Lock the store

The store lock in Sami B2B Onboarding covers your storefront with a screen that asks visitors to log in or apply for an account. Only approved buyers can browse. Pages you choose, such as your policies, stay open to everyone.

Note

Before you start, make sure the app embed is on in your theme. See Turn on the app embed. For the Apply for an account button to show, at least one application form must be turned on.

What visitors see

The lock screen fills the window. It can’t be closed, and the page behind it can’t be scrolled or clicked.

Visitor	What the lock screen shows
Guest	Your store name (or your logo), the heading This store is for approved business customers, the message Log in with an approved account to browse and buy, or apply for one., a Log in button and an Apply for an account button
Logged-in customer who isn’t approved	Your store name (or your logo), the heading Your account is waiting for approval, the message We’ll email you as soon as your business account is approved., a View account button and an Apply for an account button
Approved buyer	No lock screen. They browse the store as normal.

Log in opens your store’s log-in page and brings the buyer back to the same page afterwards. Apply for an account opens your default application form’s page. If that form is turned off, it opens the page of another form that is on. View account opens the customer’s account.

Locked pages ask search engines not to index them, because a search engine only sees the lock screen.

A guest sees only the lock screen until they log in with an approved account.

Turn on the lock

1. Open Access

   In the app, click Settings. Access opens first. If another section opens, click Access in the settings menu.

2. Choose the visibility

   Under Storefront visibility, set Who can browse, who can buy:

   • Public catalog, private purchasing: the lock is optional. Go on to the next step.
   • Private wholesale store: the store is always locked. Under Store lock, the Whole store lock switch is on and can’t be turned off, with the note A private wholesale store is always locked. Skip the next step.

3. Turn on the lock

   Under Store lock, turn on Whole store lock. Two more rows appear: Always allow these pages and Appearance & wording.

4. Choose pages that stay open

   Under Always allow these pages, click Add pages. The Pages list opens. It shows your store’s own pages, then Home page, Privacy policy, Terms of service, Refund policy, Shipping policy and Contact information.

   • Tick each page that should stay open.
   • To add a page that isn’t listed, type its path in the search box, starting with /, for example /collections/all. You can also paste the page’s full address. Then click Add “/collections/all”.

   Each page you add shows as a chip in the box. To remove one, click the ✕ on its chip. You can keep up to 100 pages open.

   

   Pages in Always allow these pages stay open to visitors who aren’t approved.

5. Save

   Click Save in the save bar. Settings saved appears, and the lock reaches your storefront.

Pages that are always open

Some pages never lock, so buyers can always log in and apply. You don’t need to add them:

• Log-in pages and the customer account
• The page of every application form that is turned on, and any of your own pages that shows the application form block
• Your store’s password page, if your store has one
• Gift card pages

How the pages you add are matched:

• Each entry opens that one address. Adding /collections/coffee opens the collection page, not the products in it.
• Add a page once. It stays open in every language and market version of your store.
• Checkout isn’t part of the store lock. To stop visitors who aren’t approved from paying, keep Block checkout while pending on. See Block checkout until approved.

Customize the lock screen

The Appearance & wording row reads Follows the theme, or shows color swatches and Custom colours. It adds · Logo on when the logo shows.

1. Open the dialog

   Next to Appearance & wording, click Customize. The Customize store lock dialog opens. Settings are on the left. On the right, a preview shows the lock screen. Switch between Visitors and Waiting for approval above the preview to see each version.

2. Set the appearance

   Setting	What it does	Default
   Colors	Follow theme uses your theme’s background and text colors. Custom colours shows four color boxes: Background, Text, Button and Button text.	Follow theme
   Button corners	Square, Soft, Round or Pill. With Follow theme and the logo off, the storefront keeps Soft corners.	Soft
   Show store logo	Shows your logo in place of the store name. It’s the logo uploaded in the form builder for your default application form. If that form has no logo or is turned off, the app uses the logo of another form that is turned on. If none has a logo, the store name stays.	Off

   To set a custom color, click its box. Drag in the picker, or type a hex code. Use the opacity strip to make a color see-through. In browsers that support it, the eyedropper button (Pick a color from the screen) copies a color from anywhere on your screen.

3. Change the wording

   Under Wording, edit what the lock screen says:

   • Visitors: Heading, Message, Log in button and Apply button
   • Waiting for approval: Heading, Message and Account button

   Leave a box empty to go back to the default wording.

   

   The preview on the right updates as you change colors, corners and wording.

4. Save the dialog

   Click Save in the dialog. It saves straight away, without the save bar, and Saved appears.

The wording in this dialog is your store’s default (English) wording. To translate it, go to Settings › Translate, click Translate next to the language, then open Storefront messages. The Store access card lists each line, from Store lock heading to Awaiting approval account button.

Check the lock

1. Open your store in a private browser window. The lock screen covers the home page and your products.
2. Open a page you added to Always allow these pages. It loads without the lock.
3. Click Apply for an account. Your application form’s page opens.
4. Log in as a customer who isn’t approved, then as an approved buyer. The first sees Your account is waiting for approval. The second browses as normal.

The theme editor never shows the lock. If the lock doesn’t appear on the storefront, check that Test mode is off. See Test your access rules.

Next steps

• Block checkout until approved — stop unapproved buyers at checkout too.
• Use the form page the app creates — the page Apply for an account opens.
• Test your access rules — try the lock on your own account first.
• Translate — show the lock screen in your buyers’ languages.