Step by Step Guide to Building a SendFox API Integration in PHP

Introduction

Hey there, fellow developer! Ready to supercharge your email marketing game with SendFox? Let's dive into building a robust PHP integration that'll have you managing contacts, lists, and campaigns like a pro. We'll keep things snappy and focus on the good stuff – no fluff, just pure coding goodness.

Prerequisites

Before we jump in, make sure you've got:

• A PHP environment (7.4+ recommended)
• Composer installed
• Your SendFox API key handy

Got all that? Great! Let's roll.

Setting up the project

First things first, let's get our project off the ground:

mkdir sendfox-integration
cd sendfox-integration
composer init
composer require guzzlehttp/guzzle

Authentication

Alright, let's get you authenticated and ready to rock:

<?php

require 'vendor/autoload.php';

use GuzzleHttp\Client;

$apiKey = 'YOUR_API_KEY_HERE';
$client = new Client([
    'base_uri' => 'https://api.sendfox.com/v1/',
    'headers' => [
        'Authorization' => 'Bearer ' . $apiKey,
        'Content-Type' => 'application/json',
    ],
]);

Basic API Operations

Now for the fun part – let's start interacting with the API:

Listing contacts

$response = $client->get('contacts');
$contacts = json_decode($response->getBody(), true);

Adding a new contact

$response = $client->post('contacts', [
    'json' => [
        'email' => '[email protected]',
        'first_name' => 'John',
        'last_name' => 'Doe',
    ],
]);

Updating a contact

$contactId = 123;
$response = $client->patch("contacts/{$contactId}", [
    'json' => [
        'first_name' => 'Jane',
    ],
]);

Deleting a contact

$contactId = 123;
$response = $client->delete("contacts/{$contactId}");

Working with Lists

Let's organize those contacts:

Creating a new list

$response = $client->post('lists', [
    'json' => [
        'name' => 'VIP Customers',
    ],
]);

Adding contacts to a list

$listId = 456;
$response = $client->post("lists/{$listId}/contacts", [
    'json' => [
        'email' => '[email protected]',
    ],
]);

Sending Emails

Time to spread the word:

Creating an email campaign

$response = $client->post('campaigns', [
    'json' => [
        'name' => 'Summer Sale',
        'subject' => 'Don\'t Miss Our Biggest Sale Yet!',
        'body' => '<h1>Summer Savings Inside!</h1>',
        'list_id' => 456,
    ],
]);

Error Handling

Let's keep things smooth with some error handling:

try {
    $response = $client->get('contacts');
} catch (\GuzzleHttp\Exception\RequestException $e) {
    if ($e->hasResponse()) {
        $errorBody = json_decode($e->getResponse()->getBody(), true);
        echo "API Error: " . $errorBody['message'];
    } else {
        echo "Network Error: " . $e->getMessage();
    }
}

Best Practices

A few pro tips to keep your integration running like a well-oiled machine:

• Respect rate limits (check headers for limits)
• Use pagination for large datasets
• Implement webhook listeners for real-time updates

Testing

Don't forget to test! Here's a quick example using PHPUnit:

public function testListContacts()
{
    $mockResponse = new Response(200, [], json_encode(['data' => []]));
    $mockClient = $this->createMock(Client::class);
    $mockClient->method('get')->willReturn($mockResponse);

    // Your test logic here
}

Conclusion

And there you have it! You're now armed with the knowledge to build a killer SendFox API integration. Remember, the API is your playground – experiment, optimize, and most importantly, have fun building awesome email marketing tools!

Need more info? Check out the SendFox API docs for the nitty-gritty details. Now go forth and code brilliantly!