Turning "Add to Cart" into "Request a Quote" on Shopify Like a Boss

Once upon a time — not so long ago, in fact — we found ourselves huddled over the glow of our computer screens, wrestling with a problem that felt a bit like untangling an impossible knot. Our shop, much like yours, had a product that was not exactly grocery-store-priced, and we wanted customers to be able to easily request quotes rather than automatically buying. It was towing parts, those robust, clunky hunks of metal (you know the type) that don't casually slip into an online shopping cart. An "add to cart" button felt about as appropriate as a welcome mat at a doorless entrance. What we needed was a "request a quote" button. What happened next was a journey of delight and discovery — a tale of triumph over code. Spoiler: no expected plot twists or dragons, only some good old tinkering.

Step 1: App-Raising Situations

First up, we took a detour to the ever-helpful — or could it be app-pocalypse? — Shopify App Store. Imagine this nifty digital bazaar, where apps gleam like trinkets in a trove, each promising your own personalized piece of ecommerce utopia. For us, the name of the game was to find an app to effortlessly transform our transactional button into something more... consultative. (Hold onto your backpacks — we're about to go on an app-hunt!)

Some of the stellar apps we could rely on included:

• Request a Quote & Hide Prices by Omega: It's as cozy as it sounds. Clicking the button takes your customers to a well-crafted form where they can lay down their needs.
• Quick Quote by WebContrive: Not too casual, not too fussy — just right. This one's decked out with customizable forms that get right to the point.

Navigating these apps, we felt a bit like digital treasure hunters, discovering functions and features we hadn’t even known we’d needed. Once installed, these apps whisk you away, allowing quick configuration. But what if we wanted to ditch extra apps and give the code some DIY love?

Step 2: A Little Freestyle Coding

Armed with confidence and precisely the right shade of doubt, we decided to plunge into code. Call it an itch. You don't need to be a wizard, just enough curiosity to scratch beneath the surface. What followed is a dash of Shopify magic:

Code Ingredient #1: Edit Product Page Template

You'll want to open the product-template in your Shopify theme. It might whimsically appear as something like product-template.liquid — a cauldron of code where our saga unfolds. Look for the part where the "Add to Cart" button resides, typically:

<button type="submit" class="btn">Add to Cart</button>

Code Spice #2: Transform the Button

Here's where the charm happens. Change that button to bring you to a form instead:

<button type="button" class="btn" id="requestQuote">Request a Quote</button>

And then beneath it, use some Javascript — friendship bracelet-style — to open a form:

document.getElementById('requestQuote').onclick = function () {
  // Assuming you have a form with id="quoteForm" elsewhere on your page
  document.getElementById('quoteForm').style.display = 'block'
}

Code Tweak #3: Style the Form

Now our little form needs some glamour. A splash of CSS will do just the trick:

#quoteForm {
  display: none; /* Initially hidden */
  z-index: 10; /* in case it wants to rise above the rest */
  /* add more styling as your heart desires */
}

And like magic, when shoppers click the button, the form materializes — perhaps even with a Hollywood flourish.

Embracing Our Inner Geek

You see, friends, technology is at its best when it gets out of the way and lets people do what they came for. By adding a quote button, we're rolling out a welcome mat for conversations, not transactions. It becomes more about interaction and less about impulse. Plus, it gave us time to unexpectedly delight in a good puzzle — like finding an extra piece in life's Lego box.

With each tweak, we learned something curious and new about ourselves and our site, enjoying those blissfully imperfect, beautiful moments of trial and error — especially the latter. In the afterglow of our figurative lightbulb moment, we had a Shopify store that felt robustly us. And we didn't even need to hire anyone else to tell our grand tale of sidepullers and digital transfiguration. Now it's your turn. Make it your own — go forth and request quotes!