User types allow you to tailor the experience for the different participants in your marketplace. For example, in a typical marketplace, you may generally encounter two types of users: "Customer" and "Provider."
Providers, particularly businesses, are often required to submit their business name and other relevant company details. In contrast, individual customers might be asked to provide more personal information describing their profiles, preferences and specific interests.
The user types feature facilitates these distinctions by enabling you to create multiple types of users, each with a unique set of default and customizable user fields. This functionality improves your ability to organize your users.
How user types work
The user type is chosen on the marketplace's signup page during the registration process. Users need to select one user type and then fill out the required default signup fields along with any additional custom user fields that may apply.
How to add user types
In Console, go to Build> Users > User types, and click "+ Add a new user type". You can create up to 20 different user types. When creating the user type, you need to set the user type name and the user type ID:
User type name: The name of the user type is visible to users on your marketplace's sign-up page.
User type ID: The unique identifier of the user type, which is not shown to users.
Tip: The User type ID can be added to your signup page URL (example.com/signup). This functionality is useful for redirecting purposes in CTA links, streamlining the signup process by directing potential users to a signup page where the relevant user type, such as "Customer," is automatically selected.
Suppose your User type ID is customer, and your marketplace domain is mymarketplace.com; the tailored redirect link would be https://example.com/signup/customer.
Default user fields
Every time you create a user type, it automatically includes the following default user fields:
Email address
Password
First name
Last name
Display name
Bio
Profile picture
Phone number
Payout details
Payment methods
These default user fields are integral to the marketplace and cannot be removed, with the exception of the Display name and Phone number. You can add these two fields to the signup form by enabling them in their respective settings and making them mandatory to fill out. This can be done by checking the "Add to the signup form" and "Make mandatory" boxes, requiring users to provide this information during the signup process.
If you choose to disable the Display name and Phone number fields, users will not be able to add or update these details in their profile and account settings after they have joined the marketplace.
Learn how Display name works for more information about this user field.
How to add custom user fields
Custom user fields can be added, edited and removed from your Console > Users > User fields. You can also assign specific customer user fields to specific user types.
How to assign a user type to pre-existing users
If your marketplace already has users who joined before you implemented User types, you can manually assign a User Type to those existing users.
First of all, ensure you have created User types in Console, and take note of the User type ID you have set. Navigate to the Manage > Users tab in your Console:
Select a user and scroll to the Public Data section
Click on the "edit" button indicated by the pencil icon.
Click on + Add new field.
Enter
userTypein the "Key" field, and selectStringin the "Type" field.In the "Value" field, enter the appropriate User type ID you previously created.
That's it! Once these steps are completed, the selected user will be assigned a User type. They will then be able to fill in any custom User Fields that you have assigned to that specific User Type.
Difference between user types and user fields
User types are used to categorize users, typically by the role they play like "Customer" or "Provider". Meanwhile, user fields are data points specific to each user type, collected during registration or profile updates to gather detailed information. Thus, while user types establish the general categorization for users, user fields collect precise data that enriches user profiles.