Admin guide
Email-to-Updates Setup
Follow these steps once to connect Shelly's Gmail to the site. After setup, she just sends an email and it appears on the Updates page automatically — no website, no login needed.
Create a dedicated Gmail address
- Go to accounts.google.com/signup and create a new Google account.
- Choose an address like updates.standingwithshelly@gmail.com (or anything you like).
- Save the password somewhere safe — you'll need it for Zapier.
- Share this email address with Shelly. This is the address she'll email every time she wants to post an update.
Create a free Zapier account
- Go to zapier.com/sign-up and create a free account.
- The free plan allows 100 tasks/month — more than enough for Shelly's updates.
Create a new Zap: Gmail → Webhooks
Trigger — Gmail
- Click + Create Zap.
- Search for Gmail as the trigger app.
- Choose event: New Email.
- Connect the Gmail account you created in Step 1.
- Under Label/Mailbox, choose Inbox.
- Click Continue and test the trigger (send a test email to the Gmail first).
Action — Webhooks by Zapier
- Search for Webhooks by Zapier as the action app.
- Choose event: POST.
- Set URL to:
- Set Payload Type to JSON.
- Under Data, add these key-value pairs:
| Key | Value (from Gmail trigger) |
|---|---|
| subject | Subject |
| body_plain | Body Plain |
| from_email | From Email |
| token | (see Step 4 below) |
Add the secret token
The webhook is protected by a secret token. For the token field in Zapier's Data section above, enter the value of your UPDATES_WEBHOOK_TOKEN secret.
To find it:
- In this builder, go to Settings → Secrets.
- Find UPDATES_WEBHOOK_TOKEN and copy its value.
- Paste it as the value for the token key in Zapier.
Test it end-to-end
- In Zapier, click Test step on the Webhook action.
- Check that Zapier shows a 200 Created response.
- Visit standingwithshelly.com/updates — your test update should appear at the top.
- Turn the Zap On.
- Send Shelly the Gmail address and tell her: "Just email that address like you'd email a friend. The subject is the title, and whatever you write in the email is the update."
How Shelly posts an update
It's this simple for Shelly:
To: updates.standingwithshelly@gmail.com
Subject: Starting chemo today — feeling hopeful
Body: Just wanted to let everyone know I had my first infusion this morning. The nurses were so kind. I felt your prayers the whole time. Thank you all so much. ❤️
That's it. The update appears on the site within seconds.
Category auto-detection:
The system reads the subject line and picks a category automatically:
- Words like treatment, chemo, infusion, scan → Treatment update
- Words like prayer, pray → Prayer request
- Words like milestone, good news, celebrate → Milestone
- Everything else → General message
This page is not linked anywhere on the site. Bookmark it for future reference. The URL is standingwithshelly.com/admin/zapier-setup.