Auto-populate form fields with a query string

You can auto-populate form fields on a page by adding query strings to the page URL before sending it to your contacts. Fields will populate based on the query string added. This also works for hidden form fields. For example, you can create custom UTM properties and use UTM parameters to auto-populate a hidden form field. 

Understand limitations and considerations

• Query strings cannot auto-populate dependent form fields.
• Dependent form fields cannot be triggered based on multiple values within a query string.

Create static query strings with pre-defined values

To create a URL with a static query string, you’ll need to copy the internal property name of any fields you want to auto-populate, then add them to the end of your page URL.

Copy the property's internal name

1. In your HubSpot account, click the settings settings icon in the top navigation bar.
2. In the left sidebar menu, navigate to Properties.
3. Click the name of a property to pre-populate values.
4. Copy the Internal name of the property. Learn more about internal property names.
5. Repeat this for any other properties you want to auto-populate values for in your form.

Create your URL with static query strings

After copying the internal property names, you can set up the page URL that you'll send to your contacts: 

1. In your browser, navigate to the page your form is on. Then, copy the URL.
2. Add a question mark (?) to the end of the page URL.
3. Add the internal name of the property, followed by an equal sign and the value to auto-populate in the field. Take note of the rules for adding values, depending on the field type of the property:
   • Single checkbox: query strings must contain either a true or false value, not yes or no.
   • Date picker: query strings must contain a date value in a YYYY-MM-DD format.
   • Multiple checkboxes: query string values must match the property's value options exactly, with a semi-colon separating multiple values.
   • Radio select/Dropdown select: query string values must match the property's value options exactly.
   • For all field types: when creating query strings, these rules apply to all field types.
     • Spaces in a property value must be separated with %20. 
     • Multiple different properties must be separated with an ampersand (&).

Example URL with a static query string 

http://www.domain.com/marketing-offer?firstname=John&lastname=Smith&email=jsmith@email.com
&favorite_season=Winter%20Season&favorite_fast_food=Burger;Taco&number_property=7
&will_you_come_to_the_party=Maybe&do_you_like_parties=true&date_of_party=2018-10-24

• Beginning of query string and single-line text field: ?firstname=John
• Single-line text field: &lastname=Smith
• Single-line text field: &email=jsmith@email.com
• Dropdown select field: &favorite_season=Winter%20Season
• Multiple checkboxes field: &favorite_fast_food=Burger;Tacos
• Number field: &favorite_number=7
• Radio select field: &will_you_come_to_the_party=Maybe
• Single checkbox field: &do_you_like_parties=true
• Date picker field: &date_of_party=2018-10-2

Create dynamic query strings with personalization tokens

You can use personalization tokens to create dynamic query strings that'll auto-populate form fields based on known contact properties.

Retrieve your personalization token

First, retrieve the personalization tokens needed to create your query strings. To retrieve a personalization token for a property: 

1. In your HubSpot account, navigate to Marketing > Email.
2. Click Create email or click the name of a draft email.
3. In the rich text toolbar, click Personalize.
4. Set up your personalization tokens:
   
   • In the dialog box, select a personalization token to auto-populate in your form. 
   • Select the Use this property's global default value checkbox when inserting your personalization token.
   • Continue adding additional personalization tokens as needed. 

5. In the rich text toolbar, click More and select the codef source code icon to view the HTML of your email.
6. In the source code, you'll see the raw code for each personalization token added to the email body. Each token will be enclosed with double brackets {{ }}. Highlight a token (e.g., {{ contact.firstname }}), then right-click and select Copy. 
7. Repeat this for any personalization tokens you want to pre-populate in your form.
8. At the bottom of the dialog box, click Cancel and close to exit the source code.

Create your URL with dynamic query strings

Use the personalization tokens to create a URL with dynamic query strings. This URL can be used as a link in your HubSpot content such as emails and pages, or an external page with your HubSpot tracking code. A contact that clicks the link will see the form on the page auto-populated with their information if they have known values for the fields in the query string.

To create a URL with dynamic query strings:

1. In your browser, navigate to the page your form is on. Then, copy the URL.
2. Using the page URL and personalization tokens, format your dynamic query string:
   • Add a question mark (?) to the end of the page URL.
   • Add the internal name of the property, followed by an equal sign and the personalization token. Ensure all spaces are removed from the token (e.g., {{contact.firstname}} ).
   • Separate multiple properties with an ampersand (&).
3. Here's an example of a URL with properly formatted dynamic query strings:

http://www.domain.com/marketing-offer?firstname={{contact.firstname}}&lastname={{contact.lastname}}&email={{contact.email}}