A pet ID tag holds a few short lines of engraving. The front carries the pet’s name and often a phone number. The back, where a tag has one, carries more lines: a second number, a street or “Microchipped”. Each line has to fit the tag before the engraver starts. The engraver works from the order, so every line needs to arrive there exactly as the customer typed it.
In short: the blank tag is the variant; the name, the phone number, each engraved line and the font are custom options, with one field per line and a character limit on each. It draws on our research into how hundreds of e-commerce pet stores configure tag engraving.
Where pet tag engraving belongs
The blank tag’s shape, size and color or metal are variants, because you buy, hold and run out of them. Shopify allows up to three options and 2,048 variants per product.
The engraving is an instruction for the engraver, so it is a custom option. Custom options are not built into Shopify; they come from a product options app such as OptionWise, or from custom theme code. In OptionWise, each choice is saved as a Shopify line item property, a note attached to that item on the order. It appears under the tag on the order page, the packing slip and the notification email (where options appear). The engraver reads “Pet’s name (up to 15 characters): Buster” beneath the tag it belongs to.
Pet tag engraving limits real stores set
| What stores ask for | Field used most | Values and limits | Typically priced? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name on the front | Text, one line | 6–18 characters; larger tags take up to four front lines | Usually free |
| Phone number | Text, on the front or a back line | 12–15 characters | Free |
| Back lines | Text, one field per numbered line | 2–5 lines, 12–25 characters a line; line 1 often required | Usually free |
| Engrave the back? | Checkbox | Back-side engraving | Sometimes, about $5 |
| Font | Dropdown or image swatches | 3–7 fonts: block, serif, script, cursive | Usually free |
| Engraving check | Single checkbox, required | “I verify engraving is correct” | Free |
The limit follows the tag: about 12 characters a line on a small tag, 15 on a mid-size one, and 18 to 25 on a large one. Set each limit for your widest font, usually the script. About one in six pet stores offers a font choice; if you have more than one font, offer it with a default.
How stores actually set up pet tag engraving
Three structures from real stores, with the names changed.
A two-sided tag. The name on the front, the details on the back:
- Font — required
- Name on front — text
- Tag rear text, line 1 — text, required
- Tag rear text, line 2 — text
- Tag rear text, line 3 — text
A tag with optional back engraving, one set across the range:
- Would you like this ID tag engraved? — checkboxes: Yes · No
- Back-side engraving — checkboxes: Back-side engraving
- Back line 1 — text
- Back line 2 — text
- Back line 3 — text
- Review your engraving — checkboxes, required: I verify engraving is correct
A single checkbox would do the job of the Yes · No pair.
An engraved memorial stone. The same engraving pattern on a larger product, so the text is one box:
- Custom engraving — text area, required
- Photo — file upload
- Font choices — dropdown, required, seven named fonts
- Font examples — text
- Special design requests — text
Setting up pet tag engraving in OptionWise
Create an option set (the group of custom options you build once and share across products) and assign it by tag or collection.
- One field per line. In OptionWise, a text field takes a maximum length and a placeholder (the gray example text inside an empty field). Set the maximum to what the line holds, state it in the label (“Back line 1 (up to 15 characters)”), and show the format in the placeholder. Some stores engrave names in capitals only and say so in the label.
- The font as a picture. Show fonts as image swatches, each a photo of the same name cut into your own tag.
- The back as a paid extra. In OptionWise, any buttons, dropdown, radio, checkbox or swatch choice can reveal other fields, on one value or any of several (conditional logic). A single checkbox, “Engrave the back (+$5)”, reveals the back lines and carries an add-on price: a fixed amount, totaled live on the page and carried through the cart, checkout and order, where it appears as its own line. Fields the customer can’t see aren’t required and send nothing to the order.
- A last check. A required single checkbox at the end, “I have checked my engraving is correct”. In OptionWise, add-to-cart and express checkout (Shop Pay, Buy it now) are held until required choices are made.
For two pets, the customer adds the tag to the cart once per pet.
A starter pet tag option set
Install OptionWise, then add this set. Prices are examples in dollars.
| Option | Type | Values | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Font | Image swatches, required, default Block | Block, Serif, Script, Cursive | Photograph each on a real tag |
| Pet’s name (up to 15 characters) | Text, required, max 15 | Front, line 1; placeholder: Buster | |
| Phone number (up to 15 characters) | Text, required, max 15 | Front, line 2; placeholder: 555-012-3456 | |
| Engrave the back | Checkboxes, a single checkbox | Engrave the back (+$5) | Reveals the three lines below |
| Back line 1 (up to 15 characters) | Text, required, max 15 | Shown when checked; placeholder: Second phone number | |
| Back line 2 (up to 15 characters) | Text, optional, max 15 | Shown when checked | |
| Back line 3 (up to 15 characters) | Text, optional, max 15 | Shown when checked; for a street or “Microchipped” | |
| Check your engraving | Checkboxes, a single checkbox, required | I have checked my engraving is correct | Always shown, last |
The limits of 15 suit a mid-size tag; use 12 for a small tag. The free tag needs the font (preset to Block), the name, the phone number and the check. With the back checked, back line 1 is required too. A $14 tag with back engraving comes to $19.
Common pet tag engraving mistakes
- One box for the whole tag. The engraver gets a paragraph and guesses the line breaks. Give each line its own field.
- A phone number in a number field. A phone number has dashes, spaces and sometimes a plus sign. Use a text field with a limit.
- No engraving check. A misspelled name is found after the tag is cut. End with a required checkbox.
Options should load with the page
On a pet tag page, the tag and its engraving are one decision to the customer, so they should arrive together. Most options apps add their fields after the page has loaded, so the name and line fields appear a moment later and push the add-to-cart button down. OptionWise’s custom options load as part of the product page, next to the variant picker, so they appear with the price and photos and nothing moves (learn more).
Frequently asked questions
How do I let customers engrave a pet's name on an ID tag in Shopify?
Keep the blank tag's shape, size and color as Shopify variants and take the name as a custom option. In OptionWise, the name is a text field with a maximum length set to what fits the front of the tag, such as 15 characters on a mid-size tag, and a placeholder showing an example, such as Buster. The name is saved as a Shopify line item property, so it appears on the order page, the packing slip and the notification email the engraver works from.
How do I take several lines of text for the back of a pet tag?
Use one text field per engraved line, labeled Back line 1, Back line 2 and Back line 3, each with its own maximum length, such as 15 characters. Require line 1 and leave the rest optional. In OptionWise, a single 'Engrave the back' checkbox can reveal the back lines through conditional logic, and fields the customer can't see aren't required and send nothing to the order.
Can I collect a phone number for a pet tag on Shopify?
Yes. Take it in its own text field, usually on the front under the name, with a maximum length that fits the line and the format you want in the placeholder, such as 555-012-3456. A text field keeps the spaces, dashes and plus sign a phone number carries. In OptionWise, the number arrives on the order as a line item property under the tag it belongs to.
How do I charge extra for engraving the back of a pet tag?
Put a fixed add-on price on the choice that adds it, for example an 'Engrave the back' checkbox at $5. In OptionWise, add-on prices are totaled live on the page and carried through the cart, checkout and order, where the add-on appears as its own line. The amount is per unit, so two identical tags on one line pay it twice.
How do I make customers check their pet tag engraving before ordering?
End the form with a single required checkbox, such as 'I have checked my engraving is correct'. In OptionWise any option can be required, and add-to-cart and express checkout (Shop Pay, Buy it now) are held until it is checked, so the order records that the customer checked the spelling and the phone number.
Should pet tag shapes and colors be Shopify variants or custom options?
Variants, if you stock the blank tags and count them. A bone, a heart and a round tag in each of their colors are stock items, so they belong on Shopify's variant picker with their own stock levels. The name, the back lines and the font are instructions for the engraver, so they are custom options added with an app such as OptionWise.
OptionWise for pet tag engraving
OptionWise is a Shopify product options app. For pet tag engraving, it puts the pet’s name, the phone number, each back line and the font, with a character limit on every line, next to the theme’s variant picker, and saves every line to the order for the engraver. The rest of a pet catalog is covered in the pet guide.
OptionWise is free for life for stores that install today. It adds a block to your theme, with no code changes.
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