Woocommerce How To Add A Checkout Field

WooCommerce: How to Add a Custom Checkout Field (The Easy Guide)

Introduction:

WooCommerce is a powerhouse e-commerce platform, but sometimes the default checkout fields don’t quite capture all the information you need from your customers. Perhaps you need to collect gift message details, delivery preferences, or custom instructions. Fortunately, adding custom checkout fields in WooCommerce is relatively straightforward. This article will guide you through the process, step-by-step, so you can customize your checkout experience and gather the data you need to streamline your order fulfillment and improve customer satisfaction. We’ll cover the most common approach using code snippets. This is essential for businesses that require specific customer information during the purchase process.

Why Add Custom Checkout Fields?

Before we dive into the how-to, let’s consider why you might want to add custom checkout fields in the first place:

• Gather Additional Information: Collect data beyond the standard name, address, and contact details.
• Improve Order Fulfillment: Obtain delivery instructions, preferred shipping dates, or other details to ensure smooth delivery.
• Personalize the Customer Experience: Offer gift wrapping options, custom message fields, or other personalized touches.
• Segment Your Customers: Collect information that allows you to segment your customers for targeted marketing campaigns.
• Comply with Regulations: In some industries, you may need to collect specific information to comply with legal or regulatory requirements.

Main Part: Adding Your Custom Checkout Field

The most common way to add a custom checkout field is through code snippets. You’ll need to edit your theme’s `functions.php` file or use a plugin like “Code Snippets” (highly recommended for beginners as it avoids directly modifying the theme file).

Important: Before making any changes to your `functions.php` file, always create a backup of your website. This is crucial in case something goes wrong.

Step 1: Adding the Custom Field to the Checkout Page

We’ll use the `woocommerce_after_order_notes` hook, which places the field after the “Order Notes” section on the checkout page. Add the following code to your `functions.php` file (or your Code Snippets plugin):

/**
Add a custom checkout field
*/
add_filter( 'woocommerce_after_order_notes', 'my_custom_checkout_field' );

function my_custom_checkout_field( $checkout ) {

echo ‘

‘;

woocommerce_form_field( ‘gift_message’, array(

‘type’ => ‘textarea’, // Choose field type: text, textarea, select, etc.

‘class’ => array(‘my-field-class form-row-wide’), // Add CSS classes

‘label’ => __(‘Gift Message:’, ‘woocommerce’),

‘placeholder’ => __(‘Enter your gift message here’, ‘woocommerce’),

‘required’ => false, // Set to true if the field is mandatory

), $checkout->get_value( ‘gift_message’ ) );

echo ‘

‘;

}

Let’s break down what this code does:

• `add_filter( ‘woocommerce_after_order_notes’, ‘my_custom_checkout_field’ )`: This line hooks our function `my_custom_checkout_field` into the `woocommerce_after_order_notes` action, ensuring our code runs after the standard order notes section.
• `woocommerce_form_field()`: This is a WooCommerce function that generates the HTML for our form field. It takes three arguments:
• `’gift_message’`: This is the field’s unique ID. Make sure this is unique across your WooCommerce setup.
• `array()`: This array contains the field’s properties, like its type, CSS classes, label, placeholder, and whether it’s required.
• `$checkout->get_value( ‘gift_message’ )`: This retrieves the value of the field if it has been previously filled (e.g., if the customer returns to the checkout page).

Important: Adjust the `’type’`, `’class’`, `’label’`, `’placeholder’`, and `’required’` values to suit your needs. You can use other field types like `’text’`, `’select’`, `’radio’`, etc. Refer to the WooCommerce documentation for a complete list of options. The `class` value allows you to style the field using CSS.

Step 2: Validating the Custom Field (Optional)

If you want to make sure the customer enters something into your custom field, you can add validation. Here’s an example:

/**
Validate the custom checkout field
*/
add_action( 'woocommerce_checkout_process', 'my_custom_checkout_field_process' );

function my_custom_checkout_field_process() {

if ( ! $_POST[‘gift_message’] && isset( $_POST[‘payment_method’] ) && ‘bacs’ === $_POST[‘payment_method’] )

wc_add_notice( __( ‘Please enter a gift message if paying with BACS.’, ‘woocommerce’ ), ‘error’ );

}

This code snippet will display an error message if the “gift_message” field is empty *and* the customer selects “BACS” (Bank Transfer) as the payment method. Adjust the condition (`’bacs’ === $_POST[‘payment_method’]`) to your specific requirements. You can also remove the conditional check to make the field required regardless of payment method.

Step 3: Saving the Custom Field Value

The next step is to save the value the customer enters in the custom field. Add the following code to your `functions.php` file (or your Code Snippets plugin):

/**
Update the order meta with the custom field value
*/
add_action( 'woocommerce_checkout_update_order_meta', 'my_custom_checkout_field_update_order_meta' );

function my_custom_checkout_field_update_order_meta( $order_id ) {

if ( ! empty( $_POST[‘gift_message’] ) ) {

update_post_meta( $order_id, ‘_gift_message’, sanitize_text_field( $_POST[‘gift_message’] ) );

}

}

This code snippet uses the `woocommerce_checkout_update_order_meta` action to update the order metadata with the value of the “gift_message” field. Here’s what’s happening:

• `update_post_meta( $order_id, ‘_gift_message’, sanitize_text_field( $_POST[‘gift_message’] ) )`: This function saves the field’s value to the order’s metadata.
• `$order_id`: The ID of the order being processed.
• `’_gift_message’`: This is the key that you’ll use to retrieve the field’s value later. It’s good practice to prefix custom metadata keys with an underscore (`_`) to indicate that they are internal to the plugin/theme.
• `sanitize_text_field( $_POST[‘gift_message’] )`: This sanitizes the input to prevent malicious code from being saved in the database. Sanitization is crucial for security.

Step 4: Displaying the Custom Field Value in the Order

Finally, you’ll likely want to display the custom field’s value in the order details, both in the admin area and in the customer’s order confirmation email. Here’s an example:

/**
Display field value on the order edit page
*/
add_action( 'woocommerce_admin_order_data_after_billing_address', 'my_custom_checkout_field_display_admin_order_meta', 10, 1 );

function my_custom_checkout_field_display_admin_order_meta($order){

echo ‘

‘.__(‘Gift Message:’, ‘woocommerce’).’
‘ . get_post_meta( $order->get_id(), ‘_gift_message’, true ) . ‘

‘;

}

/

* Display field value on the thank you page

*/

add_action( ‘woocommerce_thankyou’, ‘my_custom_checkout_field_display_thankyou’, 10, 1 );

function my_custom_checkout_field_display_thankyou($order_id){

echo ‘

‘.__(‘Gift Message:’, ‘woocommerce’).’
‘ . get_post_meta( $order_id, ‘_gift_message’, true ) . ‘

‘;

}

/

* Display field value in the order email

*/

add_filter( ‘woocommerce_email_order_meta_keys’, ‘my_custom_checkout_field_display_email’ );

function my_custom_checkout_field_display_email( $keys ) {

$keys[] = ‘_gift_message’;

return $keys;

}

This code snippet does the following:

• Uses the `woocommerce_admin_order_data_after_billing_address` hook to display the field’s value after the billing address on the order edit page in the admin area.
• Uses the `woocommerce_thankyou` hook to display the field’s value on the “Thank You” page after the order is placed.
• Uses the `woocommerce_email_order_meta_keys` filter to include the field’s value in the order confirmation email.