WooCommerce FAQs
Introduction
We've included some of our most commonly asked questions below. If you can't find the answer you're after, please contact us and we'll be happy to help.
Frequently Asked Questions
Plans and pricing
All SparkLayer plans are compatible with WooCommerce, from "Starter" right through to "Enterprise". Learn more about our plans and pricing.
When you sign up to SparkLayer, billing is managed via the SparkLayer Dashboard under Acccount > Plan
WooCommerce setup
Currently, SparkLayer can only be setup on your WooCommerce store by registering directly via SparkLayer
You must already have WooCommerce installed on your Wordpress website
- WooCommerce: version 9 and above
- Wordpress: version 6 and above
If you're using a "Block theme", SparkLayer can be automatically installed (otherwise this is a manual installation process).
Yes, it's possible to install SparkLayer onto your existing WooCommerce DTC store (i.e. retail), meaning you can run both DTC and B2B on the same store. We call this a 'hybrid setup'; when your B2B customers sign in, they simply see the special SparkLayer Frontend interface that allow them to see their prices and place orders.
If you want to see this in action, you can try our B2B/B2C demo store here
Store setup
By default, the SparkLayer widges will be automatically installed on your store. If you do require assistance, you can contact our support team and we will be happy to advise.
You must already have WooCommerce installed on your Wordpress website
- WooCommerce: version 9 and above
- Wordpress: version 6 and above
If you're using a "Block theme", SparkLayer can be automatically installed (otherwise this is a manual installation process).
The SparkLayer B2B widgets, including B2B pricing, cart and my account area, are only loaded once a customer who has been added to a B2B customer group successfully signs in to your store.
For all other users, your store will remain completely unaffected.
This allows you to have full control over which customers are able to see your B2B pricing and place B2B orders.
If you already have a B2B / Wholesale app installed on your store, SparkLayer can work alongside this. It's a great way to test out SparkLayer and, once you're happy, you can simply uninstall any previous B2B apps you were using. If your previous B2B app has made code changes to your WooCommerce store, you may want to ask the app developer to remove these although this is optional.
Payments
If your customers choose "Pay Online by Card" during the SparkLayer checkout process, they will simply be taken to the WooCommerce checkout. From there, any payment methods you have set up in WooCommerce (e.g. Paypal, Affirm Pay) will show up, allowing the customers to pay by this method.
In short, if WooCommerce support specific payment methods, your B2B customers could select it during the checkout providing they choose "Pay Online by Card".
Products
There are a few things we recommend to make the experience better:
You could create a B2B-only collection and redirect customers to this once they login.
You could also configure your WooCommerce theme to hide and show products based on tag via custom coding.
Yes! SparkLayer allows you to automatically synchronise your WooCommerce prices (e.g. your main WooCommerce retail price), making it really easy to set up B2B pricing for your customers. For example, you could set your B2B prices to be 20% off your WooCommerce prices and we can even make provisions for your tax set up in WooCommerce (e.g. exclusive or inclusive of tax).
In terms of pre-ordering, SparkLayer has full support for different stock status messages and it's possible to set up products as pre-order/back-order easily - it does rely on some configuration within WooCommerce, but it's relatively easy to do!
We've full information here on how it works and you can even set up "due in" dates to give your customers visibility.
In terms of product SKUs, SparkLayer relies on these being added to your products within Wix so that we can display the correct B2B pricing when your customers log in. Without a unique SKU, there's no way for SparkLayer to do this.
If you don't already have SKUs in Wix, it's relatively quick to do. You can either edit individual products and add them manually, or you can use Wix 'Import' or 'Edit products' feature to do this in bulk.
It's possible to show inventory levels and a stock status when your B2B customers log in. You can learn more about how to enable this in our guide here.
If you're installing SparkLayer on a single website and you are looking to run both DTC and B2B at the same time, it will be necessary to use the same stock pool behind the scenes. From an inventory point of view, this essentially means that both DTC and B2B customers will be ordering from the same stock source which can pose challenges.
Important It is not possible to block DTC customers from ordering from your inventory and there is no mechanism in WooCommerce to do this. If you are wanting to implement this, you will need to consider:
- Creating B2B-specific products on your store
- Creating a separate store just for your B2B customers, effectively separating out your inventory completely.
User Experience
If you're looking to enable a wholesale/B2B registration form there are a few good options for this and
In summary, these are the options we recommend:
- You could use your current login/registration page and enhance the registration page with some additional fields
- You could create a brand new registration page and direct prospective B2B customers to this.
It's also worth noting that you can manually add customers via the admin by going to Wordpress/WooCommerce > Users and from there you could moderate your wholesale applications.
When you're ready to invite your B2B customers to begin using your store, there are a variety of ways you can do this.
You could think about sending a marketing newsletter to your customers to notify them of your new B2B store and to sign in. We also have some example messaging you can use when inviting your customers and you can explore more in our guide here.
No. For performance, the SparkLayer Frontend only loads when a valid B2B customer successfully logs into a website; for your standard (DTC) customers, no code is loaded at all. When a B2B customer logs in, all loading of the interfaces is asynchronous which means a negligible impact on page load times and performance even though SparkLayer is a hosted third-party solution. The result is the end customer will have a rapid experience browsing products and placing orders.
This is possible but would require custom coding. We recommend consulting with a WooCommerce expert developer before making changes to your website.
Orders
Payment Method | Notes |
|---|---|
Payment by Invoice | The order will be created within WooCommerce > Orders with a payment status of "UNPAID". You can then manually mark the order as paid once you have received payment (e.g. via offline means) |
Payment on Account | The order will be created within WooCommerce > Orders with a payment status of "UNPAID". You can then manually mark the order as paid once you have received payment (e.g. via offline means) |
Upfront Payment (Card payments) | The order will be created within WooCommerce > Orders with a payment status of "PAID". You can then proceed to fulfil the order. |
It is possible to edit orders within WooCommerce when an order is placed via SparkLayer providing payment hasn't already been processed. From WooCommerce > Oders, navigate to an order. You'll then see the option to Edit order allowing you to make changes.
In terms of invoicing, SparkLayer doesn't send invoices directly.
When sending an invoice, this is managed outside of SparkLayer and it will require you to collect payment by your preferred means. Once you've received payment, you can then mark the order as paid within Wix and then fulfil it as normal.
Within SparkLayer, we support the ability to set minimum/maximum order level spends for your B2B customers. You can configure these by going to the Customer Groups area of the SparkLayer Dashboard.