City Selector

The shopper city in the store header, not only in the checkout

CS-Cart learns the shopper city at the checkout, but until then the shopper neither sees it nor can change it: there is no city in the store header, and the platform neither detects nor remembers it. This add-on puts the city selector into the header, detects the city in the visitor browser, asks for confirmation and keeps the answer, while the city itself is written into the standard location - the one shipping, zones and the checkout read.

Why a store needs it

A shopper arrives from search and looks for one answer first: "do you work in my city?". In CS-Cart that answer waits until the checkout - the city is asked for in the delivery address, and before that the shopper sees a storefront that looks the same for the whole country.

The add-on closes that gap. The city stands in the header, is detected on its own and is changed in a single click, while the store gets it in the standard location that shipping and zones are calculated from. The shopper no longer has to reach the cart to find out whether their city is served.

Storefront header: the shopper city and the "Your city is Moscow?" bar answered in one click.

How it looks to the shopper

• •  Step 1. The shopper opens the storefront - the add-on detects the city and shows it in the header.
• •  Step 2. A bar appears under the city: "Yes, that is right" or "Choose another". Once answered, it does not come back.
• •  Step 3. The selection window holds popular cities as tiles, the list of cities of presence and a search over the directory: a city outside the list can be picked as well.
• •  Step 4. The choice is remembered: on the next visit the shopper sees their city straight away, and the store sees their location.

The selection window: popular cities as tiles, the list of cities of presence with regions below.

Search in the window runs over the Cities directory: cities outside the list are found too.

How the city is detected

• •  DaData. For Russian addresses. The add-on asks the browser for the location and finds the city by coordinates; if the visitor refuses or does not answer within 10 seconds, it uses the IP address of the browser. A DaData API key is needed: your own or the one from the Cart-Power "DaData" add-on.
• •  Yandex or Google. Detection goes through the stock "Maps and geolocation" add-on and its map service key - the same way the stock location block works.
• •  Do not detect. The visitor always picks the city: the add-on shows the default city and the selection window.
• •  The detection status is visible right in the settings: the add-on checks the key and says whether the chosen source works on this storefront.

Settings: the detection source, the DaData key and the browser location question.

Cities of presence in the administration panel

• •  A section of its own. "Settings - Cities of presence": the list of the storefront cities with the region, the "Popular" mark, the position and the status.
• •  Cities come from the directory. The add-on keeps no catalogue of its own: names, regions and postal codes live in the stock Cities directory.
• •  Search instead of a list of 22 thousand rows. Cities are added by searching the directory, several at a time; larger cities come first.
• •  Popular cities are shown as tiles in the selection window - usually the four to eight cities most orders come from.
• •  Access rights. The section has its own "Can view" and "Can manage" privileges that can be granted to a separate group of administrators.

The "Cities of presence" section: the storefront list with regions, popular marks and positions.

Adding cities: a search over the Cities directory, several can be picked at once.

What can be set up

• •  A city outside the list. "Allow" - the list works as a quick choice: the detected city is shown as it is and the search covers the whole directory. "Restrict" - only the cities of the list: a visitor from elsewhere is offered the default city.
• •  The default city. It is set when nothing is known about the visitor and offered with the "Your city is ...?" question.
• •  The confirmation bar. It can be turned off: then the city is simply shown in the header.
• •  How long the choice is kept. The number of days the shopper choice is remembered, 30 by default.
• •  Search in the window. It can be turned on and off, and the number of suggestions is a setting.
• •  The region under the name. It is shown on the second line so that cities with the same name are not mixed up.

On a phone the city stands in the top panel, and the confirmation bar sits at the bottom of the screen without breaking the header.

Storefronts, editions and updates

• •  Every storefront keeps its own list. The cities, the detection source and all the settings belong to the storefront - both in Ultimate and in Multi-Vendor. The storefront is chosen with the stock switcher in the panel.
• •  A block in any grid. The city selector is an ordinary block: it is placed into the top panel or into the header of the layout, like other store blocks.
• •  Standard location storage. The city is written by the functions of the "Maps and geolocation" add-on, so shipping, zones and the checkout see it.
• •  Updates go through the CS-Cart upgrade centre and the "Cart-Power: Add-ons manager" add-on.

The add-on card in the panel: the "Cities of presence" section and the description.

What is new in version 1.0

• •  City selection in the storefront header: the current city, a selection window with popular cities, the list of presence and a directory search.
• •  City detection in the visitor browser - "Maps and geolocation" (Yandex or Google) or DaData by location and by IP.
• •  The "Your city is ...?" confirmation bar answered in one click.
• •  The "Cities of presence" section with a directory search, popular cities, order and statuses.
• •  A separate list of cities and separate settings for every storefront - in Ultimate and in Multi-Vendor.
• •  A setting for a city outside the list: a quick choice or the cities of the list only.
• •  The choice is remembered for a given period and written into the standard customer location.

Frequently asked questions