Assigning Tags to Contacts

April 23, 2026

Assigning and Removing Tags #

Learn how to add and remove tags from contacts for flexible organization and filtering.

Overview #

Tags provide flexible, ad-hoc categorization for contacts. Unlike lists, tags can be created on-the-fly and contacts can have unlimited tags.

Prerequisites:

  • Permission to update contacts and read tag definitions

Assigning Tags #

Method 1: During Contact Creation

  1. PloverCRM → Contacts → Add New Contact
  2. Fill in contact information
  3. In Tags metabox, type tag name → Press Enter
  4. Click Publish

Tip: Create new tags on-the-fly by typing names that don’t exist yet.

Method 2: Editing Existing Contacts

  1. PloverCRM → Contacts → Click contact
  2. In Tags metabox, type or select tags
  3. Click Update

Method 3: Bulk Tagging

  1. PloverCRM → Contacts → Select multiple contacts
  2. Bulk Actions → EditApply
  3. In bulk edit panel, add tags
  4. Click Update

Method 4: Via API

curl -X PUT https://yoursite.com/wp-json/plover-crm/v1/contacts/123 \
-H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_PASSWORD" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"tags": ["hot-lead", "enterprise", "follow-up"]}'

Note: API accepts tag slugs or IDs and replaces all tags.

Method 5: Form Integrations

  1. PloverCRM → Data Sources → Edit/create integration
  2. In field mapping, find Tags
  3. Enter comma-separated tag names or map to form field
  4. Save integration

Removing Tags #

Single Contact

  1. Open contact → Click X next to tag in Tags metabox → Update

Multiple Contacts

  1. Filter by tag → Select contacts
  2. Bulk Actions → Edit → Remove tag → Update

Remove All from a Tag

  1. PloverCRM → Tags → Hover over tag → View
  2. Select all contacts → Bulk Actions → Edit
  3. Remove tag → Update

Tag Behavior #

Tags vs Lists:

FeatureTagsLists
PurposeFlexible labelingStructured grouping
CreationOn-the-flyPre-defined
Use CaseAd-hoc categorizationSegmentation
Typical CountMany (50+)Few (5–20)

Auto-Creation: Tags are automatically created when assigned to contacts — no need to pre-create.

Permissions:

  • Super Admin: Assign any tag to any contact
  • Custom Roles: Require tag_definitions read permission
  • Update Scope: Must have permission to update the contact

Common Tag Use Cases #

  • Lead Qualification: hot-lead, cold-lead, qualified, not-interested
  • Follow-Up Status: follow-up-needed, contacted, awaiting-response, closed
  • Source Tracking: website-form, trade-show, referral, cold-outreach
  • Priority Levels: high-priority, medium-priority, low-priority
  • Product Interest: interested-in-product-a, interested-in-product-b
  • Behavioral: opened-email, clicked-link, downloaded-resource, attended-webinar

Best Practices #

Naming:

  • Use lowercase with hyphens (e.g., hot-lead not Hot Lead)
  • Be consistent with naming patterns
  • Avoid spaces (become hyphens in slugs)
  • Use descriptive, self-explanatory names

Maintenance:

  • Regularly consolidate similar tags
  • Delete unused tags
  • Merge duplicates (e.g., follow-up and followup)
  • Document tag meanings for the team

Strategy:

  • Define tagging strategy before creating many tags
  • Limit tags per contact (5–10 is reasonable)
  • Use tags for temporary states, lists for permanent categories
  • Consider custom fields for structured data

Automation:

  • Use form integrations for auto-tagging
  • Set up webhooks for external events
  • Use API to sync with other systems

Troubleshooting #

IssueSolution
Tags metabox not visibleCheck tag_definitions permission, verify Screen Options
Tags not savingVerify update permission, check browser console, avoid special characters
Duplicate tags createdManually merge and delete duplicates, establish naming conventions
Bulk tagging not workingCheck update_scope, try smaller batches, verify permissions
API assignment failsVerify tag slugs/IDs, check authentication, ensure array format

API Reference #

Update Contact Tags

PUT /wp-json/plover-crm/v1/contacts/{id}

Request:

{ "tags": ["hot-lead", "enterprise", "follow-up"] }

Response:

{
"success": true,
"data": {
"id": 123,
"email": "[email protected]",
"tags": [
{ "id": 5, "title": "Hot Lead", "slug": "hot-lead" },
{ "id": 8, "title": "Enterprise", "slug": "enterprise" },
{ "id": 12, "title": "Follow Up", "slug": "follow-up" }
]
}
}

Create Tag

POST /wp-json/plover-crm/v1/tags

Request:

{
"title": "Hot Lead",
"slug": "hot-lead",
"description": "Contacts with high purchase intent"
}

Last Updated: February 3, 2026