How to Connect Optimizely CMS Forms to Your CRM Using Zapier

Optimizely CMS, formerly known as Episerver, is a platform for creating, managing, and publishing content on a website. Beyond handling pages and content, it also lets you build forms to capture information from users, prospects, or customers.

Often that information shouldn’t stay inside the CMS alone. Ideally, it should be sent automatically to an external tool — a CRM, an email marketing platform, a spreadsheet, or any other system where your sales or marketing team can follow up on it.

In this tutorial we’ll look at how to connect an Optimizely CMS form to your CRM using Zapier.

While we’ll use the CRM as the main destination, this same setup can be used to send data to tools like Mailchimp, HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho CRM, Pipedrive, Google Sheets, ActiveCampaign, or any platform compatible with Zapier.

To build this integration we’ll take advantage of Optimizely CMS’s Webhooks functionality.

If you don’t know what a Webhook is, here’s a simple way to explain it: it’s a special URL that lets one application send information to another automatically. In this case, Optimizely CMS will send the form data to Zapier, and Zapier will take care of forwarding it to the CRM or tool we choose.

What we need

Before getting started, make sure you have the following:

A Zapier account.
Access to the Optimizely CMS form you want to connect.
Permission to modify the form’s properties.
Access to the CRM or platform where you want to store the data.
A clear list of the fields you want to capture, such as name, email, phone, company, or message.

How the integration works

The full process will work like this:

A user fills out the form on your site.
Optimizely CMS sends the form data to a Webhook.
Zapier receives that information.
Zapier interprets the fields it received.
Zapier sends that data to your CRM or destination platform.
The contact is recorded automatically.

This avoids having to copy data manually and reduces the risk of losing important prospects.

Setting up the Webhook in Zapier

The first thing we need to do is create the point where Zapier will receive the data sent from Optimizely CMS.

To do this, log in to your Zapier account and create a new Zap.

A Zap is an automation that’s usually made up of two parts:

A trigger, known as the Trigger.
An action, known as the Action.

In this case, the trigger will be a form submission from Optimizely CMS.

When Zapier asks you to choose the Trigger app, search for and select Webhooks by Zapier.

Next, Zapier will ask you to choose the event type. Select:

Catch Hook

This option makes Zapier generate a unique URL capable of receiving information sent from another application.

Skipping initial filters

In the next step, Zapier may ask you to configure fields or filters to limit the information the Webhook will receive.

For this case we won’t apply any initial filter.

The reason is simple: at first it’s better to receive all the data Optimizely CMS sends. Once Zapier captures a test, we can review the real field names and decide which ones we want to send to the CRM.

This is especially useful because some forms may send additional fields, internal identifiers, or technical names that don’t always match the form’s visible labels.

Copying the Webhook URL

After you continue, Zapier will generate a unique URL.

That URL will be the destination where Optimizely CMS sends the form data.

Copy that URL and keep it handy. We’ll use it when configuring the form inside Optimizely CMS.

It’s important not to share this URL publicly, since any system that knows it could send data to the Zap.

Setting up the Webhook in Optimizely CMS

Now go into the Optimizely CMS admin and locate the form you want to connect.

Open the form’s properties or settings.

Within the settings, look for an option called:

Trigger webhook after form submission

This option lets you run a Webhook after a user submits the form.

Select the button to add a new Webhook. It usually appears as a + symbol or a similar option for adding a new configuration.

In the configuration window, paste the URL that Zapier generated in the previous step.

Then select the sending format:

POST data in JSON format

This option is important because it tells Optimizely CMS to send the form information in JSON format — a structured format that Zapier can easily interpret.

Save or add the Webhook configuration.

Verifying the configuration in Optimizely CMS

Before moving on, check that the form has the Webhook registered correctly.

You should see the Zapier URL within the form’s configuration, associated with the form submission event.

Also verify that the sending method is POST and that the selected format is JSON.

If the form lets you save changes or publish a new version, make sure to do so for the configuration to take effect.

Sending a test from the form

Now we need to send real test data so that Zapier can detect the form’s structure.

Open the public or test page where the Optimizely CMS form is published.

Fill out the form as if you were a real user. Use data that’s easy to identify, for example:

First name: Juan
Last name: Test
Email: [email protected]
Company: Demo Company
Phone: 5555555555
Message: I’d like more information

Then submit the form.

This step is necessary because Zapier needs to receive at least one example of data in order to show you the available fields in the following steps.

Reviewing the captured data in Zapier

Go back to Zapier and continue with the Webhook test.

Zapier will try to find a recent request sent to the URL you configured.

If everything is working correctly, Zapier will show the data captured from Optimizely CMS.

Here you should carefully review the fields received.

The field names may appear in a technical form. For example, instead of seeing “Email,” you might see something like email, EmailAddress, form_email, or even an identifier generated by the system.

Don’t worry if the names aren’t perfect. What matters is identifying which field corresponds to each piece of form data.

Adding the action to your CRM

Once Zapier is correctly receiving the form information, the next step is to send it to the CRM.

Add a new action inside the Zap.

In the app search box, type the name of your CRM or destination platform.

For example:

HubSpot
Salesforce
Zoho CRM
Pipedrive
Mailchimp
ActiveCampaign
Google Sheets

Select the corresponding app.

Then Zapier will ask you to choose what you want to do with the data received.

Depending on the tool, the action can be named in different ways, for example:

Create Contact
Create Lead
Add Contact
Add/Update Subscriber
Create Deal
Create Spreadsheet Row

If you’re connecting a CRM, the most common choice will be Create Contact or Create Lead.

If you’re connecting an email marketing platform like Mailchimp, the most common choice will be Add/Update Subscriber.

Connecting your CRM account

Zapier will ask you to log in to the destination tool and authorize access.

This step lets Zapier create or update records in your CRM.

After connecting the account, select the corresponding space within the tool. Depending on the CRM, this could be:

A list.
An audience.
A pipeline.
A database.
An account or workspace.
A contacts or leads module.

Choose the place where you want to store the information sent from Optimizely CMS.

Mapping the form fields

This is the most important part of the integration.

Mapping fields means telling Zapier which form data should go into which CRM field.

For example:

The form’s email should go to the CRM’s Email field.
The first name should go to the First Name field.
The last name should go to the Last Name field.
The phone should go to the Phone field.
The company should go to the Company field.
The message should go to the Message, Notes, or Description field.

Each CRM has different fields, but the logic is the same: we take the data received from Optimizely CMS and place it in the appropriate fields of the destination tool.

The most important field is usually the email, since many platforms use it to identify existing contacts and avoid duplicates.

Defining rules for existing contacts

Some tools let you decide what to do if the contact already exists.

Depending on the CRM, you might have options such as:

Always create a new contact.
Update the contact if it already exists.
Search for the contact by email first.
Create a lead only if it doesn’t already exist.
Add a note or activity to an existing contact.

Whenever possible, it’s best to avoid duplicates.

A good practice is to use the email as the primary identifier. That way, if a person fills out the form more than once, the CRM can update their information or log a new activity without creating multiple identical contacts.

Adding tags, sources, or notes

Beyond the basic fields, it’s a good idea to send additional information that helps identify where the contact came from.

For example, you can add a tag or fixed value such as:

Optimizely CMS Form
Website
Landing Page
Web Contact
Information Request
Newsletter

You can also fill in fields such as:

Lead source
Acquisition channel
Form name
Source page
Registration date

This will be very useful later for segmenting contacts, measuring results, or understanding which forms generate the best opportunities.

Testing the send to the CRM

After mapping the fields, Zapier will let you run a test of the action.

Run the test.

Zapier will send the data captured from Optimizely CMS to your CRM.

Then go into your CRM and look for the test contact using the email you sent from the form.

If the contact appears with the correct fields, the integration is working.

Pay special attention to:

That the name is in the correct field.
That the email was saved properly.
That the phone didn’t lose its format.
That the company appears where it should.
That the notes, tags, or lead source were recorded correctly.

Turning on the Zap

When the test works correctly, turn on the Zap.

From that moment on, every time someone fills out the form in Optimizely CMS, Zapier will receive the information and send it automatically to your CRM.

It’s a good idea to run a second test after turning on the Zap, using a different email, to confirm that the automation also works in live mode.

Common mistakes

If the integration doesn’t work as expected, check these points:

That the Zapier Webhook URL is correctly pasted in Optimizely CMS.
That the form is configured to send data after submission.
That the selected format is POST data in JSON format.
That the form was saved or published after configuring the Webhook.
That Zapier received a test before configuring the action.
That the email field is correctly mapped.
That your CRM account is still connected to Zapier.
That the Zap is turned on.
That the CRM doesn’t have required fields left empty.
That there are no internal CRM rules blocking contact creation.

It’s also a good idea to review the Zap’s history inside Zapier. There you’ll be able to see whether the error occurred when receiving the data from Optimizely CMS or when sending it to the CRM.

Best practices

Before considering the integration finished, keep these recommendations in mind:

Use clear names for your forms.
Add a source or tag to identify where contacts come from.
Avoid creating duplicate contacts if your CRM can search by email.
Include consent if you’re going to send commercial communications.
Test with real but easy-to-recognize data.
Document which form is connected to which Zap.
Periodically review your Zapier history to catch errors.

Conclusion

With this setup we can connect an Optimizely CMS form to a CRM or external platform without having to develop a custom integration.

Zapier acts as a bridge between both tools: it receives the data sent by Optimizely CMS, interprets it, and sends it to the system where the team will actually follow up on those contacts.

This setup works the same way with any CRM or platform compatible with Zapier: HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho CRM, Pipedrive, ActiveCampaign, Google Sheets, or other similar tools.

The result is a more organized, automatic, and useful flow for marketing, sales, or customer service.