How can customers create accounts to view order history on my ecomm store?

[Catlover129]

I am the Customer Service Manager for an ecomm store.  Many customers ask how they can log in to review their order history, etc.  I researched how to send invites to individual customers so they CAN create an account and I was able to update these preferences in our Settings tab by saying this is optional.  I did a test and created my own account but from a customer perspective, I have no idea how to access it.  

I still have a few questions, though:

I'd like to add an icon to the home page so customers can actually log in.  I've seen some postings on how to add some script but I've also seen some comments on the script might be theme dependent.  Not sure what theme we actually use because I don't have those privileges ...   I can provide our URL if that would help?

Also, what exactly would a customer be able to see if he did create an account?  In other words, what's the customer's benefit in having them even do this?  Does he see his order history?

Thank you!

[Julie · Accepted solution]

Hi, @Catlover129!

Julie here from Shopify Support.

With customer accounts enabled, customers can login to view their order history with your store, and see the current order status for any purchases they make. They can also add their address information to their account so that it autofills during checkout.

I'm glad to hear that you've made customer accounts optional; giving customers the choice to create accounts can be much more effective than requiring customers to have an account in order to make a purchase on your online store. It's also great to know that you're already sending customer account invites. 

Once customers have created an account, they should be able to login by clicking the login icon on the top right corner of your online store, where they will be prompted to enter their email address and password. Most themes will display this icon as a silhouette. For example, here's what the login icon looks like on the Debut theme:  

Since you have customer accounts enabled, there should also be a login icon on your online store. If you don't see a login icon, then it would be useful if you could let me know which theme you're using. If you aren't able to access your themes in Online store > Themes due to limited staff permissions, then sharing your store URL with me would help. 

Looking forward to your response!

[Catlover129]

Hi Julie,

Thank you so much for getting back to me.

The actual website is Beltology.com.

I don't know what the theme is because in the Shopify settings it shows
"theme" greyed out so I can't even click on it to see. If it helps, I can
ask our marketing guru who initially set up the store ... ?

[Julie]

Thanks for your store link, @Catlover129.

Without being able to access your admin here on my end, I'm unable to determine exactly which theme you're using. However, it does look like this is either a third-party theme or a Shopify theme that's been heavily customized. 

Since most themes have a built-in login icon usually visible in the header, there's a good chance that the theme's code has been edited to remove the icon. This could have been an accident, or perhaps this theme never had a login option to begin with. Again, it's quite difficult to determine which is the case without knowing the name of the theme. 

You mentioned you're working with a marketing person; did they design the website for you? At this point, I think your best bet is to reach out to whomever designed your website. They'll be familiar with this theme's code and should be able to add the customer login icon. You can also consider hiring a Shopify Expert to take a look at the code for you; there are plenty of Experts highly skilled in web development who would be happy to assist. 

I also see that @LMPTechSolution had suggested adding a login option to your main menu. This can be done in Online store > Navigation and selecting your main menu. From there, you can Add menu item. In the Link field, enter: https://www.beltology.com/account/login. This link will direct customers to your login page. Until you get in touch with your developer and have the login icon added to your header, this can serve as an excellent workaround.

I hope this helps! 

[Catlover129]

Thank you so much! I'll get in touch with our marketing person, Alex, and
have him give me a hand here.