Learning Claris FileMaker

API’s – Connect FileMaker the World, Save Time and Money

I’ve been busy working on several projects and have been lax as far as blogging goes (and I miss it, too).

One of those projects required the use of two API’s connecting FileMaker to WordPress and Kartra.

Most people are familiar with WordPress – it’s the world’s most popular blogging software powering about 30% of all websites on the internet.

Kartra is an extremely powerful sales funnel and marketing platform (among other things), and is a relative newcomer on the Internet.

However, it is growing fast as it was designed by the worlds best internet marketers, Frank Kern.

Connecting FileMaker to WordPress and Kartra in 3 parts

That’s right, this is the first in a series of three blog posts delivering the nuts and bolts of connecting FileMaker to WordPress and Kartra.

Read the first part of the story on the filemakerprogurus' blog

Connecting Your WordPress Website and FileMaker Solution

In this post, we demonstrate how you can submit a form built with a freely available WordPress plugin, Ninja Forms.

This makes building web forms easy while staying compliant with a WordPress theme.

This process also supports responsiveness of your WordPress deployment.

LKT Laboratories sells biochemicals for life science research in areas such as cancer prevention and neuroscience. LKT contacted Cimbura.com so that they could take advantage of their existing technology investment in a FileMaker database used to track all products.

They needed a new eCommerce website and wanted it to automatically connect to the FileMaker app already used to track all their chemical information internally.

...

The FileMaker 17 Data API is one of the least understood new features of FileMaker 17. 

Essentially, the Data API allows a FileMaker 17 server to interact with web services directly using the REST protocol.

OK, let's unpack that a bit.

REST stands for Representational State Transfer, which doesn't shed much light on the subject.

Let's try again. 

Essentially, REST lets the World Wide Web (WWW) communicate with a FileMaker database.  Easily, because the REST set of tools exist in just about any programming language and are easy to use.

Let's try a real world example:  Assume you have a WordPress website with form generator – something simple, like a 'Contact Us' form. 

Simply put, that form can add records directly to a FileMaker Database using the Data API.

Getting WordPress and FileMaker to talk

So given that WordPress and FileMaker play their respective roles for your company toolset, how do we get them to talk to each other?

We’ve detailed many ways that you can publish FileMaker information on the web through custom web publishing.

Pushing and pulling information from a web site is a two way system. Information can be entered in FileMaker and displayed on the web as well as information can be accepted on the web and pulled into FileMaker.