[Resolved] Child Theme Need?

[Linda]

Hi Support,

I did check some of your suggested articles before bugging you, but am still uncertain about what to do so …

This is the first site I’ve created “from scratch”. We are using WooCommerce and its Membership extension to allow individual access to free and purchased versions of our online product.

In order to delete unnecessary fields on the checkout page and PayPal buttons on the product page for the free version, any research I’ve done suggests I need to add php and/or CSS.

Question:

Do I need a child theme?

The URL is for the subdomain I’m using to work on the site. We have GP Premium. I’m not overly technical, but can cope with specific directions!

Thanks for your advice on this,

Linda

[David]

Hi there,

so a Child Theme is good to have but only necessary if you actually need to edit any PHP templates or functions that belong to a theme or a plugin.

CSS can be added to a child theme stylesheet and if you intend on adding a lot of CSS ( 100’s of lines ) then a Child Theme is also recommended. If its just a few lines of CSS then the Additional CSS in Customizer will do just fine.

There are no products published on the test site, if you can add something and point out the button and fields you need removing we may be able to help point you in the right direction.

[Linda]

Hi David,

I think I understand re.child themes. Given that I’m down the road without a child theme, I’m hesitant to set one up if it’s not needed. Making the changes to buttons and checkout page fields seems to add several lines of code for WooCommerce not GeneratePress. It sounds as if I’m okay to do that without a child theme. Am I correct?

Thank you for your offer to point me in the right direction. That would be terrific!

You should now be able to access the free product via the orange home page button (Get Challenge Free), but here is the URL just in case: https://new.mygoforthegreen.com/product/challenge-free/

The buttons to remove are the PayPal ones. I’ll leave “Add to Cart” alone so I don’t mess with the WooCommerce flow.

If you follow the purchase through to the Checkout page, you’ll see all the fields for user information. None of them, except name and email, is necessary for any of the 3 products. The other fields are marked “Optional”, but the page looks messy with all them included, especially since the email field is at the bottom. Not sure why WooCommerce doesn’t just have a checkbox for each field: show or don’t show.

If this is too complicated for me, I guess it’s okay to leave all those fields for the user to ignore. At least they’re marked “optional”!

I sure appreciate your help on this. Getting this site functional is a MUCH bigger task than I anticipated!!

Linda

[Tom]

Hi Linda,

That page is saying I need to be a member to see the product. Can you check?

It sounds like CSS should be able to help you achieve the results you’re after, and you should be safe to add them to Additional CSS instead of a child theme.

Let me know 🙂

[Linda]

Hi Tom,

Well, duh, so sorry: I checked with Incognito and, you’re right – it’s restricted.

I’ve set up something wrong in Memberships and can’t figure out what. I’ll search for how to correct it; then, try sending it again. Right now, clicking on the home page “Get Challenge Free” button gives me the same members only message … not at all what I planned!

Glad to hear it’s ixable via additional CSS without need for a child theme, however.

Back soon,

Linda

[Linda]

Hi again,

Okay, I’ve got the link (https://new.mygoforthegreen.com/product/challenge-free/) working and all 3 product pages viewable via orange buttons on Home page (https://new.mygoforthegreen.com) or via Related Products icons on Challenge Free page.

Can you help me with CSS I need to add to delete payment buttons? Or where I could go to find it?

Added Question: As theme experts, what is your opinion of having unneeded though optional fields on a checkout page, as far as user experience goes? No problem or get rid of them?

With appreciation,

Linda

[Tom]

Those PayPal buttons aren’t there by default in WooCommerce. Instead of hiding them in CSS, it’s likely better to find the source (a plugin?) and deactivate it.

As for the checkout fields, it’s definitely better to remove ones you don’t need. A plugin like this might help: https://wordpress.org/plugins/woo-checkout-field-editor-pro/

[Linda]

Thanks for taking a look, Tom.

Yes, it’s the Memberships plugin that’s causing the issue and, of course, it’s essential to limiting product access to paid users. I’ll ask their support about it. Do you want me to let you know what they say?

The plugin you linked to looks great so I’ll try it. I worry about adding plugins for everything, however. Doesn’t it slow down a site? Or, for single issue solution plugins like this one, is best practice to use it as needed and delete it when finished?

And, by the way, I am most appreciative that “the big boss” is helping me with my issue!! 🙂

Linda

[David]

Hi there,

i am sure we would ( and any other support users who have a similar request ) be happy to hear any feedback regarding the plugin.

That plugin that Tom recommended only applies to the back end so won’t effect the front end of the site. If you want to dig into how to do it yourself then Woo provides this developers doc:

https://docs.woocommerce.com/document/tutorial-customising-checkout-fields-using-actions-and-filters/

It includes removing fields. But if you want to avoid code then the plugin is the best option.

[Linda]

Hi David,

Thanks for the heads up about the linked plugin: it was on my list for tomorrow. To clarify: if I do use the plugin, will users see the fields on the Checkout page?

I’ll also see if I can handle the DYI although the terms “actions” and “filters” cause concern!

For sure I’ll post back what I learn from Memberships. They are trying to be helpful … not quite at GP’s level, but … 😉

Many thanks,

Linda

[David]

Yes the users will see the updated checkout page fields.

[Linda]

Hi again,

The documentation/code/php is way above my technical level so I’ll try Tom’s plugin.

Thanks for confirming that it will let me hide all but name and email fields for users … once I’ve set it up that way.

Will post back results and updates on the PayPal button issue.

Happy Friday – or do you ever manage to have a weekend? 😉

Linda

[David]

Glad we could be of help.
Is it Friday already 🙂 Have a good weekend

[Linda]

Thanks, David. And I’d like to ask just one more – likely dumb – question:

If I get a plugin, use it for its function and then delete it (to keep from having too many plugins slowing down the site), does what I did with it disappear?
That is, if I correct the fields and delete the plugin, will they stay corrected?

I think the answer is that the fix will disappear with the plugin.

Is it any different if I just de-activate? Or does that do anything for page load speed?

Thanks and I will leave you alone to enjoy your weekend!

Linda

[David]

Yeah the plugin has to remain active for the changes to be maintained. Remove the plugin and you remove the changes.

So when a user goes to the checkout the server calls the the checkout.php template, that plugin ( like the code alternative ) just adds a filter that says don’t display these fields or display them like this instead. So performance wise it won’t make any difference to the end user.

Plugins that generally effect a sites performance are those that make additional requests for things like images or fonts, or have to load a lot of CSS or javascript or make a lot of queries on your database like a related posts plugin.

[Author]

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