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

Aug 9, 2024 • 7 minute read

Introduction

Hey there, fellow developer! Ready to supercharge your PHP application with some email marketing magic? Let's dive into integrating the Sendinblue API. This powerhouse will let you manage contacts, send transactional emails, and even run full-blown marketing campaigns. Buckle up!

Prerequisites

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

A PHP environment (you knew that, right?)
Composer installed (because who wants to manage dependencies manually?)
A Sendinblue account with an API key (if you don't have one, go grab it now – I'll wait)

Installation

First things first, let's get that Sendinblue PHP library installed:

composer require sendinblue/api-v3-sdk

Easy peasy, right? Composer's got your back.

Authentication

Now, let's set up that API key. Create a new PHP file and add this:

require_once(__DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php');

$config = SendinBlue\Client\Configuration::getDefaultConfiguration()->setApiKey('api-key', 'YOUR_API_KEY');
$apiInstance = new SendinBlue\Client\Api\ContactsApi(
    new GuzzleHttp\Client(),
    $config
);

Replace 'YOUR_API_KEY' with your actual API key. You're now ready to make some API calls!

Basic API Calls

Creating a Contact

Let's add a new contact to your Sendinblue account:

$createContact = new \SendinBlue\Client\Model\CreateContact();
$createContact['email'] = '[email protected]';
$createContact['attributes'] = array('FNAME'=>'John', 'LNAME'=>'Doe');

try {
    $result = $apiInstance->createContact($createContact);
    print_r($result);
} catch (Exception $e) {
    echo 'Exception when calling ContactsApi->createContact: ', $e->getMessage(), PHP_EOL;
}

Sending a Transactional Email

Now, let's send a quick email:

$apiInstance = new SendinBlue\Client\Api\TransactionalEmailsApi(
    new GuzzleHttp\Client(),
    $config
);

$sendSmtpEmail = new \SendinBlue\Client\Model\SendSmtpEmail();
$sendSmtpEmail['subject'] = "My subject";
$sendSmtpEmail['htmlContent'] = "<html><body><h1>This is a transactional email</h1></body></html>";
$sendSmtpEmail['sender'] = array('name' => 'John Doe', 'email' => '[email protected]');
$sendSmtpEmail['to'] = array(
    array('email' => '[email protected]', 'name' => 'Jane Doe')
);

try {
    $result = $apiInstance->sendTransacEmail($sendSmtpEmail);
    print_r($result);
} catch (Exception $e) {
    echo 'Exception when calling TransactionalEmailsApi->sendTransacEmail: ', $e->getMessage(), PHP_EOL;
}

Advanced Features

Managing Contact Lists

Create a list:

$apiInstance = new SendinBlue\Client\Api\ListsApi(
    new GuzzleHttp\Client(),
    $config
);

$createList = new \SendinBlue\Client\Model\CreateList();
$createList['name'] = "My new list";
$createList['folderId'] = 1;

try {
    $result = $apiInstance->createList($createList);
    print_r($result);
} catch (Exception $e) {
    echo 'Exception when calling ListsApi->createList: ', $e->getMessage(), PHP_EOL;
}

Creating and Sending Campaigns

This one's a bit more complex, but you've got this:

$apiInstance = new SendinBlue\Client\Api\EmailCampaignsApi(
    new GuzzleHttp\Client(),
    $config
);

$emailCampaigns = new \SendinBlue\Client\Model\CreateEmailCampaign();
$emailCampaigns['name'] = "Campaign sent via the API";
$emailCampaigns['subject'] = "My subject";
$emailCampaigns['sender'] = array('name' => 'From name', 'email' => '[email protected]');
$emailCampaigns['type'] = "classic";

$emailCampaigns['htmlContent'] = "HTML content of the message";
$emailCampaigns['recipients'] = array('listIds' => [2, 3, 4]);

try {
    $result = $apiInstance->createEmailCampaign($emailCampaigns);
    print_r($result);
} catch (Exception $e) {
    echo 'Exception when calling EmailCampaignsApi->createEmailCampaign: ', $e->getMessage(), PHP_EOL;
}

Error Handling

Always wrap your API calls in try-catch blocks. Sendinblue throws specific exceptions, so you can handle them gracefully:

try {
    // Your API call here
} catch (\SendinBlue\Client\ApiException $e) {
    echo "Error : ", $e->getMessage(), PHP_EOL;
    echo "HTTP status code : ", $e->getCode(), PHP_EOL;
    echo "Error Response : ", $e->getResponseBody(), PHP_EOL;
}

Best Practices

Rate Limiting: Sendinblue has rate limits. Be nice and don't hammer their API. Implement exponential backoff if you're doing bulk operations.
Webhook Integration: For real-time updates, set up webhooks in your Sendinblue account and create endpoints in your application to handle them.

Testing

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

use PHPUnit\Framework\TestCase;

class SendinBlueTest extends TestCase
{
    public function testCreateContact()
    {
        // Your test code here
        $this->assertInstanceOf(\SendinBlue\Client\Model\CreateModel::class, $result);
    }
}

Conclusion

And there you have it! You're now equipped to integrate Sendinblue into your PHP application like a pro. Remember, the official Sendinblue API documentation is your best friend for more advanced use cases.

Now go forth and email with confidence! Happy coding!