checkboxHQ + Webflow + Airtable Integration Guide
checkboxHQ + Webflow + Airtable Integration Guide
Overview
This guide demonstrates how to integrate checkboxHQ’s email verification API with Webflow forms and store validated results in Airtable using a non-blocking verification approach. checkboxHQ validates emails asynchronously after form submission, ensuring a smooth user experience without delays or interruptions.
This setup is ideal for:
- Lead capture forms that need post-submission email quality scoring
- Newsletter signups with background verification for list hygiene
- Contact forms that store all submissions but flag invalid emails for review
- Any workflow requiring clean email data without impacting form conversion rates
Architecture
Webflow Form Submission → Immediate Success Response to User ↓ Webhook (async) → Serverless Function ↓ checkboxHQ API Verification (background) ↓ Airtable Storage (with verification results)Key Principle: The user receives immediate confirmation of their submission. Email verification happens in the background without blocking the user’s experience.
Prerequisites
-
checkboxHQ Account
- API token from checkboxhq.com
- Available credits for API calls
-
Webflow
- Published site with form
- Webflow site plan (required for webhooks)
-
Airtable
- Airtable account with a base created
- API key or Personal Access Token
-
Serverless Platform (choose one)
- Netlify Functions (recommended for beginners)
- Vercel Functions
- AWS Lambda
- Cloudflare Workers
Step 1: Set Up Airtable Base
Create Your Base Structure
Create a table called Email Submissions with these fields:
| Field Name | Field Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Submission ID | Single line text | Unique identifier for tracking |
| The submitted email address | ||
| Form Source | Single line text | Which Webflow form submitted |
| Submission Date | Created time | Auto-populated timestamp |
| Status | Single select | Options: Valid, Disposable Email, Invalid Domain, Verification Error, Pending Verification |
| Verification Status | Single select | Options: Pending, In Progress, Completed, Failed |
| Is Disposable | Checkbox | Whether email is from disposable provider |
| Is Public Provider | Checkbox | Whether email is from public provider (Gmail, etc.) |
| Has MX Record | Checkbox | Whether domain has valid MX records |
| Has A Record | Checkbox | Whether domain has valid A records |
| Domain | Single line text | Extracted domain from email |
| Provider | Single line text | Email provider name if identified |
| Verified At | Date & time | When verification completed |
| Verification Error | Long text | Error message if verification failed |
Why this structure?
- Initial submission creates record immediately with “Pending Verification” status
- Background verification updates the same record with results
- You can filter and view submissions while verification is in progress
- No user waits for verification to complete
Get Airtable Credentials
- Go to airtable.com/create/tokens
- Create a Personal Access Token with these scopes:
data.records:readdata.records:write
- Note your:
- Base ID: Found in API documentation (starts with
app) - Table Name:
Email Submissions(or your custom name) - Access Token: Your newly created token
- Base ID: Found in API documentation (starts with
Step 2: Create Serverless Function
Example: Netlify Function (Non-Blocking Pattern)
Create a file: netlify/functions/verify-email.js
const fetch = require('node-fetch');
exports.handler = async (event, context) => { // Only allow POST requests if (event.httpMethod !== 'POST') { return { statusCode: 405, body: JSON.stringify({ error: 'Method not allowed' }) }; }
try { // Parse Webflow webhook payload const payload = JSON.parse(event.body); const email = payload.data?.email || payload.email; const formName = payload.name || 'Unknown Form'; const submissionId = payload._id || Date.now().toString();
if (!email) { return { statusCode: 400, body: JSON.stringify({ error: 'Email is required' }) }; }
// STEP 1: Immediately store submission in Airtable (user already received success) await storeInitialSubmission(email, formName, submissionId);
// STEP 2: Perform verification asynchronously (fire and forget) // Don't await - let it run in background verifyAndUpdateAsync(email, submissionId).catch(error => { console.error('Background verification error:', error); // Log error but don't fail the webhook response });
// STEP 3: Return immediate success to Webflow // User experience is not impacted by verification delay return { statusCode: 200, headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json', }, body: JSON.stringify({ success: true, message: 'Submission received and being processed', submissionId: submissionId }) };
} catch (error) { console.error('Error:', error); return { statusCode: 500, body: JSON.stringify({ error: 'Submission processing failed', details: error.message }) }; }};
// Store initial submission immediately (before verification)async function storeInitialSubmission(email, formName, submissionId) { const AIRTABLE_TOKEN = process.env.AIRTABLE_TOKEN; const AIRTABLE_BASE_ID = process.env.AIRTABLE_BASE_ID; const AIRTABLE_TABLE_NAME = process.env.AIRTABLE_TABLE_NAME || 'Email Submissions';
const airtablePayload = { records: [ { fields: { 'Email': email, 'Form Source': formName, 'Submission ID': submissionId, 'Status': 'Pending Verification', 'Verification Status': 'In Progress' } } ] };
const response = await fetch( `https://api.airtable.com/v0/${AIRTABLE_BASE_ID}/${encodeURIComponent(AIRTABLE_TABLE_NAME)}`, { method: 'POST', headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${AIRTABLE_TOKEN}`, 'Content-Type': 'application/json' }, body: JSON.stringify(airtablePayload) } );
if (!response.ok) { const errorText = await response.text(); throw new Error(`Airtable error: ${errorText}`); }
const result = await response.json(); return result.records[0].id; // Return Airtable record ID}
// Async verification that updates the existing recordasync function verifyAndUpdateAsync(email, submissionId) { try { // Perform CheckBoxHQ verification const verificationData = await verifyEmailWithCheckBox(email);
// Update the existing Airtable record with verification results await updateAirtableRecord(submissionId, verificationData);
console.log(`Verification completed for ${email}`); } catch (error) { console.error(`Verification failed for ${email}:`, error);
// Update record with error status await updateAirtableRecord(submissionId, { verification_error: error.message, verification_status: 'Failed' }); }}
// CheckBoxHQ API Integration Functions
async function verifyEmailWithCheckBox(email) { const CHECKBOX_API_KEY = process.env.CHECKBOX_API_KEY;
// Perform all verifications (adjust based on your needs)
// 1. Disposable email check (1 credit) const disposableCheck = await fetch('https://api.checkboxhq.com/api/v1/verify_disposable/', { method: 'POST', headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json', 'x-api-key': CHECKBOX_API_KEY }, body: JSON.stringify({ email }) });
if (!disposableCheck.ok) { throw new Error(`Disposable check failed: ${disposableCheck.statusText}`); }
const disposableData = await disposableCheck.json();
// 2. DNS verification (2 credits) const dnsCheck = await fetch('https://api.checkboxhq.com/api/v1/verify_dns/', { method: 'POST', headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json', 'x-api-key': CHECKBOX_API_KEY }, body: JSON.stringify({ email }) });
if (!dnsCheck.ok) { throw new Error(`DNS check failed: ${dnsCheck.statusText}`); }
const dnsData = await dnsCheck.json();
// 3. Public provider check (1 credit) const publicCheck = await fetch('https://api.checkboxhq.com/api/v1/verify_public_provider/', { method: 'POST', headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json', 'x-api-key': CHECKBOX_API_KEY }, body: JSON.stringify({ email }) });
if (!publicCheck.ok) { throw new Error(`Public provider check failed: ${publicCheck.statusText}`); }
const publicData = await publicCheck.json();
// Combine all verification results return { email: disposableData.email, is_disposable: disposableData.is_disposable, is_valid_format: disposableData.is_valid_format, domain: disposableData.domain, provider: disposableData.provider || dnsData.provider || publicData.provider, has_mx_record: dnsData.has_mx_record, has_a_record: dnsData.has_a_record, mx_records: dnsData.mx_records, a_records: dnsData.a_records, is_public_provider: publicData.is_public_provider };}
async function updateAirtableRecord(submissionId, verificationData) { const AIRTABLE_TOKEN = process.env.AIRTABLE_TOKEN; const AIRTABLE_BASE_ID = process.env.AIRTABLE_BASE_ID; const AIRTABLE_TABLE_NAME = process.env.AIRTABLE_TABLE_NAME || 'Email Submissions';
// First, find the record by Submission ID const searchUrl = `https://api.airtable.com/v0/${AIRTABLE_BASE_ID}/${encodeURIComponent(AIRTABLE_TABLE_NAME)}?filterByFormula={Submission ID}="${submissionId}"`;
const searchResponse = await fetch(searchUrl, { headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${AIRTABLE_TOKEN}` } });
const searchData = await searchResponse.json();
if (!searchData.records || searchData.records.length === 0) { throw new Error(`Record not found for submission ID: ${submissionId}`); }
const recordId = searchData.records[0].id;
// Determine final status let status = 'Valid'; if (verificationData.verification_error) { status = 'Verification Error'; } else if (verificationData.is_disposable) { status = 'Disposable Email'; } else if (!verificationData.has_mx_record) { status = 'Invalid Domain'; }
// Update the record with verification results const updatePayload = { fields: { 'Is Disposable': verificationData.is_disposable || false, 'Is Public Provider': verificationData.is_public_provider || false, 'Has MX Record': verificationData.has_mx_record || false, 'Has A Record': verificationData.has_a_record || false, 'Domain': verificationData.domain || '', 'Provider': verificationData.provider || '', 'Status': status, 'Verification Status': verificationData.verification_error ? 'Failed' : 'Completed', 'Verified At': new Date().toISOString() } };
if (verificationData.verification_error) { updatePayload.fields['Verification Error'] = verificationData.verification_error; }
const updateResponse = await fetch( `https://api.airtable.com/v0/${AIRTABLE_BASE_ID}/${encodeURIComponent(AIRTABLE_TABLE_NAME)}/${recordId}`, { method: 'PATCH', headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${AIRTABLE_TOKEN}`, 'Content-Type': 'application/json' }, body: JSON.stringify(updatePayload) } );
if (!updateResponse.ok) { const errorText = await updateResponse.text(); throw new Error(`Airtable update error: ${errorText}`); }
return await updateResponse.json();}Environment Variables
Add these to your Netlify dashboard (or equivalent):
CHECKBOX_API_KEY=your_checkbox_api_key_hereAIRTABLE_TOKEN=your_airtable_token_hereAIRTABLE_BASE_ID=appXXXXXXXXXXXXXXAIRTABLE_TABLE_NAME=Email SubmissionsDeploy the Function
- Push to your Git repository
- Netlify will automatically deploy
- Your function will be available at:
https://yoursite.netlify.app/.netlify/functions/verify-email
Step 3: Configure Webflow Form
Add Form to Webflow
- In Webflow Designer, add a Form Block
- Ensure it has an Email input field with name attribute:
email - Publish your site
Set Up Webhook in Webflow
- Go to Project Settings → Forms
- Find your form in the list
- Click “Add Webhook”
- Enter your function URL:
https://yoursite.netlify.app/.netlify/functions/verify-email - Save settings
Form Submission Flow (Non-Blocking)
When a user submits the form:
- User submits → Webflow captures the submission
- Webflow shows success → User sees confirmation immediately (no delay)
- Webflow triggers webhook → Sends data to your serverless function
- Function stores initial record → Creates Airtable entry with “Pending Verification” status
- Function returns success → Webhook completes quickly
- Background verification starts → checkboxHQ APIs called asynchronously
- Airtable record updated → Verification results populate the existing record
Key Benefit: Steps 1-5 happen in under 1 second. Steps 6-7 happen in the background without impacting the user experience or form conversion rates.
Step 4: Enhanced Error Handling (Production-Ready)
// Enhanced version with retry logic for background verification
async function verifyEmailWithRetry(email, maxRetries = 3) { let lastError;
for (let attempt = 1; attempt <= maxRetries; attempt++) { try { return await verifyEmailWithCheckBox(email); } catch (error) { lastError = error; console.log(`Verification attempt ${attempt} failed for ${email}:`, error.message);
// Wait before retrying (exponential backoff) if (attempt < maxRetries) { await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 1000 * Math.pow(2, attempt))); } } }
// After all retries failed, throw error to be caught by verifyAndUpdateAsync throw new Error(`Failed after ${maxRetries} attempts: ${lastError.message}`);}
// Graceful degradation - never fail silentlyasync function verifyAndUpdateAsync(email, submissionId) { try { const verificationData = await verifyEmailWithRetry(email); await updateAirtableRecord(submissionId, verificationData); console.log(`✓ Verification completed for ${email}`);
} catch (error) { console.error(`✗ Verification failed for ${email}:`, error);
// Update record with failure status - don't leave in "In Progress" state await updateAirtableRecord(submissionId, { verification_error: error.message, verification_status: 'Failed', status: 'Verification Error' }).catch(updateError => { // Last resort logging if even the update fails console.error(`Failed to update error status for ${email}:`, updateError); }); }}
// Timeout protection for slow API responsesasync function withTimeout(promise, timeoutMs = 30000) { const timeout = new Promise((_, reject) => setTimeout(() => reject(new Error('Request timeout')), timeoutMs) );
return Promise.race([promise, timeout]);}Why This Matters for Non-Blocking:
- User never sees these errors (they already received confirmation)
- Failed verifications are logged in Airtable for manual review
- Retries handle temporary API issues without bothering the user
- Your data remains clean with proper error tracking
Optimization Strategies
Why Non-Blocking Verification Matters
Conversion Rate Impact:
- Blocking verification: 2-5 second delay = 10-20% form abandonment
- Non-blocking verification: <1 second response = optimal conversion rates
- Users get immediate confirmation while quality checks happen behind the scenes
Credit Management
checkboxHQ API endpoints consume different credits:
verify_disposable: 1 creditverify_public_provider: 1 creditverify_dns: 2 credits
Cost-Effective Strategy for Background Verification:
async function optimizedBackgroundVerification(email) { // Strategy 1: Sequential verification (stop early if disposable) const disposableCheck = await checkDisposable(email);
if (disposableCheck.is_disposable) { // Stop here - no need to check DNS for disposable emails (saves 2 credits) return { ...disposableCheck, verification_type: 'disposable-only', credits_used: 1 }; }
// Strategy 2: Parallel verification for non-disposable emails const [dnsCheck, publicCheck] = await Promise.all([ checkDNS(email), // 2 credits checkPublic(email) // 1 credit ]);
return { ...disposableCheck, ...dnsCheck, ...publicCheck, verification_type: 'comprehensive', credits_used: 4 };}Batch Processing for High Volume
For sites with high form submission rates:
// Collect submissions in a queueconst verificationQueue = [];
async function queueVerification(email, submissionId) { verificationQueue.push({ email, submissionId, timestamp: Date.now() });
// Process queue every 10 seconds or when it reaches 10 items if (verificationQueue.length >= 10) { await processBatch(); }}
async function processBatch() { const batch = verificationQueue.splice(0, 10);
// Process all verifications in parallel await Promise.all( batch.map(item => verifyAndUpdateAsync(item.email, item.submissionId)) );}
// Set up periodic batch processingsetInterval(processBatch, 10000); // Every 10 secondsDomain-Level Caching (Advanced)
Since verification happens asynchronously, you can implement smart caching to reduce API costs:
// Use external cache (Redis/Upstash) for persistent domain verificationconst CACHE_TTL = 7 * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000; // 7 days
async function getCachedDomainInfo(domain) { // Check cache first const cached = await redis.get(`domain:${domain}`);
if (cached) { const data = JSON.parse(cached); if (Date.now() - data.timestamp < CACHE_TTL) { return data.verification; } }
return null;}
async function verifyWithCache(email) { const domain = email.split('@')[1];
// Check cache for this domain const cached = await getCachedDomainInfo(domain);
if (cached) { console.log(`Using cached verification for domain: ${domain}`); return { ...cached, email, from_cache: true }; }
// Not cached - perform full verification const verification = await verifyEmailWithCheckBox(email);
// Cache domain-level results await redis.set( `domain:${domain}`, JSON.stringify({ timestamp: Date.now(), verification: { is_disposable: verification.is_disposable, has_mx_record: verification.has_mx_record, has_a_record: verification.has_a_record, provider: verification.provider } }) );
return verification;}Cache Benefits:
- Second submission from same domain = 0 credits used
- Instant verification results for popular domains
- Significant cost savings for high-volume sites
- Background verification can complete in milliseconds for cached domains
The checkboxHQ Philosophy: Why Non-Blocking?
User Experience First
| Blocking Verification | Non-Blocking Verification (checkboxHQ) |
|---|---|
| User waits 2-5 seconds | User gets instant confirmation (<1s) |
| Form feels slow/broken | Form feels fast and responsive |
| 10-20% form abandonment | Minimal abandonment |
| API timeout = failed submission | API issues don’t affect users |
| Poor mobile experience | Works great on any connection |
Business Impact
Higher Conversion Rates:
- Every second of delay = 7% conversion loss
- Non-blocking maintains optimal conversion rates
- Capture the lead, verify in the background
Clean Data Without Trade-offs:
- Still get full verification results
- Act on results via automation
- Better than no verification at all
Operational Reliability:
- User submissions never fail due to API issues
- Background retries handle temporary problems
- Graceful degradation built-in
The Right Way to Use Verification
checkboxHQ advocates for post-submission verification because:
- Forms are for capturing leads, not gatekeeping - Your goal is collecting contact information, not preventing submissions
- Verification is for data quality, not blocking users - Use results to segment, prioritize, and clean your lists
- Users shouldn’t wait for background checks - Email verification is your internal process, not a user-facing obstacle
Smart Actions Based on Verification
Instead of blocking users, use verification data to:
-
Segment your email lists - Different campaigns for business vs. public emails
-
Prioritize sales follow-ups - Focus on verified, non-disposable emails first
-
Flag for manual review - Let humans handle edge cases
-
Track form quality - Monitor which sources attract disposable emails
-
Clean before export - Filter when syncing to CRM/Email Service Provider
-
Trigger different workflows - Send instant confirmation to verified emails, delayed to others
-
Don’t block form submissions - This hurts conversion and user trust
-
Don’t make users wait - Verification delay = lost opportunities
-
Don’t fail forms on API errors - Always capture the lead first
Post-Verification Actions
Airtable Automations for Follow-Up
Once verification completes in the background, you can trigger actions based on results:
Automation 1: Send to CRM (Valid Emails Only)
Trigger: When "Status" = "Valid"Action: Create record in your CRM or send to Zapier/MakeAutomation 2: Flag for Review (Invalid Emails)
Trigger: When "Status" = "Disposable Email" OR "Invalid Domain"Action: Send Slack notification to team for manual reviewAutomation 3: Re-engagement Campaign (Public Providers)
Trigger: When "Is Public Provider" = trueAction: Add to different email nurture sequenceEmail Marketing Integration
// Add to your verification functionasync function sendToEmailMarketing(email, verificationData) { // Only send verified, non-disposable emails if (!verificationData.is_disposable && verificationData.has_mx_record) { await fetch('https://api.youremailprovider.com/subscribe', { method: 'POST', headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${process.env.EMAIL_API_KEY}` }, body: JSON.stringify({ email: email, tags: verificationData.is_public_provider ? ['public-provider'] : ['business-email'] }) }); }}Monitoring & Analytics
Track API Usage
Add usage tracking to your function:
async function checkAPIUsage() { const response = await fetch('https://api.checkboxhq.com/api/v1/billing/usage', { headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${process.env.CHECKBOX_ACCESS_TOKEN}` } });
const usage = await response.json(); console.log(`API Usage: ${usage.requests_used}/${usage.requests_limit} (${usage.percentage_used}%)`);
return usage;}Log to Airtable
Create a separate table for logs:
async function logVerification(email, result, status) { // Store in "Verification Logs" table await storeInAirtable( email, { ...result, verification_status: status }, 'Verification Logs' );}Troubleshooting
Common Issues
Issue: Submissions not appearing in Airtable
- Check webhook is configured in Webflow settings
- Verify webhook URL is correct and accessible
- Check serverless function logs for errors
- Ensure Airtable credentials are correct in environment variables
Issue: Records stuck in “In Progress” status
- Background verification may have failed silently
- Check function logs for errors
- Verify checkboxHQ API key is valid and has credits
- Ensure error handling updates records on failure
Issue: Verification taking too long
- Normal for DNS checks (can take 5-30 seconds)
- This doesn’t affect user experience (they already got confirmation)
- Consider implementing caching for popular domains
- Check if sequential verification strategy could reduce time
Issue: Authentication errors from checkboxHQ
- Verify
x-api-keyheader is correctly set - Check API key is active in checkboxHQ dashboard
- Ensure environment variables are deployed (not just local)
- API keys are case-sensitive
Issue: Airtable write failures
- Verify Personal Access Token has write permissions
- Check Base ID and Table Name are exactly correct
- Ensure field names match case-sensitively
- Check you haven’t exceeded Airtable rate limits (5 requests/second)
Issue: Webhook timeouts
- This shouldn’t happen with non-blocking pattern
- Ensure you’re not awaiting verification before returning response
- Check that storeInitialSubmission completes quickly
- Verify verifyAndUpdateAsync is truly fire-and-forget
Debug Mode
Add detailed logging for both immediate and background processes:
const DEBUG = process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'production';
function log(stage, ...args) { if (DEBUG) { console.log(`[${new Date().toISOString()}] [${stage}]`, ...args); }}
// In your handlerexports.handler = async (event, context) => { const email = payload.data?.email || payload.email;
log('WEBHOOK', 'Received submission for:', email);
await storeInitialSubmission(email, formName, submissionId); log('STORAGE', 'Initial record created:', submissionId);
verifyAndUpdateAsync(email, submissionId).catch(error => { log('VERIFY-ERROR', 'Background verification failed:', error); });
log('RESPONSE', 'Returning success to webhook');
return { statusCode: 200, body: JSON.stringify({ success: true }) };};
// In background verificationasync function verifyAndUpdateAsync(email, submissionId) { log('VERIFY-START', `Starting verification for ${email}`);
try { const result = await verifyEmailWithCheckBox(email); log('VERIFY-SUCCESS', `Verification complete for ${email}`, result);
await updateAirtableRecord(submissionId, result); log('UPDATE-SUCCESS', `Airtable updated for ${email}`);
} catch (error) { log('VERIFY-FAIL', `Failed for ${email}:`, error.message); }}Reading Logs:
- Check serverless function logs (Netlify/Vercel dashboard)
- Look for
[WEBHOOK]entries - these should complete in <1 second - Look for
[VERIFY-START]entries - these show background processing - Check for
[VERIFY-ERROR]entries to debug failed verifications
Security Best Practices
-
Never expose API keys in client-side code
- Always use serverless functions as middleware
- Store credentials in environment variables
-
Validate webhook sources
// Add Webflow signature verificationfunction verifyWebflowSignature(payload, signature) {// Implementation depends on Webflow's webhook signature method} -
Rate limiting
const submissions = new Map();function checkRateLimit(ip) {const now = Date.now();const userSubmissions = submissions.get(ip) || [];const recentSubmissions = userSubmissions.filter(time => now - time < 60000);if (recentSubmissions.length >= 5) {throw new Error('Rate limit exceeded');}submissions.set(ip, [...recentSubmissions, now]);}
Alternative Platforms
Vercel Functions
export default async function handler(req, res) { if (req.method !== 'POST') { return res.status(405).json({ error: 'Method not allowed' }); }
// Same logic as Netlify function // ...}Cloudflare Workers
addEventListener('fetch', event => { event.respondWith(handleRequest(event.request))})
async function handleRequest(request) { // Same logic adapted for Cloudflare Workers // ...}Cost-Benefit Analysis
Per-Submission Cost Breakdown
Infrastructure Costs (Free Tier Sufficient for Most):
- Airtable Free: 1,200 records/month
- Netlify Free: 125,000 function invocations/month
- Vercel Free: 100,000 function invocations/month
Verification Costs:
Scenario 1: Basic validation (disposable + public provider)
- checkboxHQ: 2 credits per submission
- Best for: Basic lead quality scoring
- Use case: Newsletter signups, content downloads
Scenario 2: Comprehensive validation (all checks)
- checkboxHQ: 4 credits per submission (disposable + public + DNS)
- Best for: Sales leads, high-value conversions
- Use case: Demo requests, contact sales forms
Scenario 3: Smart sequential validation
- checkboxHQ: 1-4 credits (adaptive based on results)
- Check disposable first (1 credit)
- Only check DNS if not disposable (saves 2 credits on 30-40% of submissions)
- Best for: Cost optimization with high volume
ROI Calculation: Blocking vs Non-Blocking
Example: 1,000 Monthly Form Submissions
| Metric | Blocking Verification | Non-Blocking (CheckBoxHQ) |
|---|---|---|
| Form Load Time | 3-5 seconds | <1 second |
| Conversion Rate | 8% (industry avg with delays) | 10% (no delay penalty) |
| Actual Conversions | 80 submissions | 100 submissions |
| Lost Opportunities | 20 submissions | 0 submissions |
| Customer Value | Missed $2,000+ potential revenue | Full capture |
The Math:
- 2-second delay = 10-20% conversion loss
- Non-blocking captures 100% of interested visitors
- Lost conversion costs far exceed verification API costs
Recommended Strategy
Start with comprehensive validation (4 credits):
- Captures all leads (no blocking)
- Full verification data for segmentation
- Optimize later based on your form quality patterns
- Worth the investment to maintain high conversion rates
When you reach high volume (>10,000/month):
- Implement smart sequential validation (saves 30-40% on credits)
- Add domain caching (saves another 20-30%)
- Batch processing for efficiency
Next Steps
- Test the integration with sample emails
- Monitor API usage using the billing endpoint
- Set up alerts for low credit balance
- Create Airtable views to filter valid/invalid submissions
- Build automation with Airtable + Zapier/Make for follow-up
Support
- checkboxHQ: [email protected]
- Webflow: help.webflow.com
- Airtable: support.airtable.com