Difference between Polling and Webhooks for Integration with Databowl
There were two methods of polling the database in Databowl. Databowl in many respects was/ is way ahead of its time. A lot of clients wanted to poll the database to get lead updates whereas the dev team pushed people to use webhooks.
This video handily explains why webhooks is a superior technology and why you should be using them for integrating apps.
You can use services such as Zapier, Make or Pabbly Connect to capture webhooks when a lead updates in Databowl.
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Polling and webhooks are two different ways that a server can receive data from an external source.
In polling, the server periodically sends requests to the external source to check for new data. This is a simple and reliable way to get data, but it can be inefficient because the server has to continuously send requests even if there is no new data available.
In contrast, with webhooks, the server registers a callback URL with the external source. When new data is available, the external source sends a request to the callback URL, which triggers an event in the server. This allows the server to receive data in real-time, but it requires the server to be constantly listening for incoming requests.
In terms of which one is better, it really depends on the specific use case. Polling is generally simpler to implement and can be more reliable, but it can be less efficient. Webhooks are more efficient because they allow the server to receive data in real-time, but they can be more complex to implement and may not be as reliable as polling.
Ben has a BEng (Hons) in Computer Science and 20 years of experience in online marketing, specialising in SEO, lead generation and affiliate marketing. After spending over a decade as an igaming affiliate, he has decided to concentrate on GA4 training and SEO Audits.
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