FluentCRM Developers

# FluentCRM Developer Guide

FluentCRM Core Complete Guide

Welcome to the complete developer guide for FluentCRM - the self-hosted email marketing automation plugin for WordPress. This comprehensive guide will take you from understanding the basics to building sophisticated integrations and custom functionality.

# What is FluentCRM?

FluentCRM is a Self-Hosted Email Marketing Automation Plugin for WordPress that helps businesses manage their customer relationships, email campaigns, and marketing automation workflows. Unlike cloud-based solutions, FluentCRM runs entirely on your WordPress site, ensuring data privacy, unlimited contacts, and no monthly fees.

# Why Extend FluentCRM?

FluentCRM is designed to be highly extensible, allowing developers to customize and extend its functionality far beyond what the plugin offers out-of-the-box. Whether you're a business owner looking to customize your CRM or a developer hired to create specific integrations, FluentCRM provides the tools you need.

# 🔧 Built for Customization

  • Extensive hook system - 100+ action and filter hooks for custom functionality
  • Modular architecture - Clean separation allows safe modifications and additions
  • RESTful API - Complete programmatic access to all CRM data and functions
  • WordPress-native - Follows WordPress coding standards and best practices

# 🏗️ Flexible Extension Points

  • Custom automations - Create triggers, actions, and benchmarks for unique workflows
  • Third-party integrations - Connect with external services and platforms
  • Custom profile sections - Add specialized data views and functionality
  • API extensions - Build custom endpoints for mobile apps or external systems

# 💼 Business Benefits

  • No vendor lock-in - Your customizations stay with you, not dependent on external services
  • Unlimited scalability - Extend functionality as your business needs grow
  • Cost-effective - One-time development instead of ongoing SaaS fees
  • Complete control - Modify any aspect to match your specific business processes

# FluentCRM Versions

# FluentCRM Core (Free)

The free version includes powerful core functionalities:

  • ✅ Contact Management - Unlimited contacts and custom fields
  • ✅ Email Campaigns - Beautiful drag-and-drop email builder
  • ✅ Basic Automations - Simple trigger-based workflows
  • ✅ List Management - Organize contacts with lists and tags
  • ✅ Form Integration - Works with popular form plugins
  • ✅ WooCommerce Integration - Basic e-commerce tracking
  • ✅ Developer API - Full access to hooks and REST API

# FluentCRM Pro (Premium)

The premium version adds advanced marketing features:

  • 🚀 Advanced Automations - Complex multi-path workflows
  • 🚀 Email Sequences - Drip campaigns and nurture sequences
  • 🚀 Advanced Segmentation - Smart tags and dynamic lists
  • 🚀 Deep Integrations - 50+ third-party integrations
  • 🚀 Revenue Tracking - Advanced e-commerce analytics
  • 🚀 A/B Testing - Split test campaigns and sequences
  • 🚀 Advanced Reporting - Detailed performance analytics

# Core Development Concepts

# 📊 Data Architecture

FluentCRM follows WordPress conventions with a clean, normalized database structure:

Core Tables & Relationships:

  • 🧑‍💼 Contacts (fc_subscribers) - Central hub for all contact data

    • Stores contact information, status, custom fields
    • Links to all other CRM activities and data

  • 📋 Lists (fc_lists) - Organize contacts into categories

    • Marketing segments, customer groups, product interests
    • Many-to-many relationship with contacts

  • 🏷️ Tags (fc_tags) - Flexible labeling system

    • Behavioral triggers, preferences, lifecycle stages
    • Dynamic filtering and automation targeting

  • 📧 Campaigns (fc_campaigns) - One-time email broadcasts

    • Newsletter campaigns, promotions, announcements
    • Track opens, clicks, and engagement metrics

  • 🤖 Funnels (fc_funnels) - Automation workflows

    • Multi-step email sequences and nurture campaigns
    • Trigger-based automated customer journeys

# 🔄 Automation Workflow

The three-component automation system:

  1. Triggers - Events that start workflows (form submission, purchase, etc.)
  2. Actions - Tasks performed automatically (send email, add tag, etc.)
  3. Benchmarks - Goals that define completion (purchase made, link clicked, etc.)

# 🔌 Extension Points

Multiple ways to extend FluentCRM:

  • WordPress Hooks - 100+ actions and filters for custom functionality
  • REST API - Complete programmatic access to all features
  • Module System - Add new triggers, actions, and profile sections
  • Smart Codes - Dynamic content placeholders for personalization
  • Custom Automations - Create workflows as per your business needs

# Directory Structure

Understanding FluentCRM's organized codebase:

fluent-crm/
├── app/                    # Core application logic
│   ├── Api/               # REST API endpoints and utilities
│   ├── Functions/         # Global helper functions
│   ├── Hooks/            # WordPress action/filter handlers
│   ├── Http/             # Request handling and routing
│   │   ├── Controllers/   # API and admin controllers
│   │   ├── Policies/     # Permission and access control
│   │   └── routes.php    # Route definitions
│   ├── Models/           # Database models and relationships
│   │   ├── Subscriber.php # Contact/subscriber model
│   │   ├── Campaign.php  # Email campaign model
│   │   ├── Funnel.php   # Automation workflow model
│   │   └── ...          # Additional models
│   ├── Services/         # Business logic and services
│   │   ├── Funnel/      # Automation engine services
│   │   ├── Libs/        # Third-party integrations
│   │   └── Helper.php   # Core helper utilities
│   └── views/           # PHP template files
│
├── assets/              # Frontend assets
│   ├── admin/          # Admin interface assets
│   ├── public/         # Public-facing assets
│   └── images/         # Image resources
│
├── boot/               # Plugin initialization
├── config/             # Configuration files
├── database/           # Database migrations and schema
│   ├── migrations/     # Database migration files
│   └── DBMigrator.php # Migration handler
│
└── fluent-crm.php     # Plugin entry point
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# Development Environment Setup

# Prerequisites

  • WordPress 5.0+ - Modern WordPress installation
  • PHP 7.4+ - Recent PHP version with required extensions
  • MySQL 5.6+ - Database with InnoDB support
  • Basic WordPress Development - Understanding of hooks, plugins, and themes

# Development Tools

  • Code Editor - VS Code, PhpStorm, or your preferred editor
  • Local Environment - Laravel Herd, XAMPP, WAMP, or Docker
  • Version Control - Git for tracking changes (optional but recommended)
  • API Testing - Postman or Insomnia for REST API development

# Getting Started Checklist

  1. 📖 Read the Fundamentals

  2. 🔍 Explore the Hooks

  3. 🏗️ Build Your First Extension

  4. 🌐 API Integration

# Community & Support

# 📚 Learning Resources

# 💬 Community

# 🚀 Next Steps

Ready to start building? Choose your path: