evoLeadGate or a generic form with a CRM
When each approach fits
A generic form connected to a CRM fits when the value is in what happens after submission: assigning the lead to a salesperson, moving it through a pipeline, automating follow-ups, measuring the sales process. If your team already works in a CRM and the form is only the front door, it is the natural route. It also fits if the same form has to serve many purposes, not just deliver a file.
evoLeadGate fits when the goal is the classic lead magnet (an email address in exchange for a file), the site is Joomla with YOOtheme Pro, and you want the lead, the consent record and the file delivery to live in your own Joomla database, with no external service needed to get started.
The two can be combined: evoLeadGate fires a Joomla event for every lead it creates, and a plugin of your own can forward it to a CRM. That plugin is not included.
Comparison
| Criterion | evoLeadGate | Generic form + CRM |
|---|---|---|
| Getting started | One YOOtheme builder element with fields, file, texts and consent. You must add a retention scheduled task and set up the site's mail. | A form plus the CRM account and the connection to it. [PENDIENTE: verificar el esfuerzo según la herramienta elegida] |
| Data stored | In the site's database: fields, consents with the exact text and date, origin and campaign parameters, download history. | In the external system, by definition of the approach. Where and under what terms depends on the provider. [PENDIENTE: verificar según la herramienta] |
| Downloadable file | Private folder, link with an expiring token (7 days by default), download history per lead. | A generic form does not know by itself which file each person downloaded, nor does it protect the file; that has to be solved separately. |
| Sales follow-up | Lead list with filters, detail view and CSV export. Nothing beyond that. | This is what the approach does best: pipelines, assignment, tasks, automations and reports. |
| Maintenance | Extension updates with the licence; retention runs on a Joomla task. | Maintaining the connection between form and CRM, and the CRM's user accounts. [PENDIENTE: verificar según la herramienta] |
| Control | All the code and data on your site, with Joomla permissions (core.manage, export, delete). |
Control depends on the CRM provider and on how the integration is set up. |
| Licence cost | One-off payment with 12 months of updates; see pricing. | [PENDIENTE: verificar según la herramienta; muchos CRM se contratan por suscripción] |
| Limits | No connectors of its own to other systems; Joomla with YOOtheme Pro only. | Those of the chosen service. |
What evoLeadGate does not do
- It is not a CRM: no pipelines, no assignment to salespeople, no tasks, no sales reports.
- It has no connectors to CRMs or automation tools. What it offers today is the Joomla event fired when a lead is created.
- It does not send server-side conversions to ad platforms. It records conversions in the browser with the pixels the site has loaded.
- It does not work outside Joomla or without the YOOtheme Pro builder.
- It does not serve several files per form.
- It protects the file with
.htaccess; on Nginx you need to add your own rule.
Form data is personal data, and the IP is stored in full by default, with an option to anonymise it. The legal basis and retention periods are for whoever processes the data to decide. This is not legal advice; consult your adviser.
More detail: evoLeadGate page, data it handles and the protected download use case.