How To: Decide how to send/receive data

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Use-cases

Some common use-cases that we often see:

1. I want to send data to an external SaaS app (e.g. a CRM, Airtable).
2. I want to trigger an email to be sent to me, or to the end-user.
3. I want to send data to my own backend/API.
4. I want to fetch content to display in my embeddable, similar to a CMS.
5. …many other combinations of the above…

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Questions to ask yourself

If you’re sending data somewhere:

• Am I sending to an external SaaS app, or to my own backend/database/API?
• Am I sending the data somewhere to access later, or will I need to access it instantly to avoid blocking the end-user?
• Am I sending data to a domain that might be blocked by browsers or ad blockers?
• Will I need to include some kind of private API key or token in the request?

If you’re fetching data from somewhere:

• Do I need the content to load instantly on page load, or later (e.g. on a subsequent page, or after a button click)?
• Does the data need to be secure, or is it public data that it’s OK for people to access?
• Am I fetching data from a domain that might be blocked by browsers or ad blockers?

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Which solution to choose - Sending data

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DataPipes - Integrations

This is usually the best solution if:

• ✅ You want to send data to one of these SaaS apps: HubSpot, Airtable, Sendgrid, Google Sheets.
• ✅ You don’t need to access it instantly (can take up to a minute to process).

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DataPipes - Webhooks

This is usually the best solution if:

• ✅ You want to send data to Zapier or your own backend/database/API.
• ✅ You don’t need to access it instantly (can take up to a minute to process).

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Frontend API request, using the Embeddables Secure Proxy

This is usually the best solution if:

• ✅ You want to send data to an external SaaS app, Zapier or your own backend/database/API.
• ✅ You need to access it instantly (sooner than within 1 minute), or it will block the end-user from progressing.
• ✅ You need to include some kind of private API key or token in the request - OR - you’ll be sending to a domain that might be blocked by browsers or ad blockers.

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Frontend API request, direct

This is usually the best solution if:

• ✅ You want to send data to an external SaaS app, Zapier or your own backend/database/API.
• ✅ You need to access it instantly (sooner than within 1 minute), or it will block the end-user from progressing.
• ✅ You don’t need to include any kind of private API key or token in the request.
• ✅ You won’t need to send to a domain that risks being blocked by browsers or ad blockers.

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Which solution to choose - Fetching data

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Embeddables CMS feature - currently in BETA

This is usually the best solution if:

• ✅ You want to fetch data from an Airtable.
• ✅ You need the content to load instantly on page load.

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Frontend API request, using the Embeddables Secure Proxy

This is usually the best solution if:

• ✅ You want to fetch data from an external SaaS app, Zapier or your own backend/database/API.
• ✅ The content doesn’t need to load instantly on page load (it can be e.g. on a subsequent page, or after a button click).
• ✅ You need to include some kind of private API key or token in the request - OR - you’re fetching from a domain that might be blocked by browsers or ad blockers.

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Frontend API request, direct

This is usually the best solution if:

• ✅ You want to fetch data from an external SaaS app, Zapier or your own backend/database/API.
• ✅ The content doesn’t need to load instantly on page load (it can be e.g. on a subsequent page, or after a button click).
• ✅ You don’t need to include any kind of private API key or token in the request.
• ✅ You won’t need to send to a domain that risks being blocked by browsers or ad blockers.