Discover how to maintain a clean and efficient customer list on your Shopify store with these essential anti-spam strategies.
CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart) is a simple and effective way to stop bots from spamming your forms. Shopify doesn't natively include CAPTCHA on all forms, but you can enable it for customer accounts.
To enable CAPTCHA: Go to Shopify admin > Settings > Checkout. Scroll down to Customer accounts, and under Account settings, check the box next to Show a CAPTCHA challenge on login, account creation, and password recovery pages. Save your changes.
There are several apps in the Shopify App Store designed to prevent spam sign-ups and fake customer entries. Some of these apps add advanced CAPTCHA options, while others use machine learning to detect and block suspicious activity.
Recommended apps include Shop Protector, which offers advanced bot protection and reduces spam by analyzing form submissions, and Human Presence, which helps protect your forms from spam while ensuring a smooth experience for legitimate customers.
By requiring customers to verify their email addresses before their accounts are fully created, you can ensure that only valid email addresses are used in your store. This adds an extra step for spammers and reduces fake accounts.
To enable email verification: Go to Shopify admin > Settings > Checkout. Under Customer contact method, select Customers can only check out using email. Under Account settings, set Accounts are required or Accounts are optional (depending on your preference). Ensure Require email verification is checked.
If spam entries have already made their way into your customer list, it's essential to regularly clean up your database. This will help keep your customer insights accurate and improve your marketing efforts.
To clean up: Go to Shopify admin > Customers. Use filters to identify suspicious entries (e.g., customers with strange names, no orders, or spammy email domains). Manually delete these entries by selecting them and choosing Delete selected customers.
Keep an eye on your store's activity to spot unusual patterns that may indicate spam. Regular monitoring can help you quickly identify and address issues before they become bigger problems.
Consider setting up alerts or using analytics tools to track and review any suspicious behavior, such as sudden spikes in sign-ups or login attempts from unusual locations.