Skip to content

Getting started

Most shops can mark their first pre-order in a few minutes. Preorder ships ready — install, edit a product, tick the pre-order box.

  • WordPress 6.5 or newer
  • WooCommerce 8.0 or newer (HPOS and Cart/Checkout Blocks supported)
  • PHP 8.1 or newer
  1. Install WooCommerce and make sure it is active.
  2. Install Preorder from the plugin directory (when live on WordPress.org) or upload the preorder folder to /wp-content/plugins/.
  3. Activate the plugin.
  1. Edit a product and open Product data → General.
  2. Tick Pre-order.
  3. Optionally set a release date — shown to shoppers as the estimated availability date.
  4. Optionally set a button text for this product (overrides the global label).
  5. Save. The product stays purchasable even when its stock status is out of stock.

Open WooCommerce → Pre-orders:

  • Enable pre-orders — global master switch; turn it off to pause every flagged product at once.
  • Default button text — the add-to-cart label used when a product has no per-product override.
  • Show release date — toggle the estimated-availability notice on the storefront.
  1. Open a pre-order product — the add-to-cart label should read your custom text and the release-date notice should appear (if enabled).
  2. Add it to the cart — the cart line should be flagged as a pre-order with the release date.
  3. Place a test order — the order line item should carry the pre-order flag for fulfilment.
  4. Turn off the global toggle and reload — the product should behave like a normal product again.

The release-date notice and button label apply at the product level. Cart and order flagging works for both simple products and variations of a pre-order product.

The free edition covers the pre-order flag, release date, custom button text, out-of-stock purchasability, cart and order flagging and the settings screen.

Preorder PRO adds a pre-order incentive discount on pre-order cart lines today; deposits / partial payments, per-variation pre-orders and automatic release emails are planned — not basic pre-order access.