In short: In the Howdy sign-up form, set "Address auto-fill" to "On" in General Settings. The matching address is then filled in automatically as soon as a customer enters a postal code (Japanese addresses only). If you also connect Flatto's Checkout Address Validator app, address mistakes can be detected while the customer fills in the sign-up form. This reduces cases where an address error only comes to light at checkout and the customer is asked to enter the address again. Both settings require that you first add address fields to the sign-up form.
Howdy is an app that adds a sign-up form to Shopify's new customer accounts. It saves names and addresses to Shopify's customer information and birthdays and other details to customer metafields. You can use the collected fields in the profile shown on the account page and in automations with Shopify Flow. You add address fields and set up address auto-fill in the app's admin. To connect the Checkout Address Validator, you register the API key and secret key from the validator app on the "Connected apps" settings page in Howdy.
When you finish the steps in this article, customers only need to enter a postal code on the sign-up screen to fill in the address fields automatically. If the entered address has a mistake, an error appears when they submit the sign-up form. This reduces the effort of correcting the address after reaching the checkout page, as well as orders placed with an incorrect address. Address mistakes can cause the address on the shipping label to differ from the actual delivery destination, which can lead to delayed or repeated deliveries. If the address is correct from sign-up, the same address information is used as-is for later orders.
Key points
- To add address fields to the sign-up form, open the sign-up form editing screen in the Shopify admin, click "Add Shopify field", and choose "Address: ..."
- When you set "Address auto-fill" to "On" in Howdy's General Settings, the address is filled in automatically from the postal code
- Address auto-fill supports Japanese addresses only
- Connecting Flatto's Checkout Address Validator app lets you detect address mistakes while customers fill in the sign-up form
- The integration takes 3 steps: get an API key and secret key in the validator app, register them in Howdy, and add address fields and turn on the checkbox in the sign-up form
- Address auto-fill and the validator integration are separate features turned on in different settings screens, and you can use both at the same time
- Address errors that used to come to light at checkout can now be detected at sign-up
- You add address fields and set up address auto-fill in the app's admin, and you get the API key and secret key for the validator integration from "API integration" in the validator app
How do you add address fields to the sign-up form?
In the Shopify admin, open the sign-up form editing screen of "Howdy New Customer" and click "Add Shopify field". Choose "Address: ..." from the list of fields and click "Add" to add the address field to the sign-up form. You can reorder the added fields and change the input examples shown in light text in each field (placeholders). If you also serve customers outside Japan, add the countries you support from "Edit" on the address field. Stores that sell only within Japan don't need the country field. This setting is meant to reduce the effort of entering an address at checkout. Registering the address at sign-up reduces the fields customers need to fill in when they buy. Having address fields in the sign-up form is the prerequisite for both address auto-fill and the Checkout Address Validator integration described below.
Source: Howdy Help: "How to set up address input" (Japanese)
Can you change the order of the added address fields and the input examples they show?
Yes. In the sign-up form editing screen, you can reorder the address fields you added. If you arrange them in the order postal code, prefecture, city, and street address, the fields filled in by address auto-fill and the fields customers type in follow the same order, which makes the form easier to understand. You can also change the input example shown in light text in each field (placeholder) for each field. If you serve customers outside Japan, adding countries from "Edit" on the address field also shows a field for choosing the country. Stores that sell only within Japan don't need to add this country field.
Source: Howdy Help: "How to set up address input" (Japanese)
How do you set up address auto-fill in the sign-up form?
Open "General Settings" in the app's admin, change the "Address auto-fill" setting to "On", and save. After you save, the matching address is filled in automatically as soon as a customer enters a postal code in the address fields of the sign-up form. Parts that can't be determined from the postal code alone, such as the street number and building name, stay as the customer enters them. Adding the address fields to the sign-up form itself is explained in How to add a sign-up form to new customer accounts (Howdy).
Source: Howdy Help: "How to set up address auto-fill" (Japanese)
Does address auto-fill work for addresses outside Japan?
No. Because it looks up the address from a Japanese postal code, it supports Japanese addresses only. Customers outside Japan fill in the fields that correspond to prefecture, city, and street address manually as usual. You can add countries to the address field in the sign-up form, but if the country is not Japan, auto-fill doesn't apply and customers enter the address manually as usual.
Sources: Howdy Help: "How to set up address auto-fill" (Japanese) / "How to set up address input" (Japanese)
Can address mistakes be detected while customers fill in the sign-up form?
Yes. If you connect the Howdy sign-up form with the "Checkout Address Validator app" from Flatto, the address is validated as soon as it is entered in the sign-up form. Without the integration, address input in the sign-up form has no way of showing errors. Address mistakes are then detected at checkout by a separate validation app, and the customer has to enter the address again on the checkout page. With the integration, detection happens earlier, while the customer fills in the sign-up form, which reduces sign-ups with incorrect addresses.
Source: Howdy Help: "Checkout Address Validator app integration [Howdy sign-up form]" (Japanese)
How do you set up the integration with the Checkout Address Validator?
The setup takes 3 steps. First, install the Checkout Address Validator app and get the "API key" and "secret key" from "API integration" in that app's settings. Next, open the "Connected apps" settings page in the app's admin and register the API key and secret key. Finally, add "address fields" such as postal code and prefecture in the sign-up form settings and turn on the "Checkout Address Validator" checkbox to complete the integration. If the sign-up form doesn't have address fields yet, add them first from "Add Shopify field". Examples of how to use the information collected in the sign-up form, including addresses, are in 7 ways to use birthdays, addresses, and consent collected at sign-up (Shopify new customer accounts).
Sources: Howdy Help: "Checkout Address Validator app integration [Howdy sign-up form]" (Japanese) / "How to set up address input" (Japanese)
Can you use address auto-fill and the Checkout Address Validator integration at the same time?
Yes. Address auto-fill is turned on in Howdy's General Settings. The Checkout Address Validator integration is turned on in Howdy's connected apps settings after you install a separate app. Because they are independent features with separate settings screens, you can turn each one on or off individually. With both turned on, the address is filled in automatically when a customer enters a postal code, and the validator app checks the entries, including that address, when the sign-up form is submitted. You can also set up one first, see how it works in practice, and then add the other.
Sources: Howdy Help: "How to set up address auto-fill" (Japanese) / "Checkout Address Validator app integration [Howdy sign-up form]" (Japanese)
The two features differ in where you set them up and what triggers them. The table below summarizes the differences.
| Item | Address auto-fill | Checkout Address Validator integration |
|---|---|---|
| Where to set it up | Howdy's General Settings | Checkout Address Validator app settings and Howdy's connected apps settings |
| What triggers it | Entering a postal code | Entering an address in the sign-up form |
| What else you need | Nothing | Installing the Checkout Address Validator app and getting an API key |
Address auto-fill works with Howdy's settings alone. The Checkout Address Validator integration also requires installing the Checkout Address Validator app and getting the API key and secret key issued by that app. Whichever you set up first, it doesn't affect the other. If you first set up the address fields and address auto-fill and then add the Checkout Address Validator integration, you can check your settings as you go.
Related articles
- How to add a sign-up form to new customer accounts (Howdy)
- How to make sign-up form fields required or optional in Shopify: customer metafield settings
Frequently asked questions
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You can add address fields and set up address auto-fill in the app's admin. To connect the Checkout Address Validator app, you register the API key and secret key from the validator app in Howdy. Our dedicated team creates customer metafields, sets up sign-up form fields, and places blocks on the profile page for you for free.
