In short: Howdy's initial setup has three stages. (1) Create customer metafields in the Shopify admin. (2) Choose the sign-up form fields in Howdy. (3) Enable the app block in the theme editor. You can set it up on any theme without editing code (all themes have been supported since September 8, 2026). Our dedicated team creates the customer metafields, sets up the form fields, and places the profile page blocks for you, free of charge.
Key points
- First, create the customer metafields that will store the data (Settings > Metafields and metaobjects > Customers)
- In the app's admin, arrange Shopify fields and custom fields (metafields), and decide which are required and which are optional
- Choose when the form appears: Before Login or After Login
- Enable the app block in the theme editor, and check that the popup opens from the login icon
- If you place an editing block on the profile page, customers can update their own details after sign-up
Preparation: How do you create customer metafields?
In the Shopify admin, go to Settings > Metafields and metaobjects > Customers and click Add definition. For each field you want to collect, set a name, a namespace and key, and a type, then save. Howdy's sign-up form reads the definitions you create here and shows an input field for each one.
Here are examples of four common patterns.
| Information to collect | Example name | Example namespace and key | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birthday | Date of birth | custom.birthday | Date |
| Free text | Favorite color | custom.color | Single line text |
| Checkbox | Terms of service consent | custom.terms_accepted | True or false |
| Choose from options | Coffee preference | custom.favorite | Single line text, with the choices (such as dark roast and light roast) added under Validation |
On the edit screen of the definition you created, set Customer account access to Allow read and write (「読み取りと書き込みの許可」) and save. If this setting stays at Read only (「読み取り専用」), the app's admin shows the message "Customer Account access is not enabled for this metafield."
For fields where more than one customer can have the same value, such as birth month or prefecture, leave Unique values only (「一意の値のみ」) unchecked in the definition.
Sources: Howdy Help: "(1) [Preparation] How to set up customer metafields" / Howdy Help: "Enable Metafield's 'Read and Write' access" / Howdy Help: "What to do when customers can't sign up or see the 'Value is already assigned to another metafield' error" (Japanese)
Step 1: How do you set up the sign-up form fields?
Install Howdy from the Shopify App Store, open the Registration Form Settings page, and click Create form. You build the form from two kinds of fields: Add Shopify field and Add custom field.
- Shopify fields: Fields that Shopify stores in customer data by default, such as name, phone number, and address. For the address, you can add countries from Edit, and if you only sell within Japan, you can leave out the country field
- Custom fields: The customer metafields you created during preparation, such as birthday, terms of service consent, and referral code
For each field, set whether it's required or optional, its label, its placeholder (the light hint text shown inside the input field), and its position in the order. The terms of service label can include a link, so if you write something like I agree to the <a href="URL of the terms page" target="_blank"><u>Terms of Service</u></a>, the label links to your terms page.
If you turn on address autofill in General Settings, the address fills in automatically as soon as a customer enters a postal code (supports Japanese addresses and Japanese postal codes).
Sources: Howdy Help: "(3) [Initial setup] Registration form" / Howdy Help: "How to set up address fields" (Japanese) / Howdy Help: "How to set up terms of service with a link" (Japanese) / Howdy Help: "How to collect birth months and issue birthday discount coupons" (Japanese) / Howdy Help: "How to set up address autofill" (Japanese)
Step 2: Which display timing should you choose?
In General Settings, choose Before Login or After Login. Choose Before Login if you want the same flow as legacy customer accounts, or After Login if you want to keep using Shopify's standard login page as it is.
| Display timing | Flow | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Before Login | Click the login icon → enter an email address → new customers go to the sign-up form, existing customers go to verification code entry | Stores that want to recreate the sign-up flow of legacy customer accounts |
| After Login | Verify on Shopify's login page → the sign-up form appears the first time only | Stores that want to use it alongside Shop login or social login |
By default, whether a customer is new or existing is determined by whether the customer record for that email address has a name. If your store is already live and you also want to collect additional details from existing customers, switch the detection criterion to customer tag, and set it up like this: "Show the form to customers who don't have the tag member, and add member after they submit it."
Sources: Howdy Help: "When the sign-up form appears" (Japanese) / Howdy Help: "How to show the login form to existing customers with New Customer Detection" (Japanese)
Step 3: How do you embed the form in your theme?
From Theme Embed in Howdy's app settings, open the theme customization screen, enable the app embed (app block), and save. You choose the theme that uses the sign-up form on this customization screen. All themes have been supported since September 8, 2026.
If the popup doesn't open when you click the login icon after saving, add the class specified by Howdy to the <a> tag of the login buttons in your header (both the desktop and the mobile button), and the popup will open. If you duplicate your theme before editing code, you can always go back.
After saving, click the login icon at the top right of your store. If the popup opens, setup is complete.
Sources: Howdy Help: "(2) [Initial setup] Embed the form in your theme" / Howdy Help: "How to install the Howdy sign-up app on unsupported themes" (Japanese) / Howdy Help: "(3) [Initial setup] Registration form"
Step 4: How do you let customers edit their details on the profile page?
Create a metafield block in the app's admin, then add it as an app block to the customer profile page in the checkout and accounts editor. Once it's added, customers can edit metafields on their profile page.
To create a block, go to Blocks in the app's admin, click Create Block, and choose Customer metafield from the block types (customer metafield, company metafield, banner image, and email marketing consent). In Add metafield, enter a title for the field and select a Shopify metafield definition, and the namespace, key, and type fill in automatically. Set the status to Active and save. Next, in the Shopify admin, go to Settings > Checkout, click Customize in the Settings section, open the Profile page, place the Howdy block from Add App Block, enter the App Block ID shown in the app's admin, and save.
On the screen for adding fields, you can choose the following three options for each field. If you check none of them, customers can edit the value at any time.
- "Make this field required"
- "Prevent customers from editing (editing disabled)": The value is display-only and customers can't change it (for example, a membership tier)
- "Editable only when empty (edit once)": Customers can enter a value only while it's empty (for example, a referral code)
In the block settings, you can also choose "Hide edit icon" and set block display conditions based on customer tags. You can also place a banner image on the profile page. Because you can show different banner images and messages depending on customer tags, you can show VIP members and new members different messages.
Sources: Howdy Help: "(4) [Initial setup] Profile page" / Shopify App Store: "Howdy: New Customer Accounts Sign-Up Form"
Related articles
- Sign-up forms for Shopify new customer accounts: 14 frequently asked questions
- What standard sign-up collects in new customer accounts, and how to add fields
Frequently asked questions
Try Howdy free for 14 days
You can add the sign-up form, add fields to collect, and set when the form appears from the app's admin. Our dedicated team at Howdy creates the customer metafields, sets up the sign-up form fields, and places the profile page blocks for you, free of charge.
