How To Add Custom Field In Woocommerce Checkout Form

How to Add Custom Fields to Your WooCommerce Checkout Form (Easy Guide!)

Want to collect extra information from your customers during checkout? Maybe you need their company name, special delivery instructions, or a preferred contact time? Adding custom fields to your WooCommerce checkout form is the perfect solution! Don’t worry, it’s not as scary as it sounds. This guide will walk you through it, even if you’re a complete beginner.

Why Add Custom Checkout Fields?

Imagine you’re selling personalized t-shirts. You’d need to know the text the customer wants printed, right? Or perhaps you’re selling local produce and need to know preferred delivery days. These are just a few examples. Custom fields let you tailor the checkout process to your specific business needs, leading to:

Improved Customer Discover insights on How To Edit The Sales Tax Label On Woocommerce Checkout Experience: By gathering necessary information upfront, you avoid frustrating back-and-forth emails.
Better Order Management: All the required details are in one place, making order processing smoother.
Targeted Marketing: Collecting specific customer information can help you segment your audience for more effective marketing campaigns.

Let’s dive in!

What You’ll Need

Before we start, make sure you have the following:

A WooCommerce-powered website: Obviously!
Basic WordPress knowledge: Familiarity with navigating the WordPress dashboard.
A Code Editor: (Like VS Code, Sublime Text, or even Notepad++) – for editing your theme’s `functions.php` file.
(Optional) A Child Theme: Highly recommended! This prevents your custom code from being overwritten when your theme updates.

Method 1: Using a Plugin (Beginner-Friendly!)

The easiest way to add custom checkout fields is by using a plugin. There are several excellent options available in the WordPress plugin repository. Here’s an example using the “Checkout Field Editor (Checkout Manager) for WooCommerce” plugin:

1. Install and Activate the Plugin: Go to Plugins > Add New in your WordPress dashboard, search for “Checkout Field Editor (Checkout Manager) for WooCommerce,” install it, and activate it.

2. Access the Plugin Settings: Navigate to WooCommerce > Checkout Form.

3. Add Your Custom Field:

Click the “Add Field” button.
Field Type: Choose the appropriate field type (text, select, checkbox, etc.).
Label: This is what the customer will see (e.g., “Company Name,” “Delivery Instructions”).
Name: A unique identifier for the field (e.g., `company_name`, `delivery_instructions`). Use lowercase and underscores. Avoid spaces!
Required: Check this if the field is mandatory.
Display on: Choose where to display the field (billing, shipping, or both).
Sort Order: Adjust the order of the fields on the checkout page.

4. Save Changes: Click the “Save Changes” button.

Example: Let’s say you’re selling cakes and want to know if the customer wants a “Happy Birthday” message on the cake. You’d create a new field with:

Field Type: Text
Label: Message for the Cake (Optional)
Name: cake_message
Required: Unchecked (since it’s optional)

That’s it! The new field will now appear on your checkout page.

Method 2: Adding Code to Your `functions.php` File (Intermediate)

For more control and customization, you can add code directly to your theme’s `functions.php` file (or better yet, your child theme’s `functions.php` file). Remember to back up your website before making any code changes!

Here’s a step-by-step guide:

1. Access your `functions.php` file: Via FTP or your hosting provider’s file manager, navigate to `wp-content/themes/your-theme-name/functions.php` (or `wp-content/themes/your-child-theme-name/functions.php` if you’re using a child theme).

2. Add the following code:

 <?php

/**

Add a custom field to the checkout page

add_filter( ‘woocommerce_checkout_fields’ , ‘custom_override_checkout_fields’ );

function custom_override_checkout_fields( $fields ) {

$fields[‘billing’][‘billing_company_name’] = array(

‘label’ => __(‘Company Name (Optional)’, ‘woocommerce’),

‘placeholder’ => _x(‘Enter your company Discover insights on How To Setup Woocommerce Email name’, ‘placeholder’, ‘woocommerce’),

‘required’ => false,

‘class’ => array(‘form-row-wide’),

‘clear’ => true

);

return $fields;

}

/**

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 ‘

‘.__(‘Company Name’, ‘woocommerce’).’: ‘ . get_post_meta( $order->get_id(), ‘_billing_company_name’, true ) . ‘

‘;

}

/**

Save the extra field

add_action( ‘woocommerce_checkout_update_order_meta’, ‘custom_checkout_field_update_order_meta’ );

function custom_checkout_field_update_order_meta( $order_id ) {

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

update_post_meta( $order_id, ‘_billing_company_name’, sanitize_text_field( $_POST[‘billing_company_name’] ) );

}

Let’s break down the code:

`custom_override_checkout_fields` function: This function modifies the default checkout fields.
`$fields[‘billing’][‘billing_company_name’]`: This targets the “billing” section and creates a new field called `billing_company_name`.
`label`, `placeholder`, `required`, `class`, `clear`: These are attributes that define the appearance and behavior of the field. Pay attention to ‘Name’ and ‘label’.
`my_custom_checkout_field_display_admin_order_meta` function: This function displays the value of your custom field on the order details page in the WordPress admin area.
`custom_checkout_field_update_order_meta` function: This function saves the value of your custom field to the order meta when the order is placed.

Customizing the Code:

`billing_company_name`: Change this to a unique name for your field (e.g., `billing_preferred_delivery_date`).
`label`: Change the label to what you want the customer to see (e.g., “Preferred Delivery Date”).
`required`: Set to `true` if the field is mandatory.
`form-row-wide`: This CSS class makes the field take up the full width of its container. You can use other classes like `form-row-first` and `form-row-last` to arrange fields side-by-side.
`_billing_company_name`: This is how the data is stored. Prefix it with an underscore (_) to hide it from custom field listings. Make sure this matches the `billing_company_name` you used earlier.
`woocommerce`: It’s a text domain for translation. Don’t change this!

Adding Different Field Types:

The code above creates a simple text field. To create other field types, you need to modify the `$fields` array. Here are a few examples:

Dropdown/Select Field:

 $fields['billing']['billing_preferred_time'] = array( 'label' => __('Preferred Contact Time', 'woocommerce'), 'required' => false, 'class' => array('form-row-wide'), 'clear' => true, 'type' => 'select', 'options' => array( '' => __('Select a time', 'woocommerce'), 'morning' => __('Morning (9 AM 12 PM)', 'woocommerce'), 'afternoon' => __('Afternoon (1 PM 
5 PM)', 'woocommerce'), 'evening' => __('Evening (6 PM 
9 PM)', 'woocommerce') ) );

Textarea Field:

 $fields['billing']['billing_special_instructions'] = array( 'label' => __('Special Delivery Instructions', 'woocommerce'), 'placeholder' => _x('Enter any special instructions', 'placeholder', 'woocommerce'), 'required' => false, 'class' => array('form-row-wide'), 'clear' => true, 'type' => 'textarea' );

Remember to adjust the code to match your specific needs.

Where to See the Data

Once you’ve added your custom fields and a customer places an order, you can find the data in two places:

Order Details Page (Admin Area): In your WordPress dashboard, go to WooCommerce > Orders and click on the specific order. You’ll see your custom field displayed in the “Billing Address” section (or wherever you specified).
Order Meta: The data is also stored as order meta, which you can access programmatically if you need to use the data in other parts of your website.

Conclusion

Adding custom fields to your WooCommerce checkout form is a powerful way to collect valuable information from your customers and improve your order management. Whether you choose the ease of a plugin or the flexibility of custom code, you can tailor the checkout process to your specific business needs. Remember to test your changes thoroughly to ensure everything works as expected! Happy selling!