Overview #
Contacts are the foundation of PloverCRM. Each contact represents a person or entity with standard fields (email, name, phone), custom fields, lists, tags, stage, notes, and metadata.
Contact Storage #
PloverCRM stores contacts in your WordPress database with support for both built-in PloverCRM storage and FluentCRM integration.
PloverCRM (Built-in):
- Contacts stored as custom post type
- Standard fields in post metadata
- Lists/Tags using WordPress taxonomies
- Notes stored as comments
- Custom fields with special prefix
FluentCRM Integration:
- Contacts synchronized with FluentCRM database
- Custom fields in subscriber metadata
- Lists, tags, and notes in FluentCRM tables
Standard Fields #
Required #
Email – Validated format, can be unique
Optional #
First Name – Up to 255 characters
Last Name – Up to 255 characters
Full Name – Computed from first + last, auto-splits when provided
Phone – Any format, can be unique
City, State, Country, Postal Code – Location fields
System (Read-Only) #
ID – Auto-generated unique identifier
Created At / Updated At – Timestamp tracking
Avatar – Profile image or initials
Contact Relationships #
Lists – Many-to-many, group contacts by category
Tags – Many-to-many, label with attributes
Stage – Single value, tracks lifecycle position
Owner – WordPress user, assigns responsibility
Contact Lifecycle #
- Creation – Manual entry, form submissions, CSV import, API, webhooks
- Enrichment – Auto-adds UTM params, device info, location (10 seconds after creation)
- Management – Updates, list/tag assignment, stage progression, owner assignment, notes
- Deletion – Manual, bulk operations, API (cascades to notes/reminders)
Contact Uniqueness #
Prevents duplicates using configured unique field (Email, Phone, or Custom Field).
How it works:
- Checks unique field before creating contact
- If exists: Updates existing contact
- If doesn’t exist: Creates new contact
Configure: PloverCRM → Settings → General → Unique Field
Contact Ownership #
Determines responsibility, visibility (view scope), update permissions, and notifications.
Assigning: Assign to specific users or leave unassigned for claiming
Claiming: Team members can claim unassigned contacts
Learn more: Contact Ownership
Contact Permissions #
View Scope: All contacts or Owned only
Update Scope: All contacts or Owned only
Field-Level: Per-field Create/Read/Update permissions by role
Learn more: Roles and Permissions
Search & Filtering #
Search: Email, name, phone, custom fields, full-text, wildcards
Filter: List, tag, stage, owner, date range, custom field values
Import & Export #
Export: CSV with all standard/custom fields, lists, tags, metadata
Import: CSV with column mapping, bulk import, duplicate handling, validation
Learn more: Importing Contacts
Best Practices #
Data Quality: Always collect unique field, validate before import, use consistent formatting, clean regularly
Organization: Use lists for categories, tags for attributes, stages for progress, owners for accountability
Privacy: Only collect necessary data, get consent, provide unsubscribe, honor deletions, secure data
