Selected work · My own business · November 2026

Website lead capture and CRM automation: a real case study

I built a business website with an automated lead capture process: an inquiry form sends a request to Notion CRM and triggers an email alert. I tested the complete workflow using a real submission for my own business.

The challenge: website inquiries without manual data entry

A website can explain what a business offers, but an inquiry still needs to be captured, stored, and followed up. I wanted a practical system for my own business: a clear form for potential clients, a record I could review later, and an email alert when someone gets in touch. I also needed the website to work on my custom domain and be ready for search engines to discover it.

The solution: an inquiry form connected to Notion CRM

The site runs on Astro and is deployed through GitHub and Vercel. The custom domain is managed through Namecheap. The Discovery form sends the submitted information to a Vercel serverless endpoint, which processes it for a Notion CRM record and a notification email through Resend. I review incoming leads and decide how to follow up myself.

How the lead capture automation works

1. A visitor opens the Discovery form and describes what they need help with.
2. The website sends the submission to a server-side endpoint for validation and processing.
3. The inquiry is saved as a new lead in Notion CRM.
4. An email notification arrives in my inbox with details of the request and a link to the CRM record.
5. I read the inquiry and follow up personally. The workflow does not send an automatic sales reply.

Domain, technical SEO and launch configuration

I connected the custom domain and verified HTTPS and permanent redirects from the older site address and the www version. I updated the page canonical addresses, sharing metadata, structured data, robots.txt, and XML sitemap. In Google Search Console, I verified the domain and submitted the sitemap so Google could discover the site's pages.

Verified results from a real end-to-end test

• The custom-domain homepage and Discovery page loaded successfully over HTTPS.
• Permanent 308 redirects sent the older Vercel hostname and the www hostname toward the primary domain.
• Canonical URLs and the XML sitemap used the new domain.
• Google Search Console processed the initial sitemap and reported 20 discovered URLs. A later update added this case study, making 21 listed URLs; indexing was requested for selected pages.
• On November 6, 2026, a clearly labelled test submission created a matching Notion CRM record and triggered the expected email notification.

Results and limitations

The test confirms that this submission reached the CRM and inbox. It is not a measured claim about hours saved, conversion rate, revenue, high-volume reliability, or universal email delivery. Google discovering a URL also does not mean the page has been indexed or ranked. Those results need their own evidence.

How small businesses can use a similar lead management system

The same approach can be adapted to an existing website or a new one. A local service business, consultant, or small team might need a contact or quote-request form, structured CRM records, and timely notifications. The fields, approval steps, privacy requirements, and tools should be chosen around that business's actual workflow rather than copied automatically from mine.

A useful first step is to map what happens when someone contacts the business: where the request arrives, who needs it, what must be recorded, and when a person follows up. The technology comes after that. Read more about business process automation for small businesses and process optimization before deciding what to build.

What a similar implementation includes

A small-business lead management project starts with the workflow, not a fixed software package. Depending on the existing tools, the work can include:

• A clearly labelled contact or quote-request form with appropriate validation and privacy information.
• A CRM record that captures the fields the business actually needs to review.
• An email notification that points the right person to the inquiry.
• Checks for failed submissions and a documented way to follow up manually.
• Domain, HTTPS and search configuration if the website is new or moving.

The specific CRM and form technology may differ. The aim is a reliable hand-off from the person making the inquiry to the person responsible for answering it.

Questions business owners often ask

Do I need a new website to automate lead capture?

Not necessarily. A working contact form on an existing website may be connected to a CRM or notification system. The options depend on the platform, integrations, access, and privacy requirements.

Can the CRM automatically respond to potential customers?

That can be a separate project, but this implementation does not send automatic sales replies. A person reviews incoming inquiries and decides how to follow up.

Will connecting a form to a CRM increase sales?

The tested result is reliable capture of one inquiry in the CRM and inbox, not a measured increase in enquiries or sales. Performance should be evaluated with actual business data over time.