Kaizen #140 - Integrating Blog feed scraping service into Zoho CRM Dashboard

Kaizen #140 - Integrating Blog feed scraping service into Zoho CRM Dashboard



Howdy Tech Wizards! Welcome to a fresh week of kaizen.

This week, we will look at how to create a dashboard widget that displays the most recent blog post of your preferred products/services, updated daily at a specific time. We will leverage the potential of  Zoho CRM's Function, Variables, and Automation Schedules to achieve this widget. 

Overview

For the use case mentioned above, 
  • Build and deploy a web scraping service on a cloud. 
  • Create a Zoho CRM variable to store the response from this web scraping service.
  • Write a custom schedule function to fetch the web scraping response and update the previously created CRM variable.
  • Create a dashboard widget that makes a GET API call to that specific CRM variable on page load and displays the response.

1. Create a Web Scraping Service 

Develop a web scraping script in your preferred language based on your products/services' blog sites. In this demo, we have used NodeJS and the blog sites of various Zoho products. Our data requirements in the dashboard widget are the title of the latest blog, its URL, and mapping these to their respective products. Since recent posts on these pages often appear first, we have applied the following logic to scrape the sites:
  • Use the axios and cheerio libraries in NodeJS to fetch and load the HTML data of the blogs in the DOM format.
  • Use a getLatestBlog function that fetches the HTML data and utilizes selectors to retrieve the required information (latest blog title and page URL). This data is then mapped to their respective products and fed into a table.
The sample code for web scrapping is provided as an attachment to this post. 

Deploy this NodeJS web scraping script to a server or a cloud function. In our case, we have uploaded it to Catalyst Serverless Function. 

Make a note of the Function URL for the NodeJS web scraping script provided by Catalyst after hosting it. We will invoke this URL from a Custom Schedule Function.

2. Create a Zoho CRM Variable

Step 1: In your Zoho CRM, go to Setup > Developer Hub > Variables.

Step 2: Click on the Create New Variable button and provide the necessary details.



Initially, set a dummy value. Make a note of this variable ID as the response from our web scraping script will be stored in it with the help of Custom Schedule Function.

For a step-by-step guide on creating a variable, check here. 

3. Write a Custom Schedule Function 

Step 1: Go to Setup > Automation > Schedules in your Zoho CRM.

Step 2: Click on the Create New Schedule button and provide a name to the schedule.



Step 3: In the Function To Be Executed field, choose Writing Function. A pop-up will appear with the necessary details to create a function.



Step 4: Once you hit the Create button, the deluge code editor appears within which you have to code the following requirements. 

First, invoke the function URL of the web scraping script. This action will run the script and provide a response. Then, use this response to update the designated CRM variable that was previously set up for this task by using the Update Variable API. 

You can also copy and paste the code from here. 

response = invokeurl
[
url :"https://blog-scrapper-789629878.development.catalystserverless.com/server/blog_scrapper_function/"
type :GET
];
info response;
scrape_response = response.toString();
variable = Map();
variable.put("id","5545974000007587001");
variable.put("value",scrape_response);
variables_list = List();
variables_list.add(variable);
param = Map();
param.put("variables",variables_list);
response = invokeurl
[
url :"https://www.zohoapis.com/crm/v6/settings/variables/5545974000007587001"
type :PUT
parameters:param.toString()
connection:"crm_oauth_connection"
];
info response;

For information on invoking API URLs, please refer to the connections help page. Note that the web scraping URL does not require any authentication, as it is a public URL.

Step 5: Click the Save button to associate the function with your schedule. Configure the frequency of the scheduler to run the function every day at a specific time.



For more information about Schedules, check this help page. 

Every day at 11:00 AM, the scheduler will invoke our web scraping script hosted in Catalyst and store its response in a variable. Next, we need to create a dashboard widget that displays the response stored in this variable. 

4. Code your Widget

Step 1: Refer to this help page and initiate a widget project in your local environment using Zoho CLI.

Step 2: Everytime, the dashboard widget is loaded, the code in widget.html file executes an API call to the Zoho CRM Variable, which we updated in the Scheduled Function. It loads the response from the GET Variable API call into the widget.

Copy and paste the following code in your widget.html file. 

<html>
<head>
</head>
<body>
<div id="blogs-table-container"></div>
<script type="text/javascript">
ZOHO.embeddedApp.on("PageLoad", function () {
var conn_name = "test_api_connection";
var req_data = {
"method": "GET",
"param_type": 1
};
ZOHO.CRM.CONNECTION.invoke(conn_name, req_data)
.then(function (data) {
console.log(data)
const div = document.getElementById("blogs-table-container");
div.innerHTML = data.details.statusMessage.variables[0].value;
})
})
ZOHO.embeddedApp.init();
</script>
</body>
</html>

5. Upload the Widget and Check Your Results

Step 1: Execute the zet validate and zet pack commands to validate and pack the widget. 

Step 2: Go to Zoho CRM > Setup > Developer Hub > Widgets and click the Create New Widget button. 

Fill in the necessary details and upload the package. 



Step 3: Let us now check the dashboard widget from the Zoho CRM Home page. 



We have used the blog sites of a few Zoho products for this demo. You can replace them with your required products/services' sites. 

Hope this post was insightful and help your interest. 

If you have any queries, feel free to drop them in the comments section below or reach out to us directly at support@zohocrm.com. We eagerly await your thoughts and feedback on this!

Stay tuned until we circle back to you next Friday!

Cheers!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Recommended Reads

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alert
Join us for our upcoming Zoho CRM Developer Series: Zoho CRM APIs, where you can explore more about Zoho CRM APIs. Register Now!  


    • Sticky Posts

    • Kaizen #198: Using Client Script for Custom Validation in Blueprint

      Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – 1 More to the Big Two-Oh-Oh! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.

    • Kaizen #226: Using ZRC in Client Script

      Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. In today's post, lets see what is ZRC (Zoho Request Client) and how we can use ZRC methods in Client Script to get inputs from a Salesperson and update the Lead status with a single button click. In this

    • Kaizen #222 - Client Script Support for Notes Related List

      Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. The final Kaizen post of the year 2025 is here! With the new Client Script support for the Notes Related List, you can validate, enrich, and manage notes across modules. In this post, we’ll explore how

    • Kaizen #217 - Actions APIs : Tasks

      Welcome to another week of Kaizen! In last week's post we discussed Email Notifications APIs which act as the link between your Workflow automations and you. We have discussed how Zylker Cloud Services uses Email Notifications API in their custom dashboard.

    • Kaizen #216 - Actions APIs : Email Notifications

      Welcome to another week of Kaizen! For the last three weeks, we have been discussing Zylker's workflows. We successfully updated a dormant workflow, built a new one from the ground up and more. But our work is not finished—these automated processes are

    • Recent Topics

    • How to Print the Data Model Zoho CRM

      I have created the data model in Zoho CRM and I want the ability to Print this. How do we do this please? I want the diagram exported to a PDF. There doesnt appear to be an option to do this. Thanks Andrew

    • our customers have difficult to understand the Statements

      our costumers have big problems to understand Zohos Statements. we need a text box after the payment number to explain what the payments are for. Is it possible to develop a version of the Statement with that kind of box and if so whu can do it

    • How to track a list of ALL the items that ONE customer bought?

      Hello, I am interested in getting a list of all the items that only ONE of my customers bought, and the invoices are what show up instead. It's very tedious to go through every single invoice when we sell a lot of items to this customer. Surely there

    • Exchange Rate Updates

      Hi, It would be great that when you work with multiple currencies, the exchange rate updates automagically every day (as seen on Zoho Books) or at least that when you create/update an opportunity the exchange rate could be manually updated, or maybe both!

    • Locked Out of Super Admin Account

      I'm locked out of my Super Admin account and the external e-mail is no longer associated with it. There seems to be a problem during set up, the system ought to ask to assign a new password instead of using Google accounts. Please help me get back access.

    • Emails are going to notification folder and not in inbox

      emails are going to notification folder and not into inbox

    • 550 5.4.6 Unusual sending activity detected. Please try after sometime

      Hi, I am receiving this error message when trying to send my emails. The only reason I can think why this is happening is my previous two emails were bounced back to me due to a non working mailbox error. I have followed the online links for unblocking

    • Projects Home Customization

      Hello! We've been in Zoho One since July of last year, and my team has started providing feedback on what they'd like to do. Their latest wish is that they could have more control over the Projects Home content. For example, they want a card that shows

    • IMAP search support

      Does Zoho Mail support IMAP search? https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9051.html#name-search-command TEXT <string> Messages that contain the specified string in the header (including MIME header fields) or body of the message. Servers are allowed to implement

    • Performance is degrading

      We have used Mail and Cliq for about three years now. I used to use both on the browser. Both have, over the past 6 months, had a severe degradation in performance. I switched to desktop email, which appeared to improve things somewhat, although initial

    • Cannot reorder fields in Page Layout in Expenses and Purchase Requests

      It is very inconvenient that the custom fields in Page Layout cannot be re-ordered. The only way is to remove the fields and re-create them; however, it is impractical. This would affect the reports and dashboards we are having. Not able to re-order the

    • bouncing emails

      My recurring invoices have bounced back

    • Probable Scam / Phising attempt from email pretending to be Zoho

      I think this is a scam email right? It says "zohCworkplace.com". I'm on the Mail Free plan The link in the CTA button seems to go to a redirect. Just wanted to bring it up to the security team.

    • Feature Request: Ability to set Default Custom Filters and apply them via URL/Deluge

      I've discovered a significant gap in how Zoho Creator handles Custom Filters for reports, and I'm hoping the Zoho team can address this in a future update. This limitation has been raised before and continues to be requested, but remains unresolved. The

    • Email Address Search in "To" Field Search is broken, Zoho refuses to fix it

      Typing a part of the email address string other than the beginning of the string does NOT work, I kindly urge Zoho to fix this. Let's say you remember writing an email so someone called "smith" from company "corp.com", but can't remember their first name,

    • Emails not being received by @hotmail.com, @outlook.com and a few others

      When I try to send emails from zoho mail to people with email addresses ending @outlook.com and @hotmail.com (and a few others), I get a 'delayed' automatic email and then a few hours later, an 'undelivered' automatic email. This has started a few months

    • scroll bar for far left of screen

      I am unable to even see the scroll bar to the right of "inbox" etc on the left; it is stuck at "streams" and I can't get to inbox or anything else. It would help if it could be made a lighter color as the black or dark grey can't bee seen.

    • OUt of office every friday

      Hi, I tryed to configure my out of office, because i'm not working or emailing on fridays. But when i select only friday as unavailable day, the out of office still sets for the whole week. What am I doing wrong?

    • Signature line

      How do I set signature line in email

    • Zoho email

      I cannot send email to mail.ru

    • 【参加無料】東京 Zoho ユーザ交流会 NEXUS ー CRMで始めるマーケティング事例 / AI活用法(Zia Agents)

      ユーザーの皆さま、こんにちは。コミュニティチームの藤澤です。 3月27日(金)に東京、新橋で東京 Zoho ユーザー交流会 NEXUS を開催します！ 昨年度までより、さらにパワーアップして戻ってきました！ ユーザー活用事例は、2人のユーザーさんからお話しいただきます。Zoho サービスの活用の幅を広げたい方や、他のユーザーの利用法を気軽に知りたい方など、多くの方にとって学びのあるセッションになること間違いなしです✨ また今年は、これまで以上に、AI機能にも焦点を当てて行く予定です。 初回として、Zoho社員からZoho

    • Issue Exporting Data – CSRF Token Invalid Error

      Dear Zoho Team, We are experiencing an issue when exporting data from our Analytics workspace. Whenever we attempt to export data from our analytical pool, the system displays the following alert message: Alert Message: The CSRF token is invalid. It could

    • Deluge Learning Series – Client functions in Deluge | January 2026

      We’re excited to kick-start the first session of the 2026 Deluge Learning Series (DLS) with Client functions in Deluge. For those who are new to DLS, here’s a quick overview of what the series is all about: The Deluge Learning Series takes place on the

    • Zoho Mail 505 error I can not send email

      Hi, I’m having issues sending emails from my custom domain email address. When I send emails to Outlook addresses, I receive an “Undeliverable 505” error. However, emails send and receive correctly when I use Gmail. This is important for my business,

    • Multiple MFA Methods

      With SMS-based MFA methods being discontinued, there is now no way to have mutliple MFA methods. I'd like to add my zoho account on two seperate phones using the Google Authenticator app. In the https://accounts.zoho.com/home#multiTFA/modes you can only

    • Reuse Standalone Function

      I noticed that there's a missing information in documentation to reuse a standalone function and it is because the parameters require an argument. Here is my code and it is working. response = invokeurl [ url: "https://people.zoho.com/api/v3/function/sample/execute"

    • Domain renewals

      Need to know how hoe to renew the domain

    • MX shopify problem

      hello, i added all MX values in my shopify DNS - it shows those values on the shopify panel + your toolkit. I tried to send some email and it works, however on my gmail it says they cant verify this email. When i try to answer into my domain's email -

    • Best Way to Manage Email Notifications While Running a Strategy Website

      I am currently managing a content-based website, and I use Zoho Mail for handling contact forms, user queries, and collaboration emails. One challenge I am facing is organizing incoming emails efficiently, especially when messages come from different

    • What is the maximum email domains ?

      I help manage about 20 associations and I'm looking for a way to centralize them in one place. Does Zoho Mail pro or enterprise support 20-30 domains for 3-5 users each?

    • Add to Workdrive filter

      I'm trying to create a filter that will upload attachments in emails and the e-mail body to a folder in workdrive. I am able to do one or the other (attachment, or e-mail content), but not both. I first tried it using the "Email (EML) + attachment" option.

    • Forgot my admin Panel Id and password

      Sir, I have an account , where a domain mycityestate.in is added for Zoho email , now it is hard for me to manage email because i have forgotten the Email account and password registered with Admin Panel of Zoho. Just need email name which is registered

    • MCP no longer works with Claude

      Anyone else notice Zoho MCP no longer works with Claude? I'm unable to turn this on in the claude chat. When I try to toggle it on, it just does nothing at all. I've tried in incognito, new browsers, etc. - nothing seems to work.

    • Knowledgebase SEO

      We have a custom-domain mapped help center that is not restricted via login. I have some questions: a) will a robots.txt file still allow us to control indexing? b) do we have the ability to edit the sitemap? c) do category URLs get indexed by search

    • Problem with CRM Connection not Refreshing Token

      I've setup a connection with Zoom in the CRM. I'm using this connection to automate some registrations, so my team doesn't have to manually create them in both the CRM and Zoom. Connection works great in my function until the token expires. It does not refresh and I have to manually revoke the connection and connect it again. I've chatted with Zoho about this and after emailing me that it couldn't be done I asked for specifics on why and they responded. "The connection is CRM is not a feature to

    • New Features: Repeat Last Action, Insert Cut/Copied Rows/Columns and Hyperlink

      You might have noticed the constant updates to Zoho Sheet of late. Here are 3 more features that have been added to Zoho Sheet recently: F4 - Repeat Last Action Insert Cut/Copied Rows and Columns Insert Hyperlink Here is a screen cast demonstrating each of these features. Read further below to learn more about these new features. F4 - Repeat Last Action: You can now repeat the last action you made on your spreadsheet by using the keyboard shortcut, F4. It is quite handy and helps you get your work

    • Need help getting my mail on iPhone and Tablet

      I need to access my Zoho mail via the iPhone Mail app. I have entered the login name, password and the incoming and outgoing servers, which my Mail Settings page says are imappro.zoho.com and smtppro.zoho.com. The iPhone keeps saying it cannot authenticate.

    • Add an background image to an email template in CRM

      Hi all, We wants to put an background image behind all our email templates. Is there a way to import this thru html. If i put the option background image in <body style="background-image:...</body> and i look to the preview it shows our background, but

    • Is there a way to show contact emails in the Account?

      I know I can see the emails I have sent and received on a Contact detail view, but I want to be able to see all the emails that have been sent and received between all an Accounts Contacts on the Account Detail view. That way when I see the Account detail

    • How do I bulk archive my projects in ZOHO projects

      Hi, I want to archive 50 Projects in one go. Can you please help me out , How can I do this? Thanks kapil

    • Next Page