Front Row Furniture BigCommerce Advanced Category Filter System
Type
Role
Stack
Status
- App Dev Framework
- REST API v3
- OAuth 2.0
- Webhooks
- BigDesign
- React
- Node.js
- PostgreSQL
01
- before
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
- After
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
T Task
A Action
R Result
- Approval Workflow
- Branded Emails
- REST API v3
- OAuth 2.0
- Webhooks
Core Features
01
Feature 01
Feature 01 Sidebar Filter Panel
Feature 02
Feature 02 Active Filter Tags and Clear State
02
03
Feature 03
Feature 03 Multi-Select and Cross-Attribute Filtering
Feature 04
Feature 04 Rating Threshold Filter
04
05
Feature 05
Feature 05 Featured, In Stock, and Free Shipping Flags
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
Custom sidebar filter panel Price, Rating, Colour, Material, Finish, Condition, Other flags
Custom sidebar filter panel Price, Rating, Colour, Material, Finish, Condition, Other flags
Per-filter-value product counts inline no zero-result values displayed
Per-filter-value product counts inline no zero-result values displayed
Multi-select filters with OR logic within dimension, AND logic across dimensions
Multi-select filters with OR logic within dimension, AND logic across dimensions
Active filter tags with individual dismiss and Clear all
Active filter tags with individual dismiss and Clear all
Per-section Clear link to remove one dimension without affecting others
Per-section Clear link to remove one dimension without affecting others
Rating threshold filter five levels from 1 star up to 5 stars up
Rating threshold filter five levels from 1 star up to 5 stars up
Is Featured, In Stock, Has Free Shipping as filterable flags via Catalog API
Is Featured, In Stock, Has Free Shipping as filterable flags via Catalog API
URL query parameter sync filtered views shareable and bookmarkable
URL query parameter sync filtered views shareable and bookmarkable
Grid and list view toggle persisting across filter changes
Grid and list view toggle persisting across filter changes
Real-time product grid update on every filter action no page reload
Real-time product grid update on every filter action no page reload
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
Why does BigCommerce need a custom filter system instead of native facets?
BigCommerce's native faceted search supports variant-level options and a limited set of product attributes. It does not support custom fields as filter dimensions, boolean merchandising flags like is_featured, star rating thresholds, or condition flags. For a furniture catalogue where material, finish, condition, and curation status drive the buying decision, the native system cannot surface what buyers need.
How do the product counts per filter value work?
At filter panel load time, JavaScript reads the full product set for the current category and counts how many products match each custom field value. The count renders inline next to each checkbox label. Filter values with zero matching products do not appear in the sidebar, preventing buyers from selecting a filter that returns an empty page.
How does multi-select filtering work across attributes?
Within a single dimension, multiple selections use OR logic Plastic and Steel returns products matching either material. Across dimensions, selections use AND logic Material: Steel and Rating: 5 Stars and Up returns only products that are both steel and five-star rated. This matches how buyers narrow a catalogue by multiple requirements at once.
How are Is Featured and In Stock surfaced as filter options?
Is Featured maps to the is_featured boolean on each BigCommerce product. In Stock maps to inventory availability. Both are read at category page load from BigCommerce product data. The JavaScript filter logic checks these against the active filter state when rendering the grid. No additional API call is made per filter action.
Is the filtered state bookmarkable or shareable?
Yes. Every filter action updates the page URL with query parameters for the active filters. A buyer who narrows to Material: Plastic and Rating: 5 Stars and Up gets a URL that can be shared or bookmarked. The filter panel reads from URL query parameters on page load and restores the active state automatically.
Yes. Every filter action updates the page URL with query parameters for the active filters. A buyer who narrows to Material: Plastic and Rating: 5 Stars and Up gets a URL that can be shared or bookmarked. The filter panel reads from URL query parameters on page load and restores the active state automatically.
Yes. The filter sidebar reads available dimensions from the products in the current category. The Tables category page with different custom field values renders its own filter options automatically. The same JavaScript and CSS handles every category on the Front Row Furniture store without per-category configuration.
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?
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Does this app support B2B and wholesale onboarding on BigCommerce?
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.
Can merchants switch between different signup forms for different campaigns?
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.
What happens the moment a merchant approves an applicant?
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.
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.
- Verified BigCommerce Partner