Show live data from another service
Connect a service such as a weather or price API once, then show its current value in any field and let it keep refreshing on its own.
Some things change on their own: the weather, a price, a score, how many places are left. External data lets a field show that current value from another service, instead of a number somebody has to retype. Your agency sets the connection up once; after that you pick the value the same way you pick any other source.
Set up the connection (once, usually done by your agency):
Open Settings, then Developer, then External data.
Choose New connection. Give it a name, paste the service’s web address and, if it needs a key, paste the key. The key is stored securely and is only ever shown hidden.
Choose New source on that connection. Enter the path and how often the value may refresh — the shortest is every 30 seconds.
Press Fetch sample to see what the service sends back.
Click the values you want to offer — a temperature, a price — and give each a clear label. Save.
Then use it on a page:
Open the page and find the field that should show the value.
Open the field’s Connect dynamic source menu and choose External data.
Pick the source, then the value. Publish the page.
The page now shows the current value, and it updates for visitors without a reload. If the service goes down, the page keeps showing the last good value — it never goes blank — and the External data screen shows what went wrong. Only the values you picked are ever stored or shown, and each source is limited to a daily number of refreshes on your plan.
Want the same value in several places? Connect each field to the same source. Live values also work inside text — see Writing with the rich-text editor.