number, it can be translated into any range or just used as a whole number.
Go for it!
In the end, it all comes down to one thing: testing. In a way it’s kind of like putting a puzzle together, you just try plugging in different pieces and see if it works.
Read more: 10 Steps to Creating High Converting Lead Forms