Is asking for extra details in checkout secretly driving your customers away? While gathering customer data seems harmless, every extra field on your shipping page adds friction that can tank your conversion rates.
Trimming optional or redundant inputs creates a seamless checkout flow that speeds up purchases and boosts sales. Here is how stripping down your shipping form can transform your bottom line without sacrificing the data you actually need.
Why Required Fields Kill Conversions
Removing unnecessary required fields from your PrestaShop shipping page reduces friction and can significantly lower cart abandonment. Instead of deleting core fields like address, use a dedicated module like PrestaShop Custom Checkout Fields to make fields optional or remove them entirely, ensuring GDPR compliance and smooth validation. The psychology is simple: every mandatory input is a moment where a customer must stop, think, and type. When a shopper lands on your shipping page and sees phone, company, and fax fields all marked with a red asterisk, they instinctively calculate the effort remaining.
Many PrestaShop store owners assume every field in the default installation must stay, so they leave phone, company, and additional address as required out of caution. The result is a shipping step that feels like an interrogation, especially for guest checkout users who expect a two-minute experience. The fix is not to strip your checkout down to nothing. Delivery accuracy still matters, and carriers need a valid address. Instead, audit which fields genuinely serve your fulfilment process and downgrade the rest to optional. Keep address and postcode required, make phone optional with clear messaging that it speeds up delivery, and hide company entirely unless you sell B2B.
| Field | Keep required? | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Address and postcode | Yes | Carriers cannot route parcels without them |
| Phone | No | Only useful for delivery exceptions; ask for it optionally |
| Company | No | Irrelevant for most consumer orders; hide for B2C |
| Additional address | No | Helpful for apartment numbers, not for every order |
A dedicated checkout module earns its keep here because it removes the guesswork. With the checkout fields module, you can reposition fields, make them conditional, and control exactly what appears at each step, all without touching core files. That matters for two reasons: your theme stays update-safe, and your validation logic remains intact so orders never fail silently at the final click. Every mandatory field you remove is a cart you recover before the customer reaches payment.
Which Fields Should You Delete?
Start by auditing every field you currently mark as required, then challenge each one against a simple test: does this information change how we fulfil, deliver, or invoice the customer?
Here are the usual suspects that fail that test for most PrestaShop stores:
- Company or VAT number. Essential for B2B wholesalers, pointless for consumer fashion or food stores. If you sell mostly to individuals, make it optional. If you need it for invoicing, capture it on the order confirmation screen, not during checkout.
- Phone number. Couriers genuinely need it for tricky deliveries, but many customers resent handing it over. Security concerns rank among the top reasons people abandon forms partway through. Make it optional and add a note that it is only for delivery updates.
- Fax number. A legacy field that has no place in modern checkout. Remove it entirely rather than merely making it optional.
- Address line 2 or extra address fields. Keep the second address line, since flats and office suites genuinely need it, but treat it as optional and never require a third line.
- Alternative delivery instructions. Useful for some customers, irritating for everyone else. Offer it as an optional text box and leave it that way.
Group your fields by necessity. Delivery address, postcode, and customer name stay mandatory because logistics depends on them. Everything else earns required status only if removing it would break your fulfilment workflow or create a legal obligation you cannot skip. When a field needs to be present but not forced, an optional checkbox or dropdown collects the data without adding friction.
A dedicated PrestaShop checkout module such as PrestaShop Custom Checkout Fields | Custom Fields at Checkout lets you add optional fields without touching core files, position them flexibly within the checkout process, and display them only when relevant.
How to Delete Required Fields in Default PrestaShop?
PrestaShop has a built-in way to manage which address fields are mandatory, though it is crude by modern standards. You can reach it through Preferences > Customers > Addresses in your back office. Here you will find a list of standard address fields such as phone, company, and VAT number, each with two independent options: "Required" and "Enabled."
The native control does not let you add new fields, apply conditional logic, or treat a field as optional only for certain customer groups or specific products. The PrestaShop Custom Checkout Fields module exists precisely to fill that gap, but first, here is the safe, native workflow.
Step 4: Uncheck the Fields That Should Become Optional
Navigate to Preferences > Customers > Addresses. For each field you want to make optional, uncheck the "Required" box. Leave the "Enabled" box ticked so the field still appears for customers who want to fill it in.
The classic candidates are:
- Phone and Mobile phone: many carriers and digital products never need a landline.
- Company: irrelevant for B2C purchases unless you issue VAT invoices.
- VAT number: only essential for B2B sales within the EU.
- Additional address: rarely critical for delivery.
Be careful with the address lines, postcode, and city. Courier partners and tax software usually need these, so removing their required status can create fulfilment errors that cost you more than a few abandoned carts.
Step 5: Update the Address Format
If a field is no longer required, remove it from the visual address format shown on invoices and package labels. Head to International > Locations > Addresses and adjust the format string for each applicable country. This step stops optional fields from cluttering printed documents.
Why the Native Route Has Limits
Making a field optional is not the same as hiding it entirely. On a default PrestaShop install, an optional field still occupies space and prompts customers to complete it, which subtly undermines the friction reduction you are aiming for.
For finer control, install a dedicated checkout module that can hide fields conditionally. For example, set a dropdown so it only appears when a customer chooses a specific delivery method, or force the company field to appear only when cart contents include B2B-priced items. That level of logic is simply not possible in the native Preferences screen.
Always test a full checkout on a staging site first. Make a test order with a new customer account to confirm that the unchecked fields no longer block the "Order" button before you push the change to production.
Using a Checkout Module for Full Control
Deleting fields through the default PrestaShop back office works, but you can only touch the fields PrestaShop ships with, and you are stuck with the layout of the native one-page checkout. If you need to add new fields, make them conditional, or reorganise the whole form, you need a dedicated module.
PrestaShop Custom Checkout Fields lets you add custom fields to the checkout and order pages without touching a line of template code. It supports 10 different field types, including text fields, dropdowns, and checkboxes. A B2B wholesaler might want a "Company registration number" dropdown, while a food delivery store might prefer a checkbox for gift wrapping. Both are possible with the same tool.
Two features make this module genuinely useful for reducing friction:
- Conditional fields. Show a field only when it is relevant, such as asking for a delivery date only when the customer selects home delivery.
- Cart-based logic. Display specific fields based on what is in the basket, so a customer ordering a personalised product sees the engraving box and everyone else does not.
Here is a realistic scenario. An electronics retailer sells standard laptops and custom-built PCs. The custom PC builder needs the customer to choose components at checkout, but asking those questions on every order adds needless friction for laptop buyers. By making the component selection conditional on the cart containing a custom PC, the retailer keeps the standard checkout lean while still capturing the data they need.
Checklist: 8 Steps to Delete Required Fields
Working through this checklist methodically will help you remove unnecessary required fields from PrestaShop checkout without breaking order data or losing customer information. The whole process takes about 30 minutes, and you can complete every step without touching a line of code.
- Audit your current checkout fields. Place a test order and screenshot every field PrestaShop asks the customer to complete. Note which ones your fulfilment process genuinely needs for delivery, invoicing and customer communication.
- Separate legal from optional fields. Keep fields that tax or payment regulations demand. Everything else, like company name or a second address line, is a candidate for removal or an optional status.
- Back up your database and files. Export a full backup from your hosting panel and download your PrestaShop files. This gives you a clean restore point if field deletion affects the checkout flow or the back office.
- Remove or unrequire the fields in the back office. Open the customer and address settings, then clear the "required" toggle for phone, company and any other fields your audit flagged. Do not delete the field entirely at this stage; just switch off the requirement.
- Use a PrestaShop checkout fields module if fields still force validation. Some default PrestaShop fields are hard-coded as required. A dedicated module lets you turn those into optional fields, or hide them entirely, without editing template files.
- Test the full checkout flow as a guest and as a customer. Place orders with and without the previously required data, such as a phone number, and confirm the order status and confirmation emails still generate correctly.
- Verify the back office captures what you still need. Check the order detail pages in your admin to confirm remaining fields, like delivery address notes, arrive in the correct places. Export a sample order to review the data structure.
- Monitor cart abandonment and follow-up data. Compare checkout completion rates before and after the change. Reviewing order data over the following two weeks tells you whether removing the required fields actually reduced friction or just changed where customers dropped off.
When a field is hard-coded as required in your PrestaShop theme, a module built for this purpose is the safer route than editing core files. A module such as PrestaShop Custom Checkout Fields also lets you add extra optional fields, giving you flexibility beyond the default setup.
Treat step 6 as non-negotiable. A checkout change that blocks order creation is more damaging than the friction you are trying to remove.
Common Pitfalls When Deleting Fields (and How to Avoid Them)
Removing a required field is rarely as simple as unticking a box. Behind the scenes, PrestaShop ties some fields to validation rules, shipping carrier requirements, and GDPR compliance. Skip the checks below and you could block orders, break address validation, or fall foul of data protection rules.
The biggest mistake is treating every required field as purely cosmetic when some carry hidden dependencies. The phone field is the classic example. If you remove it globally, carriers that need a phone number for delivery confirmation may fail at the fulfilment stage, even though the order itself goes through.
- Validation rules. PrestaShop's built-in address validation expects certain fields, like postcode and country, to be present. Keep those untouched unless you are certain your fulfilment flow and tax calculations do not depend on them.
- Carrier and payment modules. Some shipping carriers require a phone number or company name to generate labels. Test a real order end-to-end after any change, not just a test checkout with dummy data.
- GDPR and data minimisation. Removing a field is good for privacy, but only if you also remove the collected data from your database. Held customer information must still meet retention and consent requirements.
- Conditional logic gaps. If you use a dedicated module to make a field optional only in some scenarios, confirm the logic works for every product and customer group, not just the happy path.
Audit your carrier settings before you delete anything. If a field is genuinely unnecessary, remove it, then run a test order through each shipping method you offer. This is where a PrestaShop Custom Checkout Fields module earns its keep: instead of hard-deleting fields from core files, you can hide, reorder, or make them conditional without touching PrestaShop's built-in validation.
How to Measure the Impact on Cart Abandonment?
Set up a baseline before you delete a single field. Track your conversion rate and cart abandonment rate for at least two weeks, make your changes, then measure the same metrics for another two weeks.
Google Analytics 4 is the simplest free option. Set up two key events: one for when a customer begins checkout and one for when they complete a purchase. The gap between these two numbers is your abandonment rate. Create a custom report that segments mobile users separately, since form friction hits them hardest.
To measure properly:
- Record your checkout start and completion rates before any changes.
- Delete or make optional the chosen fields using the steps covered earlier.
- Watch the same metrics for 2-4 weeks after the change.
- Compare session duration at the checkout step, as shorter sessions often signal reduced friction.
If you added optional fields with a dedicated module such as PrestaShop Custom Checkout Fields, check how many customers actually fill them in. A low completion rate on an optional field tells you it adds no real value, while a high rate suggests it earns its place on the form.
Cart abandonment has many causes. Shipping costs, slow load times, and payment hiccups all play a part. Deleting fields is only one lever, so isolate its effect before assuming it fixed everything.
Before You Start: What This Checklist Achieves
Required fields are the silent killers of PrestaShop conversions. Every extra mandatory input, from a phone number to a company name, adds friction between a customer and the "Place Order" button.
This 8-step checklist walks you through removing unnecessary required fields from your PrestaShop shipping and checkout process. Work through the steps in order, and test after each change.
The 8-Step Required Field Removal Checklist
Step 1: Audit Every Field in Your Checkout Flow
Open your PrestaShop back office and map every field a customer encounters. Work through the address form, shipping step, and payment step. List each field in a spreadsheet with three columns: field name, current status (required or optional), and why it exists.
Common fields to scrutinise include phone, mobile phone, company, VAT number, and address line 2. Ask yourself whether you actually use the data for fulfilment, communication, or legal compliance. If the answer is no, that field is a candidate for removal.
Step 2: Check Your Carrier Requirements First
Before deleting anything, contact your shipping carriers or check their integration documentation. Some carriers require a phone number for delivery notifications or customs documentation. Others need it only for specific shipping methods, like delivery to a neighbour or cash on delivery.
If your primary carrier demands a phone number, do not remove the field entirely. Instead, make it optional and add a note encouraging customers to provide it.
Your carrier contract, not your preference, decides which fields are truly non-negotiable.
Step 3: Remove Phone as a Required Field
The phone field is the most common unnecessary requirement in PrestaShop shipping forms. Many store owners mark it required out of habit, not out of need. In your back office, navigate to the customer address settings and locate the phone field configuration.
Change the phone field from required to optional. If your theme makes this awkward or the option is buried in translation files, a checkout module gives you direct control over field visibility without touching template code.
Test the checkout with an empty phone field before going live. Confirm the order processes, the confirmation email sends, and no error appears at the shipping step.
Step 4: Make the Company Field Optional or Hidden
The company field serves B2B shoppers but frustrates B2C customers. A private buyer ordering a birthday gift has no company name. Requiring one either blocks the purchase or forces a lie like "N/A" into the field.
Set the company field to optional for all customers. If your store is purely consumer-focused, consider hiding it entirely and adding it later through a module if you expand into B2B sales. Keep the address line 2 field optional as well, since many modern addresses do not use a second line.
Step 5: Review the VAT Number Field for EU Compliance
For UK and EU stores, the VAT number field sits in a grey area. You only need it for B2B transactions where you apply reverse charge or need a valid VAT ID for your records. Consumer orders never require it.
Keep the VAT number optional and validate the format when a customer does enter it. A PrestaShop module with conditional display logic lets you show the VAT field only when a customer ticks a "company purchase" checkbox. For UK GDPR compliance specifically, collect only the data you genuinely need for the transaction. A VAT number for a consumer purchase fails that test.
Step 6: Test Mobile Field Behaviour on Different Devices
Mobile shoppers abandon checkout at higher rates than desktop users. The smaller the screen, the more painful an unnecessary required field becomes. An optional phone field on desktop still forces a mobile user to dismiss the field or leave it empty.
Test every checkout change on a real smartphone, not just a resized browser window. Check that optional fields collapse cleanly, that the keyboard appears for the right input types, and that validation errors never reference hidden fields.
Step 7: Verify Your PrestaShop Version and Theme Compatibility
Older PrestaShop versions (1.6 and earlier) store address field requirements differently from 1.7 and 8.x. Your theme also affects how required markers display. A field marked optional in the back office might still show an asterisk if your theme hard-codes the requirement.
Inspect your theme's address and checkout template files for hard-coded "required" attributes. If you find them, decide between editing the template (and remembering the change on every theme update) or using a module that overrides the display cleanly.
Step 8: Add Optional Fields Back With a Checkout Module
Removing required fields solves friction, but many stores need additional optional data. Delivery instructions, gift messages, or preferred delivery dates all improve customer experience without being mandatory. Adding these as optional fields through core PrestaShop means editing templates and risking breakage on update.
A dedicated module gives you a safer route. The PrestaShop Custom Checkout Fields | Custom Fields at Checkout module, priced at $49.00, lets you add up to 10 field types to your checkout and order pages. Text fields, dropdowns, checkboxes, and more can be positioned flexibly within the checkout process.
The module supports conditional fields, so you can display specific questions only when the cart contains relevant items. A "gift wrap" checkbox appears only for eligible products, for example.
A good checkout module removes required fields and adds optional ones without a single core file edit.
Conclusion
Deleting required fields from your PrestaShop checkout is one of the highest-impact, lowest-effort conversion improvements available. The native back office handles the basics, but its blunt approach leaves you stuck with layout constraints and hard-coded validation that defeats the purpose of a streamlined form.
For store owners who want precise control, the PrestaShop Custom Checkout Fields module is the most practical way forward. It lets you keep the fields your fulfilment genuinely needs, hide or make optional the ones that add friction, and add conditional extras that appear only when relevant. You get a shorter checkout for most customers, cleaner data collection, and zero core file edits to maintain.
If you want a leaner checkout that recovers abandoned carts without losing the data your business depends on, start with the PrestaShop Custom Checkout Fields module today.