How to Set Fallback Default Values for Merge Fields in GoHighLevel

Nothing looks more amateur to a new lead than receiving an email that opens with “Hey ,” because their contact record lacks a first name. You set up what should be a clean automated onboarding sequence, but when a field is null, GoHighLevel just renders empty space instead of a sensible default fallback.

I ran into this exact headache when syncing cold leads into sub-accounts where barely 60% of the list had populated first names. Here are three practical methods I use to set fallback default values for merge fields across GoHighLevel email templates, SMS campaigns, and workflow automations.

The Blank Merge Field Problem in HighLevel

When you drop standard merge tags like {{ contact.first_name }} or custom fields into HighLevel assets, the backend evaluates the variable against the contact’s database row. If the key exists but contains a null or empty string value, HighLevel simply swaps the tag with nothing.

In emails, that produces broken greetings like “Hi , thanks for booking.” In SMS, missing fields can ruin sentence flow or garble dynamic reminder notifications. While you can review how to insert and test merge fields in GoHighLevel, handling empty data requires defensive formatting up front.

Depending on where you send the message—the drag-and-drop Email Builder, a workflow SMS action, or an external webhook—your fallback approach will differ.

Method 1: Using Liquid Default Filters in Email Templates

GoHighLevel’s Email Builder supports basic Liquid template filters. The fastest way to handle an empty first name or missing company name in an email is the default filter.

Instead of dropping the bare merge tag into your text block, use this Liquid snippet directly inside the code editor or text element:

Hi { { contact.first_name | default: 'there' }
},
We noticed that your team at { { contact.company_name | default: 'your company' }
}
has not finished setting up your account.

Here is how the HighLevel email parser evaluates that tag during dispatch:

• Contact has a first name (“Alex”): Renders as Hi Alex,
• Contact has no first name (empty/null): Renders as Hi there,
• Contact has a company name (“Acme Corp”): Renders as ...your team at Acme Corp...
• Contact has no company name: Renders as ...your team at your company...

Always keep the fallback string inside single quotes. If you leave quotes out or accidentally paste curly smart quotes from a doc, the Liquid compiler fails silently and spits out the raw tag syntax to the subscriber.

Method 2: Handling Fallbacks in SMS and Workflows via Custom Values

While Liquid filters work in the Email Builder, HighLevel’s native SMS workflow actions do not consistently parse advanced Liquid pipes across all LC Phone providers. If you try putting {{ contact.first_name | default: 'there' }} into an SMS action, carriers will often transmit the literal pipe syntax to the recipient’s phone.

To safely handle fallbacks in SMS, I use a dedicated custom field called Friendly Name alongside a quick background workflow trigger.

First, create a custom text field named Friendly Name under Settings > Custom Fields. You can check how to use custom values and custom fields if you haven’t structured custom sub-account properties before.

Next, use this payload logic inside your SMS action:

Hey { { contact.friendly_name }
}
! Thanks for reaching out to our team. Quick question: are you still looking for help this week?

Routing your outbound SMS through a sanitized custom field ensures you never send broken Liquid syntax or empty greetings over cellular networks.

Method 3: Workflow Branching with If/Else Logic

If you don’t want to create separate custom fields, you can use an If/Else condition inside your workflow to fork the delivery path based on whether the contact field actually contains data.

Here is how to set up the workflow logic:

1. Add a trigger (like Form Submitted or Tag Added).
2. Add an If/Else condition named Check First Name.
3. Set Branch 1 (Name Present): Contact Details > First Name > Is not empty.
4. Under the Name Present branch, add an SMS action: Hey {{ contact.first_name }}, your quote is ready.
5. Under the None (Fallback) branch, add an SMS action: Hey there, your quote is ready.

This approach means maintaining two separate message steps in your automation canvas, but it completely removes any risk of Liquid parsing bugs on SMS networks. It also ensures clean compliance under SMS opt-out and DND rules because unparsed tags won’t mangle your required opt-out footers.

Setting Up an Automated Contact Normalization Workflow

Building If/Else branches into dozens of individual workflows quickly creates technical debt. The cleaner architectural fix is a dedicated “Data Normalization” workflow that runs on contact creation to auto-fill fallback fields in the background.

Whenever a contact enters HighLevel through a form submission, CSV import, or webhook, this workflow checks critical fields and writes clean defaults once.

Here is the setup step-by-step:

1. Trigger: Contact Created (turn on Allow Re-entry if contacts get updated via API).
2. Condition: Contact Details > First Name > Is empty.
3. Action (Branch True): Update Contact Field > Set Friendly Name to there.
4. Action (Branch False): Update Contact Field > Set Friendly Name to {{ contact.first_name }}.

If you’re ingesting leads from landing page forms, verify how to map form submission data to custom fields so incoming payloads don’t overwrite your normalized values.

Handling Fallback Values via Custom Webhook / API Code

If you pass lead data into HighLevel using the HighLevel REST API or an external middleware script, resolve your fallback checks before sending the payload.

Here is a lightweight Node.js helper function I use in serverless webhooks to normalize contact payloads before hitting HighLevel’s /contacts/ endpoint:

function sanitizeContactPayload(rawLead) { const firstName = rawLead.firstName?.trim() || ''; const businessName = rawLead.companyName?.trim() || ''; return { firstName: firstName, lastName: rawLead.lastName?.trim() || '', email: rawLead.email?.toLowerCase().trim(), phone: rawLead.phone || '', customFields: [ { key: 'friendly_name', field_value: firstName.length > 0 ? firstName : 'there' }, { key: 'fallback_company', field_value: businessName.length > 0 ? businessName : 'your business' } ] };
}

This guarantees that whatever lands in GoHighLevel already has clean defaults across both primary fields and custom fallback variables.

Edge Cases: Whitespace Strings and Capitalization

In production, I’ve run into three specific edge cases where merge field fallbacks fail silently:

• Whitespace-only fields: If a contact record contains a single space " " in the first name field, standard Liquid checks like default: 'there' treat the space as a truthy string. HighLevel prints the blank space, leaving you with Hi ,.
• Mismatched capitalization: When leads submit all-caps or all-lowercase names like alex or ALEX, raw merge tags look sloppy. In email Liquid blocks, chain your filters: {{ contact.first_name | capitalize | default: 'There' }}.
• Punctuation spacing: Ensure your surrounding sentence punctuation makes grammatical sense in both states. Hello {{ contact.first_name | default: 'friend' }}, works whether the name evaluates to “Sarah” or “friend”.

For more platform specifics, check the GoHighLevel Official Help Center when configuring custom variables inside specific snapshot sub-accounts.

Testing Your Fallback Setup

Before launching your automations to live lists, test these two scenarios:

1. Test Contact A (Complete Record): Create a contact with First Name = “Jordan”, Company = “Stripe”, and a valid phone/email. Verify that the message reads: “Hi Jordan, your team at Stripe…”
2. Test Contact B (Incomplete Record): Create a contact with only an Email and Phone number (First Name and Company left completely blank). Verify that the message reads: “Hi there, your team at your company…”

Send a real test email through the builder’s Send Test Email modal, and execute your workflow manually to inspect the rendered copy on actual devices.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use Liquid filters in HighLevel SMS workflow actions?

Liquid filters like default: 'there' work reliably in the Email Builder, but they are not reliably supported across all SMS delivery gateways in HighLevel workflows. For SMS, stick with an If/Else workflow branch or a normalized custom field.

What happens if a custom field does not exist on a contact?

If a custom field tag like {{ contact.custom_property }} is in a message and the contact has no value for it, HighLevel replaces the tag with an empty string and leaves surrounding text and spaces untouched.

Can I chain multiple Liquid filters in HighLevel emails?

Yes. The HighLevel email engine supports chained Liquid filters like {{ contact.first_name | strip | capitalize | default: 'There' }} to clean whitespace and fix casing in one pass.

Does setting a default value change the contact record in the CRM?

No. Using Liquid default filters in email templates only affects the rendered message output. It does not update the database. If you want permanent defaults saved to the record, use a workflow with the Update Contact Field action.

Next Steps

Now that your merge tags handle missing values gracefully without rendering awkward gaps, make sure your incoming data is properly mapped. Check out our guide on how to map form submission data to custom fields in GoHighLevel to catch and normalize fields right at the capture stage.