Overview
Product Questions & Answers adds a Questions tab to every product page. Shoppers ask before they buy, you and the customers who bought the product answer, and every answer stays on the page for the next shopper.
- A Questions tab next to Reviews. Search, sort by most helpful or newest, helpful votes, the answer count in the tab title.
- Answers people trust. Store answers carry a "Store" badge, answers from customers with an order of the product a "Verified buyer" badge.
- An inbox, not a chore. Waiting questions and buyer answers in one list with the product, the asker and the date; answer inline, publish, reject or mark as spam, in bulk too. The waiting count shows in the admin menu.
- Spam stays out. A hidden field and a minimum time on the form stop bots, a limit per hour stops floods, duplicates are refused, questions with links or blocked words go to Spam.
- E-mails through your store. A new question e-mails the store; a published answer e-mails the asker with a link back to the product.
- Search engines see it. Answered questions are added as FAQPage structured data.
No OCMOD, no core file edits. One licence covers OpenCart 4 and 3. Tested on OpenCart 4.1.0.4 and 3.0.5.1 with the default themes; other 4.0.2.x to 4.1.x and 3.0.3.8 to 3.0.5.x versions are expected to work but are not tested. Themes that replace the product tabs may need the tab placed by hand.
Installation
Requirements
- OpenCart 4.0.2.0 to 4.1.x, or 3.0.3.8 to 3.0.5.x
- PHP 7.4 or newer
- Working store e-mail (System > Settings > Mail) for the notices
Install on OpenCart 4
- Go to Extensions > Installer and upload
kv_product_qa.ocmod.zip. - Press the install button next to Product Questions & Answers.
- Go to Extensions > Extensions, choose Modules and install Product Questions & Answers.
Install on OpenCart 3
- Go to Extensions > Installer and upload
kv_product_qa-oc3.ocmod.zip. - Go to Extensions > Modifications and press Refresh.
- Go to Extensions > Extensions, choose Modules and install Product Questions & Answers.
First steps
- Open a product page: a Questions (0) tab sits next to Reviews.
- Ask a test question from the store. It arrives in Catalog > Product Q&A and by e-mail.
- Type an answer under the question and press Publish answer. The question and answer are now on the product page.
- Check Settings: who can ask, moderation, buyer answers, e-mails and the spam guard.
Updating
Upload the new package the same way. Questions, answers and settings stay; tables and settings are brought up to date the next time you open the extension.
Removing
Uninstalling removes all questions, answers, votes and the settings. Copy what you want to keep before you uninstall.
Configuration
All settings are under Catalog > Product Q&A > Settings.
Product page
| Setting | Default | Meaning |
|---|
| Status | on | Off: no tab on product pages; questions and answers are kept |
| Tab title | Questions | Shown with the number of public questions |
| Questions per page | 5 | More pages get a pager |
| Store answers signed as | store name | Name next to the "Store" badge |
| Structured data | on | FAQPage data for answered questions (up to 20 per product) |
Who can ask and answer
| Setting | Default | Meaning |
|---|
| Who can ask | Everyone | Guests give a name and an e-mail address (never shown). "Signed-in customers only" shows a sign-in note to guests |
| New questions | Wait for moderation | Or publish at once from signed-in customers, or publish every question at once. Publishing an answer always publishes the question |
| Buyer answers | on | Customers with an order of the product in a processing or complete status (System > Settings > Option) can answer |
| Check buyer answers | on | Buyer answers wait in the inbox until you publish them |
E-mails
| Setting | Default | Meaning |
|---|
| To the store | on | New questions (not spam) are e-mailed to the store e-mail or the address you enter |
| To the asker | on | A published answer is e-mailed to the asker when they ticked "E-mail me when it is answered" |
The e-mails use the mail settings of the store.
Spam guard
| Setting | Default | Meaning |
|---|
| Minimum time on the form | 3 seconds | Faster posts are dropped silently. A hidden field catches bots too |
| Questions per hour and visitor | 5 | Further posts are refused with a message |
| Links allowed | 0 | More links send the question to Spam |
| Blocked words | empty | One per line or comma separated; a match sends the question to Spam |
The same question on the same product within 30 days is refused as a duplicate.
Usage
Inbox
Catalog > Product Q&A opens the inbox. The figures on top: items waiting, questions without an answer, questions answered in the last 30 days, the median time to an answer and the spam stopped.
Views: To do (waiting questions, public questions without an answer, waiting buyer answers), Published, All, Spam (with the reason) and Rejected. Search by question, e-mail or product name.
For each question you see the product, the text, the asker with e-mail, the date and the helpful votes:
- Type under it and press Publish answer: the answer goes live with the "Store" badge and the asker gets an e-mail.
- Publish shows the question without an answer ("Not answered yet"), so buyers can answer.
- Reject, Spam and the bin hide or delete it. Deleting removes its answers and votes too.
- Buyer answers have their own Publish, Reject and delete buttons.
- Tick several questions, choose an action and press Apply to selected.
The admin menu shows the waiting count next to Product Q&A.
What shoppers see
- The Questions (n) tab with search, sorting, helpful votes (one per visitor and item) and a pager.
- Ask a question opens the form: the question, name and e-mail for guests, and "E-mail me when it is answered".
- Customers who bought the product see You bought this: answer under each question.
Licence
Without a valid licence (after the 14-day trial) the tab is hidden and new questions are not accepted; the inbox and your data keep working.
FAQ
Where does the tab appear?
Next to Description and Reviews on the product page of the default OpenCart 4 and 3 themes, and of themes that keep the standard product tabs.
Can guests ask?
Yes, with a name and an e-mail address. The address is only used for the answer e-mail and is never shown. You can limit asking to signed-in customers.
Who is a verified buyer?
A signed-in customer with an order of the product in a processing or complete status.
Do questions go live at once?
By default they wait for you. Publishing an answer publishes the question. You can also publish questions of signed-in customers, or all questions, at once.
How is spam stopped?
A hidden field and a minimum time on the form stop bots silently, a limit per hour stops floods, duplicates are refused, and questions with links or blocked words go to the Spam view.
Does it help SEO?
Answered questions are added to the product page as FAQPage structured data, and the answers are part of the page text.
What happens when a product is deleted?
Its questions, answers and votes are deleted with it.
Does it use OCMOD?
No. Events only, no core file edits.
What does the licence check do?
Without a valid licence (after the 14-day trial) the tab is hidden and new questions are not accepted; the admin keeps working.
