Sending HTTP POST Data to Zapier Webhook Using cURL in PHP

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1

I’m looking for guidance on how to send POST data to a Zapier webhook using cURL in PHP. While the webhook functions perfectly when I directly access it via the browser with URL parameters, it seems my cURL approach in PHP isn’t working as expected.

Here’s the PHP code I’m currently using that isn’t yielding results:

<?php
    // Setup cURL session
    $ch = curl_init();

    // Set cURL options
    $options = array(
        CURLOPT_URL => 'https://hooks.zapier.com/hooks/catch/123/xyz789',
        CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
        CURLOPT_POST => true,
        CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => 'user_id=' . $_POST["user_id"] . '&product_name=' . $_POST["product_name"] . '&user_email=' . $_POST["user_email"],
    );

    // Apply options
    curl_setopt_array($ch, $options);

    // Execute request
    $response = curl_exec($ch);

    // Clean up
    curl_close($ch);

    print $response;
?>

The code executes without any errors and indicates success, yet Zapier fails to receive the data. I noticed in Zapier’s documentation that they utilize JSON format along with specific headers. Should I alter the data formatting or include specific headers to ensure this works correctly?

2

could be an SSL verification issue. add CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER => false to your options array and test it. i’ve seen zapier webhooks fail silently bc of cert problems. also check if ur webhook url is still active in the zapier dashboard - they expire or get disabled sometimes.

3

You’re encountering a content type issue. Zapier webhooks expect JSON data rather than URL-encoded form data. Currently, you’re sending application/x-www-form-urlencoded, which many webhook services do not accept.

To resolve this, send JSON with the appropriate headers. You’d adjust your PHP code like this:

$data = json_encode(array(
    'user_id' => $_POST["user_id"],
    'product_name' => $_POST["product_name"],
    'user_email' => $_POST["user_email"]
));

$options = array(
    CURLOPT_URL => 'https://hooks.zapier.com/hooks/catch/123/xyz789',
    CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
    CURLOPT_POST => true,
    CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => $data,
    CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => array(
        'Content-Type: application/json',
        'Content-Length: ' . strlen($data)
    )
);

I’ve faced this issue before, and switching to JSON typically resolves it. Additionally, implement error handling with curl_error() to help troubleshoot any connection problems.

4

Check if you’re URL-encoding your POST data properly. When you manually concatenate form data like that, special characters in the values can break the request format. I hit this exact issue when sending user data with spaces or symbols. Use http_build_query() instead of manual concatenation: ```php
$postData = http_build_query(array(
‘user_id’ => $_POST[“user_id”],
‘product_name’ => $_POST[“product_name”],
‘user_email’ => $_POST[“user_email”]
));

$options = array(
CURLOPT_URL => ‘https://hooks.zapier.com/hooks/catch/123/xyz789’,
CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
CURLOPT_POST => true,
CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => $postData,
);


This handles proper encoding automatically. Add CURLOPT_VERBOSE => true while testing to see exactly what's being sent. Zapier webhooks are usually pretty forgiving with form-encoded data, but encoding issues will definitely cause silent failures.