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Countries

Overview

The Countries section allows you to manage the complete database of countries available in your e-commerce system. This is foundational data used throughout the platform for shipping, taxation, user registration, address management, and regional settings.

Purpose

  • Geographic Organization: Maintain a comprehensive list of countries for location-based services
  • Shipping Configuration: Enable country-specific delivery options and restrictions
  • Tax Management: Support country-based tax calculations and compliance
  • User Management: Provide country selection for customer addresses and profiles
  • Regional Settings: Group countries by regions for targeted marketing and operations
  • Phone Code Integration: Store international dialing codes for phone number validation
  • Multi-Language Support: Translate country names for international customers

Accessing Countries

Navigate to: System Settings > Countries from the sidebar

List View

Countries List

The Countries list displays a comprehensive database of all countries with their ISO codes, names, phone codes, and geographical classifications. The system comes pre-populated with 250 countries.

Table Columns

ISO2

  • Shows: Two-letter country code (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 standard)
  • Format: 2 uppercase letters
  • Purpose: Standard country identifier used in most systems
  • Searchable: Yes
  • Examples:
  • "US" (United States)
  • "GB" (United Kingdom)
  • "AE" (United Arab Emirates)
  • "AF" (Afghanistan)
  • "DZ" (Algeria)

Name

  • Shows: Full country name
  • Format: Text (up to 255 characters)
  • Translatable: Yes - can be different in each language
  • Purpose: Display name shown to customers
  • Searchable: Yes
  • Visibility: Primary identifier in dropdowns and forms
  • Localization: Name appears in the selected locale language

Note: Country names are translatable. The same country can display as "United States" in English and "الولايات المتحدة" in Arabic based on the selected locale.

Status

  • Shows: Whether the country is active in the system
  • Format: Numeric value (typically 1 for active, 0 for inactive)
  • Purpose: Control which countries appear in customer-facing dropdowns
  • Sortable: Yes
  • Button: Click to sort by status
  • Usage:
  • Active (1): Country is available for selection by customers
  • Inactive (0): Country is hidden from customer-facing forms
  • Allows you to temporarily disable countries without deleting them

Use Cases for Status:

  • Disable countries where you don't ship
  • Hide countries due to regulatory restrictions
  • Temporarily suspend countries during policy changes
  • Control which countries appear in registration forms

Phone Code

  • Shows: International dialing code for the country
  • Format: Numeric (1-5 digits)
  • Purpose: Used for phone number validation and formatting
  • Searchable: Yes
  • Examples:
  • "1" (United States, Canada, Caribbean nations)
  • "44" (United Kingdom)
  • "971" (United Arab Emirates)
  • "93" (Afghanistan)
  • "213" (Algeria)

Important: Phone codes are used to:

  • Validate customer phone numbers
  • Format phone numbers with country prefix
  • Auto-populate country code in phone input fields
  • Ensure correct international calling format

ISO3

  • Shows: Three-letter country code (ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 standard)
  • Format: 3 uppercase letters
  • Purpose: Alternative country identifier, more readable than ISO2
  • Searchable: Yes
  • Examples:
  • "USA" (United States)
  • "GBR" (United Kingdom)
  • "ARE" (United Arab Emirates)
  • "AFG" (Afghanistan)
  • "DZA" (Algeria)

Note: ISO3 codes are used in some international systems and documentation where three-letter codes are preferred over two-letter codes for clarity.

Region

  • Shows: Major geographical region
  • Format: Text (up to 255 characters)
  • Purpose: High-level geographic grouping
  • Searchable: Yes
  • Standard Regions:
  • Africa: Continental African nations
  • Americas: North, Central, and South America
  • Asia: Asian continent
  • Europe: European nations
  • Oceania: Pacific region, Australia, New Zealand
  • Polar: Antarctica and polar regions

Usage:

  • Filter shipping methods by region
  • Group countries in reports
  • Apply region-specific pricing
  • Target marketing campaigns by region
  • Configure regional tax rules

Subregion

  • Shows: More specific geographical subdivision
  • Format: Text (up to 255 characters)
  • Purpose: Detailed geographic classification within regions
  • Searchable: Yes
  • Examples by Region:
  • Africa: Northern Africa, Western Africa, Eastern Africa, Middle Africa, Southern Africa
  • Americas: Caribbean, Central America, South America, Northern America
  • Asia: Southern Asia, Western Asia, Eastern Asia, South-Eastern Asia, Central Asia
  • Europe: Northern Europe, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Southern Europe
  • Oceania: Australia and New Zealand, Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia

Usage:

  • Fine-grained shipping zones
  • Detailed reporting and analytics
  • Precise regional targeting
  • Sub-regional pricing strategies
  • Geographic segmentation in marketing

Created At

  • Shows: When the country record was created
  • Format: Date and time
  • Sortable: Yes
  • Visibility: Hidden by default (toggle via column selector)
  • Purpose: Track when countries were added to system

Updated At

  • Shows: Last modification date and time
  • Format: Date and time
  • Sortable: Yes
  • Visibility: Hidden by default (toggle via column selector)
  • Purpose: Track when country data was last changed

Search Functionality

Use the search box to find countries by:

  • ISO2 code (e.g., "US", "GB", "AE")
  • Name (e.g., "United", "Kingdom", "Emirates")
  • ISO3 code (e.g., "USA", "GBR", "ARE")
  • Phone code (e.g., "1", "44", "971")
  • Region (e.g., "Asia", "Europe")
  • Subregion (e.g., "Western Asia", "Northern Europe")

The search is case-insensitive and searches across all searchable fields simultaneously.

Row Actions

Edit

  • Function: Opens edit form to modify country details
  • Available: For all countries
  • Can Modify:
  • Country name (in multiple languages)
  • Status (active/inactive)
  • Phone code
  • Region and subregion
  • ISO codes
  • Impact: Changes affect all parts of system using country data
  • Use Cases:
  • Update country names in different languages
  • Correct phone codes
  • Adjust region classifications
  • Enable/disable countries for customer selection

Important: Changing country data affects existing records. For example, if customers have addresses with this country, the updated information will apply to those addresses.

Bulk Actions

Select multiple countries using checkboxes to perform bulk operations:

Delete

  • Function: Permanently removes selected countries
  • Warning: Requires confirmation
  • Impact:
  • Countries removed from all dropdowns
  • May affect existing customer addresses, orders, and shipping configurations
  • Cannot be undone
  • Caution: Only delete countries that are not referenced in your database (no customers, orders, or addresses using them)

Best Practice: Instead of deleting, set status to 0 (inactive) to preserve data integrity while hiding the country from customer-facing forms.

Export

  • Function: Export country data to Excel/CSV
  • Exported Data: All visible columns including ISO codes, names, regions
  • Use Cases:
  • Backup country database
  • Analyze geographic distribution
  • Create regional reports
  • Share country data with other systems
  • Audit country configurations

Creating Countries

Create Country

Click the "New Country" button in the top-right corner to add a new country to the database.

Note: The system comes pre-populated with 250 countries. You typically won't need to create new countries unless:

  • You need to add newly recognized nations
  • You want to create custom regional entries
  • You're setting up a test environment

Form Fields

ISO2 Required

  • Type: Text input
  • Purpose: Two-letter ISO country code
  • Validation:
  • Required
  • Exactly 2 characters
  • Should use uppercase letters
  • Standard: ISO 3166-1 alpha-2
  • Format: Two uppercase letters

Examples:

  • "FR" (France)
  • "DE" (Germany)
  • "JP" (Japan)
  • "BR" (Brazil)
  • "AU" (Australia)

Important: Use official ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes. Do not create custom codes as they won't be recognized by external systems or standards-compliant integrations.

Reference: Official ISO codes at ISO.org

Name Required

  • Type: Text input
  • Purpose: Full country name displayed to customers
  • Validation:
  • Required
  • Maximum 255 characters
  • Translatable: Yes - use the Locale dropdown to add names in different languages
  • Visibility: Appears in:
  • Country selection dropdowns
  • Customer address forms
  • Order details
  • Shipping configuration
  • Reports and analytics

Best Practices:

  • Use official country names
  • Match the format used by other countries in database
  • Provide translations in all supported languages
  • Use consistent spelling and capitalization

Examples:

  • English: "United States", "United Kingdom", "United Arab Emirates"
  • Arabic: "الولايات المتحدة", "المملكة المتحدة", "الإمارات العربية المتحدة"

Status Required

  • Type: Numeric input
  • Purpose: Control whether country is active or inactive
  • Validation:
  • Required
  • Numeric value
  • Default: 1 (active)
  • Values:
  • 1: Country is active and visible to customers
  • 0: Country is inactive and hidden from customer-facing forms

When to Set Status:

  • Active (1): Countries where you ship, allow registration, or accept customers
  • Inactive (0): Countries you don't service, restricted regions, or test entries

Impact of Status:

  • Active countries: Appear in all country selection dropdowns
  • Inactive countries: Hidden from customers but preserved in database
  • Existing data with inactive countries remains intact

Phone Code Required

  • Type: Tel input (numeric)
  • Purpose: International dialing code
  • Validation:
  • Required
  • Maximum 5 characters
  • Numeric only
  • Format: Enter without '+' symbol (e.g., "1" not "+1")

Examples:

  • "1" (North America)
  • "20" (Egypt)
  • "44" (UK)
  • "86" (China)
  • "966" (Saudi Arabia)
  • "971" (UAE)

Usage in System:

  • Automatically prefixes phone numbers
  • Validates phone number format
  • Displays in phone input fields
  • Used in SMS/WhatsApp integrations

Important: Ensure phone codes are accurate. Incorrect codes can break phone validation and communication features.

ISO3 Required

  • Type: Text input
  • Purpose: Three-letter ISO country code
  • Validation:
  • Required
  • Exactly 3 characters
  • Should use uppercase letters
  • Standard: ISO 3166-1 alpha-3

Examples:

  • "FRA" (France)
  • "DEU" (Germany)
  • "JPN" (Japan)
  • "BRA" (Brazil)
  • "AUS" (Australia)

Note: ISO3 codes are typically the ISO2 code with an additional letter, but not always. Always verify the official ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 code.

Region Required

  • Type: Text input
  • Purpose: Major geographical region
  • Validation:
  • Required
  • Maximum 255 characters
  • Standard Regions: Use one of these standard values:
  • Africa
  • Americas
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Oceania
  • Polar

Best Practice: Use standardized region names exactly as shown above to ensure consistency and proper grouping in reports and filters.

Subregion Required

  • Type: Text input
  • Purpose: Specific geographical subdivision
  • Validation:
  • Required
  • Maximum 255 characters
  • Examples:
  • Western Asia
  • Northern Europe
  • Southern Africa
  • Caribbean
  • South-Eastern Asia
  • Central America

Best Practice: Match the subregion naming convention used by existing countries in the same region for consistency.

Create Actions

Create

  • Function: Saves the country and returns to list view
  • Validation: All required fields must be filled
  • Impact: Country becomes immediately available in all country selection dropdowns (if status = 1)

Create & Create Another

  • Function: Saves the country and opens a blank form
  • Use Case: When adding multiple countries in sequence
  • Efficiency: Avoids returning to list view between creations

Cancel

  • Function: Discards changes and returns to list view
  • Warning: No confirmation - changes are lost immediately

How Countries Work

System Integration

Countries are used throughout the e-commerce platform:

  1. Customer Registration: Country selection in registration forms
  2. Address Management: Required field for billing and shipping addresses
  3. Shipping Configuration: Used to define delivery zones and methods
  4. Tax Calculation: Country-based tax rules and VAT requirements
  5. Payment Processing: Country restrictions for payment methods
  6. Analytics: Geographic reporting and customer segmentation
  7. Phone Validation: Automatic country code prefixing
  8. Compliance: Regional regulatory requirements

Pre-Populated Database

The system comes with 250 countries pre-configured:

  • All official ISO 3166-1 countries
  • Standardized ISO2 and ISO3 codes
  • Accurate phone codes
  • Proper regional classifications
  • Translations in supported languages

Benefit: You don't need to manually enter country data. The database is ready to use immediately.

Translatable Country Names

Country names support multi-language:

  • Store different names for each locale
  • Customers see country names in their language
  • Admin can manage translations via locale dropdown
  • Maintains same ISO codes across all languages

Example:

  • English: "United Arab Emirates"
  • Arabic: "الإمارات العربية المتحدة"
  • ISO2: "AE" (same in all languages)
  • Phone Code: "971" (same in all languages)

Status Control

The status field provides flexible country management:

  • Don't ship to a country? Set status to 0
  • Regulatory restriction? Set status to 0
  • Need to test? Create test country with status 0
  • Re-enable later? Change status back to 1

Advantage: Preserves data integrity. Existing orders, addresses, and customer data remain intact even when country is disabled.