Technical
Choosing a CRM: Why Your Website Integration Strategy Should Come First
In the world of digital transformation for charities and non-profits, selecting a CRM is a monumental decision. Usually, the focus is on internal data management—and rightly so. However, we’ve seen many projects hit an expensive snag because the 'web-readiness' of the CRM was an afterthought.
If your CRM doesn't play nicely with your website, you're left with a choice between a clunky user experience or a massive bill for custom API development. To avoid that, here's what you should be looking for when evaluating a new CRM website integration.
1. The Power of the Embedded Form
The most common way your CRM and website interact is through data capture sign-ups, donations, or membership applications. We always look for CRMs that offer embedded forms or widgets.
However, not all embeds are created equal. We look for forms that use JavaScript injection rather than traditional iFrames. Why? Because JavaScript allows the form elements to live directly on your page, meaning we can style them to match your brand perfectly. An iFrame is essentially a 'window' to another site – it’s rigid, often looks out of place, and is much harder to track for analytics.
2. Form Pagination: A Hidden Deal-Breaker
Most recently, we received the exciting news that we've been shortlisted for not one, but two categories at the Transform Awards Europe 2026. Both nominations celebrate our comprehensive rebrand f your organisation requires complex data—like a multi-step membership application, pagination is essential.
We’ve seen instances where a CRM provides great forms, but they can only be displayed as one long, intimidating list of fields. If the widget doesn't support 'Next' and 'Back' buttons natively, you’re forced to either overwhelm your users or build a custom multi-step interface from scratch via an API. Always check if the widget handles multi-page journeys out of the box.
3. Pre-population and the User Journey
A 'rich' user journey is one that feels personal. If a user clicks a link in a personalised email, your website should 'know' who they are.
We check if the CRM allows values to be passed into the form via URL parameters or data layers. Pre-populating a user's name or membership ID doesn't just save them time, it significantly increases conversion rates and reduces the friction of manual data entry.
4. When to Use an API vs a Widget
The golden rule of integration is simple: The more the embedded forms can handle, the smaller the development job. However, widgets can’t do everything. At a bare minimum, we look for a robust API that allows the website to perform 'sanity checks' such as asking:
- Does this contact already exist in the system?
- Is this person an active member?
- Are they eligible for a specific discount?