Build a WordPress CRM in Google Sheets

The dirty secret of the CRM industry is that small businesses paying for CRM platforms are using about 10% of the features. They need a list of leads, a status column, a place for notes, and maybe a way to sort by priority. Google Sheets does all of this for free.

Sheets has several advantages over dedicated CRMs for teams under 10 people. Everyone already knows how to use a spreadsheet. There is no onboarding curve, no training videos, no "CRM adoption" problem. The data is completely portable - no vendor lock-in, no export fees, no proprietary format.

The missing piece has always been getting leads into the sheet automatically. That is exactly what SheetLinkWP solves.

Here is a proven column layout for a Sheets-based CRM. SheetLinkWP auto-populates columns A through J; you manage K through N manually.

• A: Timestamp - auto-filled by SheetLinkWP
• B: Name - from form field
• C: Email - from form field
• D: Phone - from form field (if collected)
• E: Message/Inquiry - from form field
• F: Source - utm_source (auto-captured)
• G: Medium - utm_medium (auto-captured)
• H: Campaign - utm_campaign (auto-captured)
• I: Page URL - which page they submitted from (auto-captured)
• J: AI Score - 0-100 score (auto-filled by AI add-on)
• K: Status - dropdown: New / Contacted / Qualified / Proposal / Won / Lost
• L: Assigned To - dropdown with team member names
• M: Follow-Up Date - date picker for next action
• N: Notes - free-text for call notes, email summaries, etc.

Use Data Validation (Data > Data validation) to create dropdown menus for the Status and Assigned To columns.

1. Connect your forms to Google Sheets - Install SheetLink Forms from sheetlinkwp.com or upload the plugin ZIP. Create a Google Sheet with the column layout above. Deploy the Apps Script connector and link it in SheetLink's settings.
2. Add data validation for status tracking - Select the Status column, go to Data > Data validation, and create a dropdown with your pipeline stages.
3. Apply conditional formatting - Highlight the Status column, go to Format > Conditional formatting, and set rules: green fill for "Won", red for "Lost", yellow for "Qualified", blue for "Contacted".
4. Create filtered views for each rep - Go to Data > Create a filter view. Each team member can create their own view filtered to their name in the Assigned To column.
5. Set up a summary dashboard tab - Add a second tab called "Dashboard" with COUNTIF formulas for leads by status, SUMIFS for leads by source, and a chart showing lead volume over time.

A CRM is only as good as the data in it. SheetLinkWP automatically enriches every lead record with attribution data that some CRM plans charge extra for:

• UTM parameters tell you exactly which marketing channel, campaign, and ad creative generated the lead.
• Ad click IDs (GCLID, fbclid, msclkid) let you tie leads back to specific ad clicks in your ad platform.
• Page URL tells you which page on your site converted the visitor.
• Referring URL captures the last page they visited before your site.

The biggest problem with a growing lead list is knowing which leads to call first. SheetLinkWP's AI Lead Scoring add-on ($29/month) solves this by analyzing each submission and assigning a score from 0 to 100, plus a category: Hot (75-100), Warm (40-74), or Cold (0-39).

The AI analyzes multiple signals: the content of the form submission, the source channel, the page URL, time of day, and contextual signals. In your CRM sheet, sort by the AI Score column descending. Your sales team starts at the top and works down.

Fan-out notifications - SheetLinkWP's CRM Fan-Out add-on ($49/month) can push new leads to Slack, email, or webhooks in real time. For simpler needs, the basic Fan-Out add-on ($19/month) covers Slack and email notifications.

Follow-up date tracking - Use the Follow-Up Date column with Sheets' built-in conditional formatting: highlight overdue follow-ups in red. Each morning, filter by Follow-Up Date = Today to see your call list.

Scoring thresholds for routing - Combine AI scoring with your assignment workflow: leads scoring 75+ go to your senior closer, leads 40-74 go to your SDR for qualification, and leads under 40 receive an automated nurture email.

A Sheets CRM is excellent up to a point. Consider moving to HubSpot, Pipedrive, or a dedicated CRM when:

• You have more than 1,000 active leads and Sheets starts feeling slow to filter and sort
• You need automated email sequences triggered by lead status changes
• Your sales team grows past 5-10 reps and you need role-based access controls
• You require multi-touch attribution across dozens of touchpoints
• You need built-in calling and email tracking integrated with lead records

The good news: your Sheets CRM data exports cleanly to any CRM via CSV import.