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Collect & Verify Customer Phone Numbers
What is it & why you need it
EzyCourse lets you collect different customer info like their email, billing address, etc. during sign up either from the signup page or checkout page. Moreover, you can add custom checkout fields to collect any other data you like.
And now, you’ll have the option to also collect phone numbers with OTP verification. This will help to verify real users and reduce fake signups on your platform. Besides, you can reach users quickly via SMS or WhatsApp for reminders, offers, discounts, etc. Not to mention messages via phone often have a higher open rate too.
How it works
As an admin, you’ll have the option to enable the phone number setting from your dashboard. With the toggle enabled, any logged-out users will see a phone number field on the signup form and checkout page.
In case of passwordless checkout, you’ll be able to collect during checkout or after signup in the information collection modal. It depends on the settings of the passwordless checkout feature.
For validation and authentication, you can enable two more optional settings.
• Is Required – Users must provide their phone number.
• Phone Number Verification – Users must verify their phone number with an OTP.
They cannot access the student dashboard without first verifying their phone number.
[Note: You have to set up a Twilio account for using the ‘Phone number verification’ setting.]
How to get started using it
To enable the setting so that the phone number field appears on the signup and checkout page, navigate to Site Settings -> General Settings -> and then click the Auth settings tab.
Here, you can enable the phone number toggle option. This will show the phone number field on both the signup and the checkout page. But, the field will remain optional for users.
Users can select the country code and give their phone number. Note that the field will have certain validations so that users give the correct number. The following screenshots are of the signup page and checkout page respectively.
You can choose to make the field required i.e. users must fill up the phone number field in order to sign up or complete the checkout process.
The phone verification option lets you verify the phone number of the users via OTP. Ticking this checkbox will show three more fields related to your Twilio account. You will learn how to set up a Twilio account and integrate it with your EzyCourse platform in this article.
Once you’ve set up Twilio, you can give the test number and check if everything works okay via receiving an OTP on your test number.
Make sure to click the Save button when you make changes.
By the way, the phone number field will also be available when you are manually enrolling a student from Users → Students.
As for passwordless checkout, you’d have to choose how to show the phone number field from Settings -> Checkout. Scroll down to find the passwordless checkout section.
If you have the passwordless checkout feature enabled, then you’ll be able to choose whether to show the phone number field on the checkout page or after signup on the information collection modal. Yes shows on the checkout page.
Choose No for showing on the modal. This ensures the checkout page has less friction for your users.
Now that you know how to collect phone numbers, let’s see how you can set up a Twilio account for verifying numbers.
How to Integrate Twilio
First, head over to Twilio website and log in to your account or sign up if you don’t have one. Now, you will need a virtual phone number which Twilio will provide.
Click the Get a phone number button to get started. You should see the button on the front as soon as you sign up.
Here, you’ll be given a virtual phone number. Copy and keep it saved somewhere.
Go back to the home page and scroll down to find all the Account Info.
You’ll need the Account SID, Auth Token, and the Twilio phone number to set up on your EzyCourse platform. Copy and paste them on the respective fields on the Site Settings -> General Settings -> Auth settings.
Remember that you’ll only need Twilio if you want to verify the user phone number via OTP. The OTP remains valid for 5 minutes.