Salesforce Developer QuickStart

The first step in starting to develop with Salesforce.com is to register for a developer account.
Once you are registered you will have access to the Force.Com Workbook. Download a pdf copy and read up on it before diving in.  This will give you an overview of the architecture, workflow, business logic etc at a higher level.

Next step is to access Apex Workbook which describes the Apex Programming Language.  This will allow you to develop custom solutions using Salesforce's native language.

There is a whole series of PDFs here with valuable information.

If you are going to be connecting Salesforce to an external application please check out the Salesforce Integration QuickStart.

If you know any Tips, Tricks or resources for SalesForce let us know and we can add them to this blog. Please email them to chris.williams@readwatchcreate.com

Setting up web to lead forms

Salesforce Web To Lead forms are a great way to place forms on your site and have them collect leads with no code.  Here are the steps involved on setting one up:

• First thing you will need to test it out is Sign up for a Developer Account
• After that you will need to set up your web to leads form on SalesForce
• Next you need to paste the form code supplied by salesforce.  You cannot simply paste this in a page but must follow the instructions in code provided.
• You will notice at the top it mentions a meta tag.  You need to place this in the head tag of your page.
• Next you will notice a form post tag.  This can cause havoc especially if using ASP.NET as there will already be a form tag in your master page.  I created a seperate master page, removed the ASP.NET form and replaced it with the Salesforce one.
  
  NOTE: This means you cannot put any .NET controls on this page.  If you do need .NET controls you will have to wrap it in the .NET Form that is runat="server"  You will need to make sure you strategically place your .NET controls such you can wrap by the .NET Form around them but NOT around the salesforce form post.
• Make sure you create the thankyou page you referred to when setting up the SalesForce form.

Voila, this should work if you have followed the instructions and ensured the SalesForce Form is not inside the .NET RunAt="server" form.

NOTE: If you are working with Sharepoint you will need to follow special steps to add this form. Check out this article on Adding Salesforce.com forms to Sharepoint

If you know any Tips, Tricks or resources for SalesForce let us know and we can add them to this blog. Please email them to chris.williams@threepointturn.com or dennis.augustine@threepointturn.com

You can follow us on twitter at @crmguild.  If you know any Tips, Tricks or resources related to Salesforce or need assistance related to SalesForce please email us at chris.williams@readwatchcreate.com and we will post them here.  You can also register at Read Watch Create and we will reach out to discuss your needs.

Welcome to SalesForce Guild

Welcome to the SalesForce Guild.

This blog is designed to contain various Tips and Tricks to help you configure SalesForce.com. Since there is a lot you can do with SalesForce, sometimes it can be overwhelming knowing the best way to do something. Hopefully this will help you with some of projects you are working on.

If you know any Tips, Tricks or resources for SalesForce let us know and we can add them to this blog. Please email them to chris.williams@readwatchcreate.com