Joomla is an open-source content management system for managing website content. It uses a model-view-controller framework, which can be used on its own to create strong online applications. You can install and configure the Brevo package on your Joomla website to be able to:

• Synchronize your users and contacts with Brevo,
• Create a form and add it to your website,
• Send transactional emails via Brevo,
• Track your website activity.

To connect your Brevo account with your Joomla website, follow the procedure below.

Before you start

Gather the following information prior to installation:

• Your Brevo account credentials.
• Your API v3 key. To learn more, check our dedicated article Create and manage your API keys.
• Your SMTP password. To learn more, check our dedicated article What is Brevo SMTP?.
• Joomla website admin panel access.

To utilize all package features, please ensure that your Brevo account has been validated and you are able to send emails from the Brevo Campaigns and Transactional platforms.

You'll also find the Brevo package in the Joomla Extensions Directory.

Step 1: Installing and configuring the Brevo package

The process is similar to other Joomla packages. Once logged in to your Joomla back office, click on Extensions > Manage > Install.

The installation package will:

• Add files and tables to your website
• Create a Brevo tab in the Components menu
• Create submenu items for the specific parts of the Brevo component

On the install page, depending on enabled installer plug-ins, four common installation options are:

1. Install from Web
2. Upload Package File
3. Install from folder
4. Install from URL

1. Install from Web

If your website has "Install from Web" functionality enabled, go to Install from Web tab, then type "Brevo" in the search box. Click on the package title to open the listing, then click on the Install button. Once confirmed, the package will be automatically installed.

2. Upload Package File

• Download the package file here: https://github.com/brevo/joomla-plugin/tree/master/build/J3/package
• Choose the latest version package and click on "Download link" to save the package to your computer.
• When the download is finished, upload the file.

3. Install from folder

If you have downloaded the installation package into a specific folder on your server, you may use this installation option. Enter the file path for that specific folder, then click on the Check and install button. Joomla will automatically try to open the package and run the installation.

4. Install from URL

Using this option, you have to provide Joomla with the direct URL link for the installation package.  The package installation link is: https://raw.github.com/brevo/joomla-plugin/master/build/J3/package/pkg_sendinblue_v1_0_0.zip

After clicking on the Check and Install button, Joomla will automatically try to open the package and run the installation:

Configuring the Brevo component

First, Copy your API v3 key from your Brevo account following this tutorial.

Then go to your Joomla admin, click on Components > Brevo. On the Brevo dashboard, select the API key settings icon.

Paste your API v3 key in the box.

Hit the Save button at the top.  You will then see data from your Brevo account on your Dashboard. If you do not see your data, it is likely that you are not using a valid API key.

Setting advanced options

We recommend leaving all advanced options at their default values. If you would like to edit the parameters of the component on a global level, click on the Options button at the top right on your Dashboard.

On this page, you'll be able to edit:

1. Global parameters

• Base URL - this is the URL used for all API calls. It should be left at the default value.
• Connection timeout (seconds) - if you have connectivity problems, try increasing this value.

2. Advanced parameters

• Opt-in template link tag - this is the tag used in Brevo email templates
• Double opt-in attribute name - the Brevo attribute name which will be used in the confirmation process
• Opt-in link validity period (minutes) - the length of time a subscriber will have to confirm their subscription
• Double opt-in temporary folder & double opt-in temporary list - used to temporarily store data about a subscriber until they confirm their subscription

Step 2: Syncing users and contacts with Brevo

Go to your Joomla admin, then to the Brevo Dashboard. Select the Export contacts icon.

• The feature will allow you to export Joomla user/contact and their data (i.e. email addresses and names).
• Keep in mind that a user/contact's unique identifier is their email address.

On the left side, you’ll choose the export options for your Joomla users and contacts. On the right side, you’ll choose which Brevo list(s) they will be added to, as well as how to manage existing users/contacts.

1. Export Joomla users

Set "Yes" or "No" for each option.

• Export all user groups
• By selecting "Yes", all user groups will be added to Brevo.
• By selecting "No", you have the option to choose specific user groups that will be added to added to Brevo.
• Export blocked - "No" is selected by default which means blocked users are not added to Brevo.  If you select "Yes", all blocked contacts will be added to Brevo.
• Export ungrouped - "No" is selected by default. It means that all users that are not assigned to any user group will not be added to Brevo. If you select "Yes", they will be added to Brevo.

2. Export Joomla contacts

Set "Yes" or "No" for each option.

• Export all contacts categories
• By selecting "Yes", all contact categories will be added to Brevo.
• By selecting "No", you have the option to select contact categories that will be added to added to Brevo.
• Export unpublished - "No" is selected by default. Which means that all unpublished contacts will not be added to Brevo. If you select "Yes", they will be added to Brevo.

3. Lists options

• Export mode - this determines what to do with contacts that already exist in Brevo
• "Add to lists" - user/contact will remain in their existing Brevo lists in addition to being added to all newly selected lists.
• "Reassign to lists" - user/contact will be removed from their existing Brevo lists and instead, will be added to all newly selected lists.
• Use all lists
• By selecting "Yes", your Joomla users/contacts will be added to all of your Brevo lists.
• By selecting "No", you have the option to choose the Brevo list(s) where your Joomla users/contacts will be added. The list options will be displayed in the dropdown field.

Example:

Our contact, example@brevo.com is currently in List1, List2 and List3.

If they are in a group that is to be added to List1, List3 and List4, then:

• if export mode is set to "add to lists":  example@brevo.com will be subscribed to all four: List1, List2, List3 and List4.
• if export mode is set to "reassign to lists":  example@brevo.com will only be subscribed to List1, List3 and List4.

4. User/Contact name options

This option manages how your Joomla user/contact name will be split into Brevo attributes.

• Attribute first word - select FIRSTNAME in the dropdown menu
• Attribute rest of words - select LASTNAME in the dropdown menu

When you have finished selecting your export options, click on the Export contacts button.

Create a form with the Joomla package

1. Creating a form

From your Joomla admin, click on Components > Brevo. Select the Subscription forms icon. To create a new subscription form, click on the New button at the top left.

On this page, you will see all your forms. You can use the standard Joomla editing buttons to manage them.

2. Name your form

Start by naming your form.

3. Select your list(s)

Here you will select the Brevo list(s) that a visitor will be subscribed to when they submit the form. You can pick any number of lists from different folders.

4. Set up the confirmation email

Go to the Confirmation tab.

When a new subscriber submits a form, there are several ways to follow up:

• No confirmation - visitors will be subscribed to the selected list(s) without any notification
• Simple confirmation - visitors will be subscribed to the selected list(s) and notified by:
• A follow-up email - Select an email template from your Brevo account that will be sent to welcome your new subscriber.
• A confirmation page - By selecting "Yes", you can specify the page where a visitor will be redirected after successfully submitting a form. Simply type the URL in the "Custom confirmation page" field.

• Double confirmation - visitors that submit a form will be added to the Temp - DOUBLE OPTIN list and a confirmation email requiring them to click to confirm their subscription will be sent. Once they have clicked, they will be added to the selected Brevo list(s).
• Opt-in email - Select an email template from your Brevo account that will be used for your new subscriber to confirm their subscription. Note: the template should contain the double opt-in tag as it will be replaced with a generated confirmation link.
• Form redirect page - By selecting "Yes", you can specify the page where a visitor will be redirected after successfully submitting the form. Simply type the URL in the "Custom form redirect page" field.
• Final confirmation - By selecting "Yes" your new subscriber will receive a final confirmation email after confirming the opt-in email. Select an email template from your Brevo account.
• Confirmation page - By selecting "Yes" your new subscriber will be redirected to a confirmation page after confirming the opt-in email.  Simply type the URL in the "Custom confirmation page" field. It can be a thank you page or a landing page where you provide additional information.

5. Customize informative messages

Go to the Messages tab. This tab allows the customization of basic messages.

6. Add form blocks and fields

Go to the Form blocks and fields tab to create your form. Each form is composed of blocks. You can customize each block to have different options and different visual representations.

• To create the first block click on the "+" icon at the top left of blocks subform.
• To create the next block, click on the "+" icon at the bottom right of the last block.
• To delete a block use red "X" in the top right corner of the block.
• By using the three dot icon on the left side of each block, you can drag and drop to reorder the blocks. 

There are two base groups of block types:

1. "Attribute type" blocks - Attribute type blocks will have the word "attribute" as a prefix.  These type blocks allow visitors to enter specific data.
2. "Specific type" blocks - Specific type blocks are used to create elements in the form e.g. text, images, a separator, etc.

Block types:

Specific Type Blocks:

• Text and image:  used to add custom text or images to the form, add content with the text editor. Make sure you have editor set up in your user parameters.
• Divider:  used to add a divider (separator) making the form more visually readable.
• Opt-in:  used to add an opt-in checkbox.  Visitors will not be able to submit a form if this checkbox is not selected.
• Captcha:  used to add captcha to a form.  In order to use this block type, you must have the captcha plug in your website installed and enabled. It is highly recommended that every form has a captcha field.

Attribute Type Blocks:

• Email:  used to allow visitors to enter their email address. A valid email address is required and will be flagged if not entered correctly.
• Attribute text:  used to allow visitors to enter a textual value, for example, "Name".
• Attribute number:  used to allow visitors to enter a numeric value, the entry will be validated when it is a numeric value.
• Attribute date:  used to allow visitors to enter a date value, visitors will have a calendar presented to enter the value, for example, "Date of birth".
• Attribute switch:  used to allow visitors to enter Yes/No value.  The visitor will see the checkbox.
• Attribute single choice:  used to allow visitors to make a selection from a list of options. The visitor will see radio buttons or select box.

Both specific and attribute block types have the following parameters:

• visible - with this switch you can easily turn on or off a block.
• block class - class added to block.
• style - specific CSS styling rules added to a block, block element style attribute.
• block control class - class added to control elements inside a block.

Most of the attribute block types have the following switches and parameters:

• required switch - visitors must enter a value in this field.
• show label switch with the option to enter label text - you can set and select if the label is shown next to a field.
• show help switch with the option to enter help text - you can set and select if additional explanation is shown.

When you are finished creating your form, click on the Save button at the top left.

7. Adding a form

To show the forms you've created, log into your Joomla admin:

1. Go to Extensions > Modules.
2. Click on the +New button at the top left.
3. Select Brevo subscription form.

Start by adding a title.

Within this module, you will have to select the subscription form you have just created.

There are also additional parameters for adding text before and after the module. If your website is not in English, we recommend setting the module parameter to button label.

Set other standard parameters such as:

• Show Title - If you select "Show", the title will be displayed on your site.
• Position - Choose where on your site the form will appear.

Depending on the Joomla template your website uses and the other additional styling, it is important to understand the visual representation of your finished form. 

The module uses standard Joomla form controls and classes for form rendering, and there are options to add classes and styling for every form block. For this reason, your form can be easily customized according to your preferences.

For example, if you have the block type "Attribute single choice" in your form and you are using Joomla's default "Protostar" template, then by setting the "Block control class" parameter to "btn-group btn-group-yesno" for that block, you will get radio buttons rendered with Joomla default button classes, which should also exist in many other templates.

Send transactional emails with Brevo

1. Set up SMTP password

From your Joomla admin, on the Brevo Dashboard, click on the SMTP settings icon to set up your transactional emails.

Paste your SMTP password and click on the Set Joomla mail settings button. The Joomla configuration will be updated.

2. Send a test email

You can send a test email to confirm everything is running smoothly: 

• Type in your email address in the Test email field.
• Click on the Send test email button.
• Check your emails.

This test email will also be recorded in the transactional logs of your Brevo account.

Track your website activity with marketing automation

Setting up marketing automation

First, make sure you have enabled Marketing Automation on your Brevo account. To do so, log in, then go to the Automation tab in the top menu and click on the TRY FOR FREE button. 

When you install the Joomla package, the Brevo marketing automation plug-in will automatically be available to use. Now, you simply need to enable it. 

From your Joomla admin, on the Brevo Dashboard. Click on the Marketing automation icon.

1. Click on the Enable plugin button.
   
2. Click on the Set plugin Tracking ID button. This will retrieve the Marketing Automation tracking ID from your Brevo account.

Monitoring website activity

Now that the Brevo Automation tracker is integrated into your website, all of the pages visited by your contacts will automatically be tracked. You will find these logs in your Brevo account under Automation > Logs > Event logs:

• page
• identify

View this guide to learn more about using your Automation logs. 

Automating your marketing communications

Automation uses "workflows" to create multi-step marketing experiences for your contacts, such as:

• Send a welcome message to new mailing list subscribers  
• Create a series of onboarding emails for new website users

Workflows can also help you manage internal marketing processes, such as: 

• Score new leads based on how they behave on your website
• Adding new attributes to your current contacts or moving them to a new list based on a recent purchase 

You may trigger the start of a workflow based on many things, including when contacts: 

• are identified on your website
• visit a page
• are added to a contact list 
• and much more!

Brevo offers ready-to-use workflow templates, or you can get creative and build a custom workflow for your exact needs.

View this guide to learn more about creating Automation workflows, or visit Automation and create your first workflow today. 

⏭️ What's next?

• 6 reasons to embrace Marketing Automation
• Qualify your contacts using Brevo’s scoring system

🤔 Have a question?

If you have a question, feel free to contact our support team by creating a ticket from your account. If you don't have an account yet, you can contact us here.

If you’re looking for help with a project using Brevo, we can match you with the right certified Brevo expert partner.