The Free-plan Inquiry Storefront
On the Free plan, your embeddable storefront works differently from the full commerce version. Instead of a cart and checkout, it's a focused Request-a-Quote form: shoppers pick a product, configure the real options, and send you an inquiry. This page explains exactly what customers see on Free, the monthly request cap, the "Powered by TimberCloud" footer, and how to unlock the full storefront.
Availability: This page describes the Free plan storefront. To turn on cart, accounts, online payments, and everything in Storefront Features, upgrade to Commerce or higher.
What the Free storefront is
The Free storefront is a lead-capture tool. It shows your real catalog and your branding, and it lets a prospective customer configure a product with your actual options — but instead of paying, they submit a quote request (an Inquiry) that lands in your dashboard. It's designed to turn website visitors into leads, not to process orders.
Everything a customer configures here uses your genuine catalog — the same products, attributes, option photos, and measurement fields you'd use on a paid plan. The difference is what happens at the end: an inquiry, not a checkout.
What's included vs. what's not
| Capability | Free (Inquiry) | Commerce and up (Full storefront) |
|---|---|---|
| Browse your catalog | ✅ | ✅ |
| Configure real product options | ✅ | ✅ |
| Submit a quote request / inquiry | ✅ | ✅ |
| Shopping cart | ❌ | ✅ |
| Customer accounts & sign-in | ❌ | ✅ |
| Online checkout & card payments | ❌ | ✅ |
| Live carrier shipping rates | ❌ | ✅ |
| Order tracking & pay-online | ❌ | ✅ |
| Visual Configurator (2D/3D) | ❌ | ✅ |
| Prices shown to shoppers | ❌ | ✅ (when enabled) |
On Free there is no cart, no account creation, and no checkout — and because pricing is a paid feature, prices are hidden. Customers browse, configure, and request; you follow up.
How a customer uses it
- They land on your embedded storefront and browse your published products.
- They open a product and configure its options — finish, dimensions, and any choices you've set up.
- They fill in their contact details and submit the Request a Quote form.
- The inquiry arrives in your TimberCloud dashboard, where you review it, price it, and follow up.
Because there's no account step, the experience is fast and friction-free — ideal for capturing interest from a website visitor who isn't ready to buy on the spot.
The monthly request cap
The Free plan includes roughly 50 inquiries per month. When your shop reaches that cap, the storefront stops accepting new submissions for the rest of the month — but it doesn't leave the lead stranded. Instead of a dead form, it shows a friendly message that the shop is "at capacity right now" and, when you've set a company email, surfaces a direct Email us link so the customer can still reach you:
"[Your shop] has reached its request limit for this month. You can still reach them directly: Email …"
This way a motivated customer always has a path to contact you, even after the cap is hit. To lift the cap and accept unlimited inquiries and orders, upgrade to a paid plan.
The "Powered by TimberCloud" footer
The Free storefront carries a small, non-removable promotional footer — a "Powered by TimberCloud / Start free" line, with a call-to-action to start a free account. This is part of the Free plan and can't be turned off on Free. Upgrading to any paid plan removes it and gives you the fully white-label storefront with no TimberCloud branding.
Installing the Free storefront
Installation is identical to the paid storefront — the same one-line script or iframe embed. The storefront automatically detects that your shop is on Free and renders the inquiry experience. See Setup to install it, and Customization for brand colors and theme.
Upgrading to the full storefront
When you're ready to sell online, upgrade to Commerce or higher and connect Stripe. The same embed on your website instantly becomes the full commerce storefront — cart, accounts, checkout, live carrier rates, order tracking, and the Visual Configurator — with the TimberCloud footer removed. No code change is needed; the storefront switches automatically based on your plan. Before you flip the switch for real customers, run a test order in Test Mode.
Next Steps
- Subscriptions & Plans — compare Free with the paid tiers
- The Free Plan — what else Free includes across TimberCloud
- Orders & Inquiries — handle the quote requests that come in (the Orders area is labeled "Inquiries" on Free)
- Going Live — test mode and store availability once you're on a paid plan
- Storefront Features — everything the full commerce storefront adds