Installing SparkLayer on Shopify
SparkLayer enables B2B functionality on your existing Shopify store, allowing your B2B customers to login, place orders, manage their account, and much more.
To familiarise yourself with SparkLayer, we also recommend reviewing the following guides:
Before installing SparkLayer on your Shopify store, please ensure the following:
Item | Details |
Customer Accounts | You’ll need to make sure that customer accounts are enabled on your storefront so that customers can sign in. Within your Shopify admin, go to Customer Accounts and select "Version: Classic customer accounts". See below for more details. |
Product SKUs | In order for SparkLayer to save B2B prices for your products, all products must have SKUs. Please see this guide to learn more. |
Customers | For your B2B customers to see the SparkLayer Frontend Interfaces, they must have a tag of b2b associated with their account in Shopify and have at least one address assigned to them. |
Payment Processor | If you’re installing SparkLayer on a test store, please ensure you have an example payment method enabled. |
Learn more about "New customer accounts" vs " Classic customer accounts"
When you create an account on SparkLayer, you'll get access to the SparkLayer Dashboard. The Dashboard has a customised onboarding process that gently guides you through all the necessary steps before you're ready to start inviting your B2B customers and taking orders on your website.
🔗 Connecting your Shopify store This enables SparkLayer to connect to your Shopify store and begin synchronising the information it requires
🛠️ Installing the frontend widgets You'll need to install special code snippets ("widgets") into your Shopify theme in order to show the special SparkLayer B2B interfaces. ➡️ View in dashboard
📓 Setting up your B2B price lists You'll then set up the B2B price lists that you want your customers to see when they login. These can be automated or you can manually upload specific pricing ➡️ View in dashboard
👪 Setting up your B2B customer groups You'll then set the ordering rules for your customers such as minimum order values, available payment methods and price lists they are assigned to. ➡️ View in dashboard
✅ Testing & launching You'll then need to run through some final checks (such as placing a test order). Once you're happy, you can then launch SparkLayer and start taking orders! ➡️ View in dashboard
Let's now dive into each of them!
If you've installed the SparkLayer Shopify App this step of the onboarding process happens automatically. Once SparkLayer is connected to your Shopify store, it will automatically synchronise product and customer data and then allow you to upload price lists and proceed to install the frontend widgets.
Installing for the first time? When installing on Shopify for the first time, the process works as follows:
- You'll then be asked to create an account on SparkLayer, or sign in if you already have one.
- Finally, you need to confirm acceptance of our billing plan within Shopify to begin your free trial
Once the above is complete, you'll can then return back to the SparkLayer Dashboard to continue with the onboarding process. You can also access the SparkLayer app within your Shopify store by going to the B2B Ordering channel within your Shopify admin (under Sales Channels) and you'll find a summary of your onboarding process.
SparkLayer comes with ready-made B2B-optimised "widgets" that we collectively call the SparkLayer Frontend. The widgets simply overlay sections of your existing Shopify store and enable our powerful B2B features
We offer three ways to get started with SparkLayer on your Shopify theme:
Installing our frontend widgets yourself If you're experienced in working with Shopify and the Shopify liquid templating language, you should find our onboarding process a breeze (see below).
Use our B2B theme Our ready-made Shopify B2B Dawn Theme comes preloaded with all the SparkLayer widgets, enabling everything you need to get started! In just 1-click, you can install our B2B theme in your Shopify theme library to begin using.
Request us to install for you Our expert team can help set up the special SparkLayer frontend widgets on your Shopify store and some example B2B pricing. Once we're done, we can then arrange an onboarding call to walk you through it. Contact our team
Installing SparkLayer yourself
Backing up your Shopify theme If you'd prefer not to make these changes on your live Shopify theme, you can create a "Duplicate" and make the changes there before publishing.
If you’re looking to install yourself, there are five steps to follow.
Install the SparkLayer Core Script Within /layout/theme.liquid you'll need to add the SparkLayer Core Script that activates the SparkLayer functionality.
🛠️ View instructions
Install the Product Detail Interface You'll need to update your storefront's product detail page with the SparkLayer Product Purchasing Interface. When a customer logs in and SparkLayer recognises them as being a B2B customer, this will load a special interface with their specific prices and a way to purchase.
Install the Product Card Interface You'll need to update your product collection pages to show the Product Card Interface. This allows your customers to see their unique pricing and add items to their order from anywhere on your website.
Add the CSS customisations Within /layout/theme.liquid or in a standalone CSS file, you can customise the look and feel of SparkLayer by editing special CSS controls that overwrite the SparkLayer defaults. For example, you can change button colours, font sizes, spacing, even typefaces.
🛠️ View instructions
Enable the checkout script When a customer places an order via the Shopify Checkout, SparkLayer needs to know when the order is completed. By adding a special Shopify checkout script, this then resets contents of the customer's order and allows them to place additional orders if they wish.
You can also watch our short video that walks through the above steps on an example Shopify store.
Finished adding the code widgets?
- You can also explore all the configurations and customisations we have available that you may want to activate on your Shopify store! Learn more
Within the Price Lists area of the SparkLayer Dashboard, you can create and manage your B2B pricing rules.
SparkLayer allows you to set the following pricing types:
Type | Details |
Automatic | You can use your Shopify prices and apply a discount, e.g. 50% off Shopify retail prices or 40% off your Comare-at Shopify price |
Manual | You can manually upload a CSV file with specific prices and even enable quantity pricing |
Ready to set your pricing? To learn more about pricing, please see our full guide here.
Customer Groups let you configure specific rules for your customers, from defining their minimum order values and which price lists they see, through to what payment methods they're allowed to use when checking out.
Much like with Price Lists, you can fully manage this via the SparkLayer Dashboard.
Please note
- For any customers that you want to place B2B orders, they must have a tag of b2b assigned to them in Shopify within their customer record
- If you intend to set up Customer Groups that apply different rules per customer, you'll also need to tag customers with additional tags (e.g. b2b b2b-group-2)
- At least one valid and fully completed address must be assigned to their record in Shopify. This is to ensure the customer can go through the checkout process
Ready to set up your customer groups? To learn more about customer groups, please see our full guide here.
The final step is to run some tests and checks to ensure SparkLayer is fully configured. Within the SparkLayer Dashboard, you'll see a number of Launch checks to perform, from logging in as a B2B customer, through to placing an order.
🚀 See our full launch check list You can see our full launch checklist guide here which covers the key steps to testing and then launching SparkLayer to your B2B customers.
To troubleshoot the most common issues (such as issues with pricing), please see our guide here. You can also contact our support team and we'll be happy to assist.
Once you've completed the SparkLayer integration on your store, you may want to consider enhancing your B2B experience with the following.
Customer experience ✅ Set up a B2B login page ✅ Set up a B2B registration page ✅ Hiding B2B products from regular DTC customers ✅ Show B2B-only content ✅ Create a B2B-only navigation menu ✅ Modify your B2B email notifications
Checkout process ✅ Configure B2B-only shipping ✅ Customise your B2B payment methods ✅ Configure custom checkout data fields
Product configurations ✅ Setup product pack sizing ✅ Setup minimum and maximum quantities ✅ Show live inventory levels ✅ Setup pre-orders and backorders ✅ Set "reserve inventory" for your DTC customers You can explore our full list of configurations here.
Need assistance? We'd be happy to help guide you through this process. Please refer to our guide here.