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.
Before you start
Section titled “Before you start”- WordPress 6.5 or newer
- WooCommerce 8.0 or newer (HPOS and Cart/Checkout Blocks supported)
- PHP 8.1 or newer
Install
Section titled “Install”- Install WooCommerce and make sure it is active.
- Install Preorder from the plugin directory (when live on WordPress.org) or upload the
preorderfolder to/wp-content/plugins/. - Activate the plugin.
Mark a product as a pre-order
Section titled “Mark a product as a pre-order”- Edit a product and open Product data → General.
- Tick Pre-order.
- Optionally set a release date — shown to shoppers as the estimated availability date.
- Optionally set a button text for this product (overrides the global label).
- Save. The product stays purchasable even when its stock status is out of stock.
Store-wide defaults
Section titled “Store-wide defaults”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.
Verify on the storefront
Section titled “Verify on the storefront”- Open a pre-order product — the add-to-cart label should read your custom text and the release-date notice should appear (if enabled).
- Add it to the cart — the cart line should be flagged as a pre-order with the release date.
- Place a test order — the order line item should carry the pre-order flag for fulfilment.
- Turn off the global toggle and reload — the product should behave like a normal product again.
Variable products
Section titled “Variable products”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.
Free vs PRO
Section titled “Free vs PRO”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.
Need help?
Section titled “Need help?”- Preorder overview — features and editions
- GitHub issues
- Preorder on plogins.com