Need Advice - Is it possible to set up a necessary step before the customer can place an order?

[AlloyRamps]

We sell van ramps and for some specific ramp models we ideally need more information from the customer about their van before we can accept their order, but we don't want to stop selling those ramps on Shopify.

At the moment, we send customers a form to complete and send us images of their van.

Is it possible to set up a necessary step for the customer to complete before they are allowed to place an order, or is this not possible to do with the tools that Shopify provides? Would a web developer specialising in Shopify sites be able to code something for this?

Ideally we would want something like "please complete this form to check out", but make it a step that they can't bypass.

Thanks

[michael-helium]

Hi @AlloyRamps - Shopify doesn't provide an out-of-the-box solution to mandate specific form completions or image submissions before allowing a customer to proceed with their purchase. However, this is possible with the Helium Customer Fields app, and it will likely only cost you $26/month.

This seems like a straightforward implementation of the Customer Fields app, and our customer success team can help you implement it after you get the app installed. Based on the information you provided, no custom development should be needed.

Here's how the app can help:

1. Custom Forms: You can create a custom registration form that customers must fill out with necessary details about their van.

2. Image Upload: The app supports image upload fields, so customers can easily send you images of their van directly through the form.

3. Conditional Logic: This feature ensures the form is only shown for specific ramp models or products, as you mentioned.

4. Account Approval: This feature is optional, but may be useful if you need to verify information before the customer creates an account

Finally, to require all customers to login before checkout, from your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Checkout and select Require the customer to log in to their account before checkout from the Customer contact method section. See screenshot:

I recommend getting started with the 14-day free trial, and reaching out to our customer success team for help. Link to this forum post for faster results. 😁

[AlloyRamps]

Hello, thank you for all this info.

We don't necessarily need to or want the customers to have to make an account and login before placing an order. 

I was trying to figure out whether Shopify has the tools (either for us or a professional developer) to disable the ability to check out unless a form has been submitted. Something like having to complete a captcha before you can click submit on some sites, but instead of a captcha it's a form.

I understand that we could do that by approving customer accounts if they filled it in, but then that poses an issue of lost sales as it will take us time to approve them, and they might lose interest by then.

We just need an automated and reliable way for the customer to provide us with the necessary information as soon as they place an order. The way we do it now is we send them a form after they placed an order, but it might take days and multiple chases to get the information back.

[michael-helium]

Hi again @AlloyRamps - completely understood. Account approval is strictly optional.
Instead, you can redirect the customer to the customer registration page after they complete checkout.

Go to Settings > Checkout > Order status page. Add this code in Additional Scripts:

setTimeout(function() {
   window.location.href = "/account/register";
}, 2000);

This will redirect to the customer registration form after 2 seconds. If you want to increase the delay, change the value from "2000" to "5000" if you want to 5 seconds, for example.

There are some benefits to using an app such as Customer Fields and saving this data to the customer account, as opposed to a contact form. All of the data would be saved to the customer record, which makes it a breeze for returning customers and also gives your team a leg up when dealing with customer inquiries/tickets.

[michael-helium]

Hello @AlloyRamps - I wanted to follow up as I'm second-guessing my previous response. Saving data to the customer account could be beneficial for repeat purchases (for the same make/model) or for your CS team, but I realize that may not be the priority.

The focus is on van info and getting extra order data, not necessarily customers. 

If you are on Shopify Plus, then you could use an app to add some fields to the checkout page based on the products being ordered. Without Shopify Plus, the best solution is to use an app or custom code to collect some line item property values.

[gr_trading]

Hi @AlloyRamps 

Yes, all these things can be done via customisation of theme.

Please refer to the our clients website where where have customised a lot including the image upload.

https://ninjatransfers.com/products/dtf-transfers

We can connect over the WhatsApp or email if need more clarification.

Details are in post footer.

[gr_trading]

Hi AlloyRamps,

Yes, this is possible to develop in the theme using custom code.

We will create a the option to create the questioner at product level.

Which will be mandatory to fill before user click add to cart option.

Answer given by user will be available with every order at admin.

We can connect for more details, contact details are in post footer.