If you’re running a WooCommerce store, you’ve probably noticed that the checkout billing form is a little.. basic. By default, it only asks for the customer’s name, email address, phone number, and country. That’s not a lot of information to go on!
If you’re looking to add more fields to the checkout billing form, there are a few different ways you can do it. In this article, we’ll show you how to change the WooCommerce checkout billing form using three different methods.
Method 1: Add Fields with a Plugin
One of the easiest ways to add fields to the checkout billing form is with a plugin. There are a few different plugins that can help you with this, but we recommend Checkout Manager for WooCommerce. It’s easy to use and it lets you add as many fields as you want to the checkout form.
Once you’ve installed and activated the plugin, head over to WooCommerce → Checkout Fields. You’ll see a list of all the default fields on the left side of the screen, and you can add new fields by clicking on the Add Field button.
You can add text fields, text areas, select boxes, radio buttons, checkboxes, and more. Once you’ve added all the fields you want, don’t forget to click on the Save Changes button at the bottom of the page.
Method 2: Add Fields with Custom Code
If you’re comfortable working with code, you can also add fields to the checkout form by adding a few lines of code to your functions.php file. First, you’ll need to decide what type of field you want to add.
Do you want a text field? A select box?
A radio button? Once you know what type of field you want to add, head over to your functions.php file and add this code:
<?php
// Text field
WooCommerce_form_field( 'text_field', array(
'type' => 'text',
'class' => array('my-field-class form-row-wide'),
'label' => __('Text Field'),
'placeholder' => __('Enter some text'),
), $checkout->get_value( 'text_field' ));
// Select box
WooCommerce_form_field( 'select_box', array(
'type' => 'select',
'class' => array('my-field-class form-row-wide'),
'label' => __('Select Box'),
'options' => array(
'' => __( 'Select an option', 'woocommerce' ),
'option_1' => __( 'Option 1', 'woocommerce' ),
'option_2' => __( 'Option 2', 'woocommerce' ),
), ), $checkout->get_value( 'select_box' ));
// Radio buttons
WooCommerce_form_field( 'radio_buttons', array(
'type' => 'radio',
// class will be added dynamically if required by WooCommerce template files.
class="form-row-wide my-field-class"
class="form-row-first my-field-class"
class="form-row-last my-field-class"
class="form-row my-field-class"
class="address-field my-field"
class="validate[required]"Codes and etc. will get added based on template file structure/code requirements by WooCommerce automatically without user having to specify in settings! So one less thing for user having to remember. However feel free also specify classes yourself if needed, ex: class=”form-row my-field” or “address-field my field” or “validate[required]” or “my custom special class here” whatever else needed.
Note 1: If specify validate[required] then make sure specify required=”required” also somewhere in input tag (either specify here in settings or in template file code generated – whichever location easier for maintainence).
Note 2: If using select boxes then options values must be unique if multiple select boxes present since value attribute used as identifier! Also note that selected option also gets added as value attribute so make sure options values also unique compared against any other existing value attributes in other input tags! The reason why value attribute is used as identifier is so that it easy Target using jQuery when need perform some action – either show/hide another element or set some other input element’s value based on this element’s value! ex: If have two radio buttons – say “yes” & “no”, then when selecting “yes”, then can have some jQuery code perform certain actions like showing additional input elements that were hidden before or setting some other input elements values!
If instead had two radio buttons say with values “1” & “0”, then would be harder figure out which one corresponds which meaning i.e., not immediately obvious 1=yes or 0=yes!? whereas yes=yes is immediately obvious 😉 So always recommend value attributes always be unique compared against any other existing value attributes in other input tags if not just use words/phrases like “yes”, “no”, “true”, etc. Also since these will be turned into HTML input tags eventually so make sure these values also valid HTML id attribute values too since id attribute also gets generated based on name attribute! So same characters rules apply for id attribute too i., must start with letter (a thru z or A thru Z), can followed letters (a thru z or A thru Z), digits (0 thru 9), hyphens (“-“), underscores (“_”), colons (“:”), and periods (“.”) but no spaces allowed anywhere and case sensitive! Also id attribute value must be unique throughout entire document not just within same tag!
If need further help understanding all these rules/requirements refer w3schools site for more information. Also feel free follow naming convention using lowercase letters & words separated underscores “_” like these examples below. ex: first_name or last_name or street_address1 or city or state or zipcode etc.
Note 3: If adding multiple radio buttons – same thing applies where options values must be unique if multiple radio button groups present since value attribute used as identifier too just like select boxes above!
The reason why is because when submit form – browser just sends back single name=value pair for each element so need way differentiate between each radio button within group since they all have same name attribute so use value attribute instead which gets included automatically as part of name=value pair sent back when submit form.
So make sure options values unique compared against any other existing value attributes in other tags whether within same group or not since get included automatically anyway via name=value pair sent back when submit form regardless whether within same group or not. I think this pretty much covers everything but if have any questions feel free ask.
Just remember one thing – When making changes directly in template files always create child theme first otherwise your changes will get overwritten next time update theme. And always backup your site before making any changes.
Method 3: Add Fields with a Theme
Use the WooCommerce Customizer:
If you don’t want to use a plugin or write custom code, you can use the WooCommerce Customizer to add fields to the billing form. To do this, go to the Customizer in your WordPress dashboard and click on the “WooCommerce” section. From there, you can select the “Checkout” tab and use the options to add new fields to the billing form.
Conclusion:
Adding fields to the billing form in WooCommerce is a simple process that allows you to collect more information from your customers during the checkout process. Whether you use a plugin, custom code, or the WooCommerce Customizer, there are many options available to help you customize the billing form to meet the needs of your business. By taking the time to add fields to the billing form, you can create a more comprehensive and user-friendly checkout experience for your customers.
