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Getting started

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Preorder ships ready to use. Install it, tick one checkbox on a product, and that product stays buyable while its stock status is out of stock. There is no wizard and nothing to rebuild.

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

Preorder declares HPOS (custom_order_tables) and cart_checkout_blocks compatibility on before_woocommerce_init, so it works in both the classic and block cart/checkout.

Install

Section titled “Install”
  1. Install WooCommerce and make sure it is active. Preorder stays inactive and shows an admin notice if WooCommerce is missing.
  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. There is no activation step beyond this, Preorder creates no database tables.

Mark a product as a pre-order

Section titled “Mark a product as a pre-order”
  1. Edit a product and open Product data → General.
  2. Tick Pre-order (this writes the _preorder_enabled product meta).
  3. Make sure the product has a price, a pre-order with no price is not made purchasable.
  4. Save.

The product now stays purchasable even when its stock status is out of stock. You do not fake a stock figure or enable WooCommerce backorders; the flag handles purchasability on its own.

There is no per-product button-text field and no per-product release date in this plugin, the button label is set once, store-wide (below). The pre-order checkbox is the only per-product control.

Set the store-wide button label

Section titled “Set the store-wide button label”

Open WooCommerce → Pre-orders:

  • Enable pre-orders, the master switch. On by default. Turn it off to pause every flagged product at once.
  • Default button text, the add-to-cart label shown on pre-order products. Defaults to Pre-order now. Leave it blank to use that default. As you type, the field shows a live preview of the label shoppers will see.

Changes save immediately. The screen also adds a Settings link on the Plugins row for quick access.

Verify on the storefront

Section titled “Verify on the storefront”
  1. Set the test product’s stock status to Out of stock in WooCommerce.
  2. Open the product. The add-to-cart button should read your label (for example Pre-order now), and a reservation stub (“Reserved as a pre-order…”) should appear in the product summary.
  3. Add it to the cart. The cart line should show a Pre-order: Yes row.
  4. Place a test order. Open it under WooCommerce → Orders, the order line item should carry the Pre-order: Yes meta for fulfilment.
  5. Turn off Enable pre-orders and reload the product: it should behave like a normal out-of-stock product again (not purchasable, standard button, no stub).

Variations

Section titled “Variations”

The pre-order flag is read per product object, and the cart/order flag is set on whichever product or variation is added to the cart. The reservation stub and the relabeled button are driven by the single-product hooks, which read the main product. Test your own theme’s variable-product layout before relying on the stub appearing for a specific variation.

Need help?

Section titled “Need help?”