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Getting started

Restock is ready to use as soon as WooCommerce is active. Most shops need only a minute of setup before the waitlist form appears on out-of-stock products.

  • WordPress 6.4 or newer
  • WooCommerce 8.0 or newer (HPOS and Cart/Checkout Blocks supported)
  • PHP 8.1 or newer
  • A working WordPress mailer (wp_mail) — Restock uses your site’s own email, not a third-party service
  1. Install WooCommerce and make sure it is active.
  2. Install Restock from the plugin directory (when live on WordPress.org) or upload the restock folder to /wp-content/plugins/.
  3. Activate the plugin. Restock creates its waitlist table on activation.

No wizard is required — sensible defaults work out of the box.

First configuration (optional but helpful)

Section titled “First configuration (optional but helpful)”

Open WooCommerce → Restock and review:

  • Allow guest subscriptions — on by default; turn off if you only want logged-in customers.
  • Form labels and messages — customise button text, success messages and consent wording to match your store voice.
  • Notification email — subject, intro and closing lines for the plain-text restock email.

Changes save immediately. You do not need to rebuild templates or clear caches for label updates.

  1. Open a product that is Out of stock or On backorder.
  2. Confirm the waitlist form appears in the product summary (email field, consent checkbox, submit button).
  3. Submit a test address (use your own inbox).
  4. In WooCommerce → Restock → Subscribers, confirm the signup is listed.

For variable products, select a variation that is unavailable first — the form appears for that variation and stores its ID.

  1. Set the product (or variation) stock status back to In stock in WooCommerce.
  2. Restock emails every pending subscriber via wp_mail and marks them as notified.
  3. Check your inbox if you signed up during the test.

If email does not arrive, check WordPress mail delivery (SMTP plugin, hosting limits) before debugging Restock.

Logged-in customers see My Account → Waitlists with active signups and a leave-waitlist action. Guest signups are stored per browser session/cookie pattern as configured in your theme.

Use [restock_waitlist] on a custom product layout, or [restock_waitlist id="123"] to target a specific product. The form still only renders when that product is out of stock or on backorder.

The free edition covers signup, automatic restock email, variation-aware waitlists, the My Account tab, admin list, CSV export and accessible AJAX submit.

Restock PRO adds demand analytics, double opt-in, scheduled sends and richer automation — not basic variation support.