How to validate email addresses in real time with Zerobounce

Our integration with the Zerobounce email validation API lets you check email addresses in real-time.

With this feature, email addresses checked before they hit your database, so your users will be given an opportunity to provide a valid address before the form is submitted.

How does the integration behave in Growform?

When a user enters their email address into a Zerobounce enabled field, Growform will silently check the email address in the background.

If the email address is invalid, the user will be prompted to enter a valid email address, and will be prevented from proceeding before they do so:

If the email address is valid, the user will notice nothing, and the will be able to complete the form as normal:

You will also see the status of validated email addresses in your "View leads" page.

How does Zerobounce check email addresses?

The Zerobounce API takes a multi-layered approach. Initially, it checks the syntax to ensure addresses conform to standard formatting rules, catching errors like missing "@" symbols. Then, it performs domain and MX record validation, verifying that the domain exists and can receive emails by confirming operational email servers.

Additionally, Zerobounce uses advanced algorithms to identify disposable addresses, spam traps, and known abuse accounts. It also "pings" email servers to check if addresses are active without sending emails. Zerobounce go into more detail about their technology here.

How do I enable Zerobounce in Growform?

First, you'll need to set up a Zerobounce account. At the time of writing, it's free for the first 20 credits, and then can be topped up for as little as $20.

Once you've signed up, go to the API page in the Zerobounce member's area.

You'll find your API key at the top of this screen:

Copy this and paste it into the relevant box on your Growform account settings, below:

Don't forget to hit "Update" before leaving the page!

Finally, add an "Email" field to your form, and enable the "Validate with Zerobounce" toggle, before saving your form:

Additional implementation guidance

• This service is rate-limited per IP address. In the unlikely event you trigger a rate-limit, you will see this in your "View leads" report.
• Bearing in mind the Zerobounce API documentation, we consider an email address to be valid on the following occasions:
  • Zerobounce reports it as valid
  • Zerobounce reports it as a catch-all or role-based-catch-all (eg. info@)
  • Zerobounce reports it as "abuse" (the user is known to use "report spam" functionality)
• If Zerobounce is unable to determine whether an address is valid, it will be marked as "Unknown" on the lead information (and the user allowed to proceed).
• Zerobounce have diagnostics available in the member's area, which let you see the breakdown of valid/invalid/unknown results.