Custom Signup Forms & Approval Workflow App for BigCommerce

Type

BigCommerce App Development · Admin Dashboard · UI/UX Design

Role

BigCommerce App Dev Framework · REST API v3 · OAuth 2.0 · Webhooks · BigDesign · React · Node.js · PostgreSQL

Stack

BigCommerce App Dev Framework · REST API v3 · OAuth 2.0 · Webhooks · BigDesign · React · Node.js · PostgreSQL

Status

App Dev Framework
REST API v3
OAuth 2.0
Webhooks
BigDesign
React
Node.js
PostgreSQL

01 The Problem

BigCommerce ships every merchant the same registration form. It collects a name, an email, and a password, and it creates an account on the spot no review, no qualification, no custom data.

That works for a standard retail store. It breaks immediately for merchants running wholesale programs, trade pricing, B2B onboarding, or members-only access. They need to know who is signing up before granting access. They need custom fields company name, trade pricing eligibility, purchase intent, tax ID. They need an approval step that sits between the application and the account.

Without a solution built for BigCommerce, merchants were stitching together generic form plugins with no real platform integration, creating customers manually inside the admin, and managing approvals through email threads. Submission data lived in spreadsheets. Nothing connected back to the customer record in BigCommerce. The process was slow, inconsistent, and entirely dependent on someone remembering to follow up.

02 The Solution

Codinative built a custom BigCommerce app that replaces the default registration flow with a controlled, branded, fully automated onboarding pipeline.

It installs natively into the merchant’s BigCommerce control panel through the App Development Framework, authenticated via OAuth 2.0. Customer creation on approval goes through the REST API v3. The active form injects into the storefront through the Scripts API. Every state change fires through Webhooks that trigger the correct branded email the moment a decision is made.

Merchants build forms visually without writing code. Every submission enters an approval queue. Approvals create a real customer in BigCommerce with all submitted data attached. Rejections and resubmission requests send the right branded email automatically. The entire pipeline lives in one dashboard inside the control panel. No spreadsheets. No manual emails. No developer needed after install.

Project Framework

Situation · Task · Action · Result

S Situation

Front Row Furniture had a large events furniture catalogue but limited BigCommerce native filtering. Buyers could not narrow by material, finish, condition, or merchandising flags making product discovery slow and friction-heavy.

T Task

Build a custom multi-attribute filtering system that lets buyers refine by any combination of material, price, rating, colour, finish, condition, featured status, and stock status with real-time updates and clean active filter states.

A Action

Built a custom sidebar filter panel on BigCommerce Stencil with checkbox filters for Material (Plastic, Steel), Colour Option (Black, Blue, Burgundy, Grey, White), Finish (Dark Oak, Light Oak, Walnut), Condition (Used), and Other flags (Is Featured, In Stock, Has Free Shipping). Added a star rating threshold filter with five levels and product counts per level. Added a price range filter with Min/Max inputs. Implemented active filter tags with individual dismiss and a Clear all link. Connected all filters to BigCommerce custom fields via client-side JavaScript with real-time DOM updates and URL query parameter sync. Added grid and list view toggle persisting across filter changes.

R Result

Material: Plastic alone returns one result Folding Plastic Chairs Grey at £8.99. Plastic and Steel combined returns two Tolix Style Bar Height Chairs at £19.99 and Folding Plastic Chairs Grey at £8.99. Is Featured returns four curated products instantly. Rated 5 Stars or More returns 27 products. Buyers go from full catalogue to a purchase-ready shortlist in one or two filter selections.

Core Features

01 Visual Form Builder

The builder splits into a field palette and a real-time live preview. Drag a field in, the preview updates immediately. Thirteen field types across four groups. Basic Inputs Text · Email · Phone · Number Selection Fields Textarea · Select · Radio · Checkbox Address Fields Country · State/Province Special Fields Date · File · URL A theme editor handles form colors, typography, and button styles no CSS needed. First Name, Last Name, Email, and Password are locked because BigCommerce requires them to create a customer through the REST API v3. Desktop and Mobile viewport toggles let merchants verify the form renders correctly before it goes live.

Multi-Form Management

Merchants build and save multiple forms independently. A wholesale application. A trade pricing form. A seasonal campaign form. Any one of them activates with a single toggle. Only one form is live on the storefront at a time. Switching is instant. Every saved form keeps its own field configuration and theme exactly as built. Campaign forms created once are deactivated after the campaign and reactivated next time no rebuilding.

02

03 Approval Workflow

Every submission enters the queue with the applicant’s name, email, timestamp, and current status. Filter by All, Pending, Approved, or Rejected. Search by name or email instantly. Opening a record shows every field the applicant submitted including custom business qualification fields. Three actions are available: Approve, Reject, Request Resubmission. Approve creates the customer in BigCommerce through the REST API v3 with all submitted attributes attached and fires the Approval email immediately. Reject updates the status and fires the Rejection email. Request Resubmission asks the applicant to fix specific fields without closing their application, fires the Resubmission Request template, and holds the record active.

Analytics Dashboard

Four live metrics on load Total Signups, Pending Review, Approved, Rejected with approval rate percentage calculated in real time. A Recent Signup Requests panel links directly to each applicant record. Quick actions Form Builder, View Requests, Email Templates, Preview Form are one click away. Everything lives inside the BigCommerce control panel. Merchants never leave the platform to manage onboarding.

04

05 Branded Email Automation

Five transactional templates, one per workflow state. Signup Confirmation fires when a visitor submits the form. Resubmission Confirmation fires when an applicant resubmits. Approval Email fires when the merchant approves and the account is created. Rejection Email fires when the merchant rejects an application. Resubmission Request fires when the merchant asks for corrections before deciding. Every template supports {{name}} and {{platform_name}} merge variables, a Visual Editor, Custom HTML mode, and a live preview pane. Send a test email to a real inbox before activating. All five save as a group no partial saves, no templates out of sync.

01 Feature 01

Visual Form Builder

The builder splits into a field palette and a real-time live preview. Drag a field in, the preview updates immediately. Thirteen field types across four groups.

Basic Inputs — Text · Email · Phone · Number
Selection Fields — Textarea · Select · Radio · Checkbox
Address Fields — Country · State/Province
Special Fields — Date · File · URL

A theme editor handles form colors, typography, and button styles — no CSS needed. First Name, Last Name, Email, and Password are locked because BigCommerce requires them to create a customer through the REST API v3. Desktop and Mobile viewport toggles let merchants verify the form renders correctly before it goes live.

Core Features

Architecture

Registered through the BigCommerce App Development Framework. OAuth 2.0 handles authentication through a standard handshake identical to every app in the BigCommerce App Marketplace. Customer creation uses the REST API v3 Customers endpoint. The active form injects into the storefront through the Scripts API. Submission and approval events fire through Webhooks that trigger email dispatch the moment a status changes. The dashboard runs on BigDesign tokens for native control panel styling with custom React components for the form builder and preview.

Layer	Technology
App Framework	App Framework
Authentication	OAuth 2.0
Customer Creation	BigCommerce REST API v3
Storefront Injection	Scripts API
Event Layer	Webhooks
Admin UI	BigDesign + React
Backend	Node.js
Database	PostgreSQL
Email	Transactional Email API

What Was Shipped

Deliverables

BigCommerce app with OAuth 2.0 install flow and native control panel Integration

No-code visual form builder 13 field types, live preview, theme editor

Multi-form library with independent configurations and one-click exclusive activation

Approval workflow engine Pending · Approved · Rejected · Resubmission

Filterable, searchable request management queue

Applicant detail view with full submission data and instant action buttons

Five branded transactional email templates merge variables, Custom HTML, live preview

Analytics dashboard with real-time approval rate and recent submissions

Native BigDesign UI throughout matches BigCommerce admin exactly

BigCommerce app with OAuth 2.0 install flow and native control panel integration

No-code visual form builder — 13 field types, live preview, theme editor

Multi-form library with independent configurations and one-click exclusive activation

Approval workflow engine — Pending · Approved · Rejected · Resubmission

Filterable, searchable request management queue

Applicant detail view with full submission data and instant action buttons

Five branded transactional email templates — merge variables, Custom HTML, live preview

Analytics dashboard with real-time approval rate and recent submissions

Native BigDesign UI throughout — matches BigCommerce admin exactly

Common Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a custom signup form app for BigCommerce?

It replaces the native BigCommerce customer registration with a configurable form that routes every submission into a merchant-controlled approval workflow. The merchant collects whatever data the business needs, reviews applications from a centralized dashboard, and approves or rejects them before a customer account is created in BigCommerce through the REST API v3. It installs directly into the control panel through the App Development Framework no third-party dashboard, no separate login.

Why does this need to be a BigCommerce app and not a script or plugin?

A script tag renders a form in the storefront but cannot create customers, listen to Webhooks, or build an admin UI inside the BigCommerce control panel. The App Development Framework provides OAuth 2.0 authentication and authorized REST API v3 access both required for an approval workflow that produces real customer records with full attribute data in BigCommerce. Any solution not built on the App Development Framework has no reliable path to the customer API.

What OAuth scopes does the app request?

Three at install. store_v2_customers to create approved customers through the REST API v3. store_themes_manage to inject the active form into the storefront via the Scripts API. store_v2_information_read_only for store context currency, locale, platform name. No payment, order, catalog, or financial data scopes are requested.

Does this app support B2B and wholesale onboarding on BigCommerce?

Yes. The approval workflow, custom fields for business qualification trade pricing eligibility, company type, purchase intent, order volume and the applicant detail view with instant actions make this a direct fit for wholesale gating, trade pricing programs, B2B Edition onboarding, and any merchant who needs to qualify buyers before granting account access.

Can merchants switch between different signup forms for different campaigns?

Yes. Every saved form keeps its own field configuration and theme independently. Merchants build once, deactivate after the campaign, reactivate next time with one toggle. Nothing is rebuilt. Wholesale forms, seasonal forms, and standard forms all live in the same library and switch in a single click.

What happens the moment a merchant approves an applicant?

Two things fire simultaneously. The app calls the BigCommerce REST API v3 Customers endpoint and creates the account with all submitted form fields mapped to the correct customer attributes. The Approval email template dispatches immediately with the applicant's merge variables populated. The applicant's record in the queue updates to Approved and stays there for audit.

Can this be built as a private app for one store instead of a marketplace app?

Yes. Codinative builds both App Marketplace apps and private single-client apps. A private app installs into one store only, carries the merchant's branding throughout, and bypasses the marketplace review timeline. It is the right choice when the app handles logic specific to one merchant's operation.

How long does it take to build a BigCommerce app like this?

Six to ten weeks from discovery to App Marketplace submission. That covers OAuth setup, REST API v3 integration, dashboard UI, cross-device QA, and the BigCommerce security review. Private apps without the marketplace review run slightly faster.