e-shot
Secure digital engagement platform for public and private sector organisations
About e-shot
e-shot is a UK email, SMS and WhatsApp marketing platform from Forfront, built for public sector bodies such as local councils, NHS trusts, government departments and emergency services. It combines campaign building, subscription and preference management, landing pages, website popups and multichannel automation with ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials Plus and NHS DSP Toolkit accreditations. The platform is designed and tested to WCAG 2.2 AA and is available through the G-Cloud 14 framework.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Purpose-built for UK public sector compliance, with ISO 27001:2022, Cyber Essentials Plus, NHS DSP Toolkit and a G-Cloud 14 listing that simplifies procurement
- Strong accessibility focus: the interface is built to WCAG 2.2 AA and campaigns get an accessibility preview before sending
- Unlimited users on every plan, which suits large comms teams with many authors and approvers
- Email, SMS and WhatsApp in one platform, with automation that mixes all three channels
- Highly rated UK-based support and training (4.9/5 for customer service on Capterra)
- Microsoft Entra ID and Teams integrations fit organisations that run on Microsoft 365
Cons
- Starts at £200/month, which is expensive for small businesses compared with self-serve email tools
- No free plan or self-serve trial; pricing is calculated per account and onboarding goes through a demo
- Lower tiers cap landing pages, automated series and API calls tightly (basic allows 3 automation series)
- Drag-and-drop editor offers limited fine-grained layout control according to some reviewers
- Focused on UK organisations, so it is less relevant for teams outside the UK
Key Features
Email campaigns and newsletters
Design and send newsletters and one-to-one notifications with a drag-and-drop editor, reusable templates and personalisation.
SMS and WhatsApp campaigns
Send SMS and natively integrated WhatsApp API campaigns, using the same dedicated number for both channels so recipients recognise the sender.
Multichannel marketing automation
Build automated series that combine email, SMS and WhatsApp steps, including date-driven and triggered correspondence.
Subscriptions and preference centre
Manage end-to-end subscription journeys with sign-up forms, preference centres and consent handling.
Landing pages and website popups
Publish landing pages and on-site popups to grow subscriber lists without a separate tool.
Accessibility preview
Flags accessibility issues in campaign designs, such as poor colour contrast or incorrect heading structure, before sending; the platform itself is built to WCAG 2.2 AA.
Deliverability tools and reporting
Pre-send deliverability checks, campaign reports and analytics, plus website activity tracking for contacts.
Integrations and Open API
OpenAPI v3 REST API with full UI parity, Microsoft Entra ID contact sync, Microsoft Teams sharing, Zapier and Google Analytics UTM tagging.
Sub-accounts
Run separate departments or services under sub-accounts with their own users and branding.
Public sector security accreditations
ISO 27001:2022, Cyber Essentials Plus and NHS DSP Toolkit certified, with UK-focused GDPR data protection and a G-Cloud 14 listing.
Pricing
- Email campaigns and SMS campaigns
- Unlimited users
- Limited marketing automation (3 automated series)
- 3 landing pages
- 25 preferences, 10 saved filters
- 500 Open API calls per hour
- Everything in basic
- Marketing automation (25 automated series)
- 25 landing pages and 25 website popups
- 50 preferences, 25 saved filters
- 2,000 Open API calls per hour
- Everything in pro
- 100 automated series, 100 landing pages, 100 website popups
- Unlimited preferences and saved filters
- 5,000 Open API calls per hour
Best For
Local council resident newsletters
Councils send service updates, consultations and nudge campaigns to large resident subscriber bases with preference management.
NHS and healthcare communications
Healthcare organisations send secure, accessible notifications and guidance to patients and professionals under NHS data security standards.
Government department stakeholder updates
Central government teams coordinate consistent, signed-off communications across multiple authors and audiences.
Emergency and multichannel alerts
Emergency services and public bodies reach people quickly by combining email, SMS and WhatsApp in one automated campaign.
Internal communications
Organisations sync staff from Entra ID groups and share campaign links and reports directly into Microsoft Teams channels.
Similar Tools
ManyChat
The #1 chat marketing platform for Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp & SMS
AWeber
Email marketing and automation for small businesses
WATI
WhatsApp Business API platform for sales, marketing, and support
GetResponse
Email marketing, automation, and landing pages in one platform
StartMail
Private email from the makers of Startpage
Trello
Visual project management with Kanban boards for teams of all sizes