Hello DavidM0436,
Thank you for reaching out to Constant Contact API Developer Support. My team is here to assist outside software developers with questions about building into Constant Contact's API.
It sounds like you may be trying to use a 3rd-party app that is asking you for an API Key. Usually an application developer will generate their own API Key that lets their app integrate with Constant Contact, however some developers require you to provide them with an API Key. Since this process was designed to be done by the app developers themselves, it can be confusing for end users to find or generate this information.
We have two different versions of our API, which are managed through different platforms and are not cross compatible.
If the app you are using is asking you for an API Key and Secret, then it most likely utilizes our current V3 API. Your 3rd party integration may also provide you with the Redirect URI to add to your key's settings.
For a V3 API key, please follow steps 1-3 at the following link.: https://v3.developer.constantcontact.com/api_guide/apps_create.html
Otherwise, if the app you are using is asking you to also provide an "Access Token" with your API key, then it most likely utilizes our legacy V2 API, for which keys can no longer be created.
For over 3 years, we have considered creation of new V2 API Keys to be unsupported, as noted within our V2 API documentation. The Constant Contact Mashery Portal at 'constantcontact.mashery.com' has now been retired & creation of V2 API Keys is no longer possible. For any new development, please utilize our V3 API.
https://community.constantcontact.com/t5/API-Developer-Support/Creation-of-V2-API-Keys-Has-Been-Reti...
If you are a customer looking to use a 3rd party developed integration/form/plugin that is asking you for an API key and access token, or is asking you to generate an API key/token/secret via constantcontact.mashery.com, you will not be able to connect with this integration. Additionally, V3 keys generated within the Constant Contact Developer Portal (v3.developer.constantcontact.com) are NOT cross compatible with integrations that were built using V2, and will not work to connect with these legacy integrations.
If this is the case, please feel free to email us with the name of the 3rd party developed integration/form/plugin that you were trying to connect with, as well as links to their website/documentation, and we'd be happy to take a look and see what other comparable options may be available to look into.
If you are not the developer of the integration and have any concerns about this, please contact the integration/form/plugin's developer directly to see what their plans are, regarding updating their integration to V3. If the developer has any questions or concerns, you're welcome to have them follow up with us directly via email at webservices@constantcontact.com with any questions. (*If you are not sure who the developer is or how to contact them, please let us know the name of the 3rd party plugin/integration/form that you are using and any additional relevant information so that we can try to provide further direction.)
If you are a developer looking to access/manage your existing keys within the Mashery Portal, you will no longer have access to the portal, though existing V2 API keys will continue to function. If any business critical changes are needed for existing V2 API keys, please email us with the API key value as well as the nature of your request, and we will see if it is something we may be able to modify from the back end of the account.
While no date is currently set, there will be a point in the near future where our legacy V2 API will begin deprecation, potentially as soon as some point this year, at which point integrations using V2 will stop working. Due to this, while we will continue to deploy critical bug fixes at this time, we will not be doing any more development for V2 or its endpoints.
If you are the developer of the integration, we strongly recommend updating the integration to use our V3 API as soon as possible, to ensure you're ahead of the curve. Our current V3 API uses OAuth2.0, which is the current industry-standard for authorization. It's more secure and does a much better job of keeping your Constant Contact account data safe. When you give their integration permission to access your account, it will show you exactly which permissions the integration is requesting to be granted (rather than just granting all permissions). V3 also uses tokens that are continuously refreshed to keep the connection encrypted and secure.
There are several significant differences between our V2 and V3 APIs, including the use of different endpoints, OAuth 2.0 rather than basic authentication, JSON payloads instead of XML, and a different format for resource identifiers.
A quick start guide for the V3 API can be found here:
https://developer.constantcontact.com/api_guide/getting_started.html
While the rest of our documentation is linked from the quick start guide, the following pages in particular may be useful:
https://developer.constantcontact.com/api_guide/v3_technical_overview.html
https://developer.constantcontact.com/api_guide/developer_portal.html
https://developer.constantcontact.com/api_guide/migration_overview.html
Additionally, you can utilize our API Reference tester to test out the functionality of our available endpoints to see how they will work once programmed within your application:
https://v3.developer.constantcontact.com/api_reference/index.html
If you would like us to send you additional information regarding getting started with V3 authorization and/or endpoints, or have any further questions, please feel free to reply directly to this email so that we can assist further.
Please have a look and let us know if you have any other questions!
Regards,
John B.
API Support Specialist
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