HubSpot Forms: Dynamically Displaying Application Counts for Scholarship Options

Ever wanted to show real-time data, like application counts for different scholarship options, directly within your HubSpot forms? It’s a fantastic idea to give applicants immediate feedback and potentially influence their choices. A user recently posed this very question in the HubSpot Community, seeking a way to display how many students had already applied for each scholarship option, right next to the option itself in the form.

The Challenge: Real-Time Data in HubSpot Forms

The original poster wanted to provide applicants with up-to-date information on the popularity of each scholarship option. Imagine a form where, next to "Scholarship A," it displays "(25 applicants)" and next to "Scholarship B," it shows "(5 applicants)." This level of transparency can be incredibly helpful for applicants making decisions.

Unfortunately, as one respondent pointed out, HubSpot forms don’t natively support this functionality. They are primarily designed for capturing information, not reflecting CRM data in real-time. So, out-of-the-box, you won’t find a simple setting to achieve this.

The Solution: Custom Development is Key

The suggested solution involves custom development. This means you'll likely need the expertise of a HubSpot CMS developer to create a solution that bridges the gap between your CRM data and the form display.

Here's a breakdown of the likely steps involved:

1. Data Retrieval: The custom solution would need to retrieve the application counts for each scholarship option from your HubSpot CRM. This might involve using the HubSpot API to query the relevant data.
2. Dynamic Form Update: The solution would then dynamically update the form to display these counts next to each scholarship option. This likely involves JavaScript to manipulate the form's HTML.
3. Real-Time Updates: Ideally, the solution should provide near real-time updates. This might involve setting up a mechanism to periodically refresh the data or using webhooks to trigger updates when new applications are submitted.

While the community thread didn't dive into specific code examples, the general consensus is that a custom solution is the way to go. This might involve creating a custom module or using HubSpot's serverless functions to handle the data retrieval and form updates.

Considerations for Implementation

Before embarking on a custom development project, consider these factors:

• Complexity: Assess the complexity of the solution and the resources required. Custom development can be time-consuming and expensive.
• Maintenance: Ensure the solution is maintainable and scalable. As your data and form requirements evolve, the solution should be able to adapt.
• Performance: Optimize the solution for performance. Frequent data retrieval and form updates can impact page load times.

While the original question focused on scholarship applications, this approach could be adapted to various scenarios where displaying real-time data within HubSpot forms is beneficial. Think product inventory, event registration counts, or even survey response rates.

ESHOPMAN Team Comment

The HubSpot Community member asked a great question about dynamic data in forms. While the answer confirms the need for custom code, this highlights the power of HubSpot's extensibility. For e-commerce businesses using HubSpot CMS, this same principle can be applied to show real-time product availability or even personalized discounts within forms, requiring a similar custom development approach. With ESHOPMAN, you can more easily manage and display this kind of data on your storefront as the platform is tightly integrated with HubSpot.

Ultimately, the ability to display dynamic data within HubSpot forms opens up a world of possibilities for creating more engaging and informative user experiences.