Advanced Pre-Orders for WooCommerce
Sell products before they arrive. Set an expected date, turn Add to basket into Pre-order, and carry that date through to the customer's order.
What it does
Taking money for something that is not on your shelf yet is the easy part. Doing it without anybody being misled about when it will arrive is the part that goes wrong.
Tick a box on a product, give it the date you expect it, and the button changes from Add to basket to Pre-order. That date follows the customer from your shop listings to the product page, into the basket, through checkout and onto the order they keep. Their order says it is awaiting release, rather than sitting there looking like a warehouse has lost it — and it says the same on your orders screen.
Dates read the way you were told them. A full day when your supplier has been precise, the month alone when they have not, and wording of your own for a pre-order with no date at all, rather than an awkward blank.
The free version refuses a basket that mixes a pre-order with something you could post today, because the alternative is holding a parcel back for six weeks or paying to post two. Pro allows it instead, and asks the customer which they would rather have.
Pro is for shops working to an allocation, shipping one colour before another, or with enough pre-orders on the go to need a screen of their own. Cap what you will sell before it exists and it counts against the orders you already hold. Date each variation separately. Write to everyone waiting when a date moves. Release orders automatically on the morning the goods are due, charge a pre-order fee, or open a pre-order on a launch morning you choose.
The free version is permanent. It does not expire, needs no licence key, and never contacts Plugin City. Pro is the complete plugin — everything in Free plus the above — and it installs in place of the free version, keeping every setting and every date you have already made.
What Free includes
Free forever on WordPress.org.
- Pre-orders on any product, with the expected date you were given
- Add to basket becomes Pre-order, in whatever wording suits your shop
- The date shown in listings, on the product page, in the basket, at checkout and on the order
- Dates written in your site's own format, as a full day, or as the month alone
- Wording of your own for a pre-order with no date yet, rather than a blank
- Pre-order status on every order: awaiting release, due, or released
- A Mark pre-order as released action, written into the order's history
- Baskets mixing a pre-order with goods on the shelf refused, with a message you write
- Refused on classic checkout, block checkout and one-tap payment buttons
- A shortcode, [apofw_message], to put the basket message anywhere
- High-Performance Order Storage compatible
What Pro adds
Everything in Free, plus all of the features below.
- A date for each variation, so the black one can ship in October and the red one in January
- A cap on how many you will sell before it exists, counted against the orders you hold
- Baskets that mix pre-orders with goods on the shelf, sent together or separately
- An email to everyone waiting when a date moves, whether it has slipped or come forward
- A pre-order dashboard: what is on order, how much of each allocation has gone, who is waiting
- Moving dates on several products at once, and switching pre-orders on or off in bulk
- Orders released automatically the morning the goods are due
- A pre-order fee, fixed or a percentage, on the pre-ordered part of the basket
- A launch date, so a pre-order opens on a morning you choose
- Settings import and export
Pricing
Free
The free plugin, free forever. Distributed through WordPress.org. No licence, no account.
£0
Get free on WordPress.orgPro
The complete plugin with every feature, plus a year of updates and support.
£49/year
Checkout coming soon.
Frequently asked questions
What happens when the date arrives?
The product goes back to selling normally and the expected date comes off. Orders already placed move from awaiting release to due, and you mark them released once the goods have gone. Pro can do that for you on the morning they are due.
What if I do not know the date yet?
Leave it blank. The product still sells as a pre-order, and the storefront says you will confirm a date rather than inventing one. Set the date later and the customer's order picks it up.
Can somebody buy a pre-order and something in stock together?
Not in the free version, which refuses that basket — the alternative is holding a parcel back for six weeks or paying to post two. Pro allows it, and asks the customer whether they would rather wait for one parcel or have the in-stock part now.
Can each variation have its own date?
Yes, in Pro. The free version gives every variation the date on the product. Pro lets a variation keep its own, so the black one can ship in October and the red one in January.
Can I limit how many pre-orders I take?
Yes, in Pro. Set the number you are willing to sell and it counts against the orders you are still holding, so turning a cap on today works out where you already stand rather than starting from nought.
What happens when a date moves?
In Pro, everyone still waiting gets an email, worded as an apology if it has slipped and as good news if it has come forward. Their order is updated to the new date and its history records that they were told.
Does it work with the block cart and checkout?
Yes. A basket that cannot go through is reported through the WooCommerce Store API, so the block cart and checkout refuse to proceed and show the same message.
Do I need an account or a licence for the free version?
No. It is free to use for as long as you like, needs no key, and never contacts Plugin City.
What happens if a Pro licence lapses?
Nothing is deleted. Your allocations, variation dates and fee stay saved. Caps stop being enforced, variations go back to the date on their product, and mixed baskets are refused again the way the free version refuses them — so nothing is sold that you have not agreed to sell.
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