Overview
A feed is a configuration within Gravity Forms that defines how form submission data should be sent to an add-on or external service. Each time a user successfully submits your form, any active feeds associated with that form will process and send the relevant data according to your configuration.
How feeds differ from notifications
While notifications send emails to destinations you specify, feeds are configured within add-ons to control how submission data is sent to external services or processed by add-on functionality. Feeds enable your forms to integrate and automate workflows beyond simple email notifications.
Common uses for feeds
Feeds allow you to automatically:
- Send information to a customer management system to create or update customer records (e.g., Agile CRM Add-On or ActiveCampaign Add-On)
- Process payments through a payment gateway (e.g., Stripe Add-On)
- Create support tickets in helpdesk systems (e.g., Help Scout Add-On)
- Post messages to communication platforms (e.g., Slack Add-On)
- Upload files to cloud storage services (e.g., Dropbox Add-On)
- Send data to custom endpoints using webhooks (Webhooks Add-On)
Where to find them
Navigate to Forms > [Your Form] > [Add-On Name]. From here, you will be presented with a list of feeds configured for that specific add-on and form.
Setting up a feed
The general process for configuring a feed includes.
Add-on settings
Some add-ons require initial setup in Forms > Settings > [Add-on Name] before creating feeds. This may include authentication credentials, API keys, or account connections.
Feed Configuration
Define how the feed should behave. This typically includes field mapping, connecting your form fields to corresponding fields in the external service, or adding functionality. For example, specify which form field contains the phone number that should populate the phone field in your CRM. For specific instructions on setting up your feeds, refer to the user guide for each add-on.
Conditional logic
Set conditions that determine when the feed should be processed. For example, only send data to a “new customer” feed when a specific form field value indicates that a new customer has been identified. For information on enabling conditional logic for a feed, please see this article.
When they are processed
Understanding when feeds fire and process is critical for ensuring your integrations work as expected.
Standard feed processing
Feeds are processed asynchronously after a form is successfully submitted and the entry is created in the database. This means feed processing occurs in the background and does not block the form submission workflow or delay the display of the confirmation message to the user.
Spam entries
When an entry is marked as spam (either automatically by anti-spam tools or manually), feeds do not process. This prevents potentially malicious or unwanted data from being sent to your external services.
Marking entries “Not spam”
When you mark a spam entry as “Not spam” in the Gravity Forms entry list, feeds do not automatically fire or process retroactively. The entry status changes, but no feed processing occurs.
Processing feeds for recovered entries
If you need to process feeds for an entry that wasn’t processed or failed, you can use this third-party plugin Feed Forge, which allows you to reprocess feeds for existing entries.
Important considerations
Active feeds required
A feed must be present and active at the time of form submission to send information to the external service. Entries created without an active feed will not be sent to the service automatically.
Retroactive processing
Creating a feed after entries have been submitted will not automatically process those existing entries (though some add-ons may provide tools for manual reprocessing).
Multiple feeds
You can create multiple feeds for the same add-on on a single form. Use conditional logic to control which feed processes are based on form data. Not all add-ons support multiple feeds. Some add-ons support multiple feeds only in specific situations, for example, the User Registration Add-On allows only one update feed per form.
Can’t find the right add-on?
If you cannot find an add-on that supports your specific external service, consider using the Zapier Add-On, which offers hundreds of integrations with other services through the Zapier platform.
Disclaimer: Third-party services, plugins, or code snippets that are referenced by our Support documentation or in Support Team communications are provided as suggestions only. We do not evaluate, test or officially support third-party solutions. You are wholly responsible for determining if any suggestion given is sufficient to meet the functional, security, legal, ongoing cost and support needs of your project.
Feedback, feature, and integration requests, and other functionality ideas can be submitted at http://forms.roadmap.gravity.com/.