Adding a custom question to the checkout

If you need to prompt your buyers for information that is not included in the regular checkout fields, it is possible to add your own questions. 

For example if you sell products that come in various colours, which you may occasionally need to substitute because of availability, you can add a question to the checkout that makes it possible for your buyer to let you know their preference.

You can put the question anywhere. In this example we are placing it after the Special Instructions field.

The example below shows code from the default Template 2.0. 

Search for the following in /template/include/addresses.ezitpl: 

{if CustomerInstructionsEnabled}
<div id="CustomerInstructions" style="color: #999;">Special Instructions <br /> < textarea id="instructions" name="instructions">
<div>
{/if}

Insert the following code directly after it:

<label for="ColourSubstitution">If a colour is unavailable:</label>
<select name="ColourSubstitution" id="ColourSubstitution">
<option value="OK to substitute">OK to substitute</option>
<option value="Contact me to discuss">Contact me to discuss</option>
<option value="No substitution. Will wait">No substitution. I will wait for stock</option>
<option value="No substitution. Cancel order">No substitution. Cancel order</option>
</select>

If a buyer chooses the first option, it will appear in the order screen like:

ColourSubstitution    OK to substitute

You are not limited to drop down lists. Any valid form field is supported. The data will come through as the name of the field together with the value. Consider the fact that the field names will be displayed in the Order screen when naming them, so they should be named to make sense to people processing the orders.