Cape Breton Oil Heat
Custom lead generation site with Twilio call tracking and automated routing for heating contractors. Built with HTML/CSS/JS, Twilio Studio, and Cloudflare.
The Problem
Marketing agency needed a simple lead generation site for oil heating contractors in Cape Breton. Their existing solution was expensive, overcomplicated, and required constant maintenance.
They wanted:
- Clean, professional site that loads fast
- Automated call routing to contractors
- Contact form that connects customers directly to the right contractor
- Call tracking and analytics
- Something they could actually afford to maintain
Another developer quoted them $8,000 and 6 weeks for a "full CRM system with database management." Classic overengineering.
The Solution
Built a lightweight static site integrated with the Lead Management CRM backend. The frontend is simple, but the backend handles the heavy lifting for call routing and lead tracking.
Technical Approach
The site uses Twilio Functions for call handling. When someone calls or submits the contact form:
- Twilio Function receives the call/form submission
- Backend determines the appropriate contractor based on service type and location
- Call is forwarded directly to contractor's number with no friction
- Backend logs the call/lead to the CRM database
- Contractor sees the customer's actual number on caller ID
- All interactions are tracked for analytics and ROI reporting
The website itself is pure HTML/CSS/JS hosted on Cloudflare. Fast, cheap, reliable. No frameworks needed for a 5-page site.
Why This Worked
By leveraging the existing Lead Management CRM backend, we didn't need to rebuild call routing logic from scratch. The client had 5 contractors, and the system automatically routes leads to the right person every time.
Total delivery time: 3 weeks. Monthly costs: $15 for hosting, plus CRM retainer they were already paying. The other quote was $8,000 upfront plus $200/month hosting.
Results
What I Learned
Reuse existing infrastructure when it makes sense. The CRM backend was already handling call routing for other campaigns. Adding Cape Breton Oil Heat was a matter of configuration, not rebuilding from scratch.
Static sites with smart backends are powerful. The frontend is simple and fast. The backend handles complexity. Customers get a seamless experience, contractors get frictionless call forwarding.
Direct call forwarding beats complicated IVR systems. When a customer calls, they're immediately connected to a contractor. No menus, no waiting, no friction. Just a direct connection with proper call tracking in the background.
"The other developer made this sound impossible without spending $8,000. You delivered it in 3 weeks for a fraction of the cost. Why didn't anyone else suggest this?"
Integration with Lead Management CRM
This site demonstrates the power of reusable infrastructure. The Lead Management CRM was built to handle exactly this use case:
- Twilio Functions handle incoming calls and webhooks
- Backend API determines routing based on business rules
- PostgreSQL database logs every interaction
- Contractors see leads in their dashboard immediately
- Marketing agency can track ROI across all campaigns
Building this infrastructure once means launching new campaigns is fast and cheap. Cape Breton Oil Heat was the second campaign to use this system, and deployment took a fraction of the time the first one did.
Tech Details
For anyone interested in this approach:
- Frontend: Vanilla HTML/CSS/JS with minimal dependencies
- Hosting: Cloudflare Pages (free tier handles the traffic easily)
- Call Routing: Twilio Functions with webhooks to custom backend
- Backend: Node.js/Express API (shared with Lead Management CRM)
- Database: PostgreSQL (tracks all calls and form submissions)
- Analytics: Custom dashboard + Google Analytics
Total lines of frontend JavaScript: around 200. Backend integration: leveraged existing CRM code with campaign-specific configuration.