Usage

Overview · Installation · Configuration · Developer notes · FAQ

On the storefront

The Questions & answers tab lists the published questions of the product with their answers:

• the number of questions and how many are answered, a search field and the order (most relevant, most helpful, newest), when there is more than one question;
• each question with the asker’s name and date and an Answered badge; the first answer is shown, Show N more answers opens the rest;
• each answer with its author: Store (your store name), Seller (the vendor) or the customer’s name, with Verified buyer when they bought the product, and a Helpful button with the count;
• Ask a question opens a short form; signed-in customers only type the question, guests add their name and e-mail. The asker can choose to get an e-mail when the question is answered;
• Answer this question appears for customers who may answer (by setting: verified buyers or all signed-in customers).

Under the product title a link N answered questions jumps to the tab.

A shopper can mark each answer as helpful once. Guests are recognized by a random browser id together with their IP address; nothing personal is stored.

Moderation

Products → Product questions is the moderation queue.

• Waiting: new questions to publish (with flags like Links when the spam guard held them);
• Answers to check: questions with customer (or vendor) answers waiting for approval;
• Unanswered: published questions without a published answer;
• Published, Spam, Declined, All.

Select questions and use Publish selected or the gear menu (decline, mark as spam, delete). The search in the sidebar finds text in questions and answers; on Multi-Vendor you can filter by vendor.

Answering

Click a question to open its page.

• Edit the question text or the name shown, change the status, and switch the customer’s e-mails on or off.
• Every answer has its own status (waiting, published, declined) and can be edited or deleted.
• Answer as the store publishes your answer at once. Answering a waiting question publishes the question too.
• When an answer is published and the customer asked for it, they get an e-mail with the answer and a link to the product.

E-mails

Settings → Notifications (4.18+) or Design → E-mail templates (4.17) lists the three templates, which you can edit like the core ones:

Template	To	When
Product Q&A: new question (store, seller)	Store e-mail (setting) and the vendor of the product	A new question arrives (not for spam)
Product Q&A: answer waiting for approval	Store e-mail and the vendor (customer answers)	A customer or vendor answer waits for approval
Product Q&A: your question has an answer (customer)	The asker	An answer is published, if the asker asked for e-mails

The customer e-mail contains a Stop these e-mails link that switches the e-mails for that question off without signing in.

Multi-Vendor

Questions belong to the vendor of the product. In the vendor panel, Products → Product questions shows only the vendor’s own products. Vendors answer as Seller with their company name.

• With Vendors moderate questions about their products (default on) vendors publish, decline and delete questions and answers of their products; otherwise they can only answer.
• With Vendor answers need administrator approval their answers wait in the administrator’s Answers to check.
• Vendors do not see the asker’s e-mail address.
• Vendor administrators need the privileges View product questions and Answer and moderate product questions (vendor privileges add-on), which are granted by default.

CS-Cart Ultimate

Questions belong to the storefront where they were asked, and each storefront shows its own questions. Select a storefront in the admin panel to see only its questions; settings can differ per storefront.

Photo & Video Reviews

Kavio Photo & Video Reviews has a light Q&A of its own. When both add-ons are active, the Product questions page shows Move questions and switch its Q&A off: it copies all questions, answers and helpful votes (it can be repeated; nothing is copied twice) and switches off the Q&A tab of Photo & Video Reviews. Its reviews, photos and videos are not affected.

Product reviews and comments

Questions are separate from the core Product reviews and Comments and reviews add-ons and work next to them. If you used product comments as a Q&A before, you can switch comments off per product after the questions are moved by hand.