Migrating WooCommerce pre-orders to Shopify: setup and migration guide (2026)

Pre-orders present a specific challenge during WooCommerce to Shopify migrations: active pre-orders represent real customer commitments and payments that must be handled carefully during the transition. Here's how to set up pre-orders in Shopify and handle the migration of active pre-orders from WooCommerce.

WooCommerce pre-orders: how they worked

WooCommerce didn't include native pre-orders. Most stores used:

• WooCommerce Pre-Orders plugin: WSDOT/WooCommerce-specific plugin. Products marked as pre-order, release date set, charge on release or at time of order. Email notifications sent on release.
• WooCommerce Backorder settings: Simpler approach — allow backorders on a product (with custom stock status label "Pre-Order"). No automated release management.
• Custom WooCommerce solution: Custom post meta for release dates, manual order processing on release.

Handling active pre-orders during migration

This is the most critical part of the pre-order migration. Active WooCommerce pre-orders are orders already placed and potentially paid.

Option A: Fulfil all active pre-orders before migration

The safest approach if timeline allows:

1. Complete or cancel all outstanding WooCommerce pre-orders before migration cutover
2. If products haven't released: delay migration until after the next release date
3. Process fulfillment via WooCommerce as planned, then migrate post-fulfillment

Option B: Manual transfer of active pre-orders

If migration must proceed while pre-orders are active:

1. Export all active pre-orders from WooCommerce (order details, customer info, payment status, product)
2. Determine payment status: already charged, or to be charged on release?
3. Already paid: Create draft orders in Shopify for each pre-order (Admin → Orders → Create Order). Mark as paid. These will be fulfilled when product releases.
4. Charge on release: More complex. WooCommerce holds a "pre-order" that will charge on release. These cannot be transferred to Shopify's payment system directly. Options:
   • Send customers a Shopify payment link for the pre-order amount when it releases
   • Issue the product for free on Shopify and manually charge via original payment method
   • Refund WooCommerce pre-order charges, re-charge via new Shopify order on release
5. Email all pre-order customers explaining the platform migration and any changes to their order

Option C: Maintain WooCommerce for pre-order fulfillment only

Keep WooCommerce running (read-only, no new orders) specifically to fulfill outstanding pre-orders, while all new orders go through Shopify. Decommission WooCommerce after the last pre-order is fulfilled.

Shopify pre-order apps

Shopify doesn't have native pre-order functionality. Apps handle it:

App	Features	Pricing
Pre-Order Now by Website On-Demand	Pre-order button, release date, partial payment, pre-order badge	$19.99/mo
Kickflip Pre-order & Back In Stock	Pre-order + back-in-stock alerts in one app	$15/mo
PreProduct	Pre-order + deposit/partial payment, release date countdown	$19–$49/mo
Timesact Pre-order & Restock	Pre-order with partial payment, shipping date display per variant	$17–$99/mo
Preorder Globo	Simple pre-order button with date display, email notification on release	$9.90/mo

Key pre-order app features to look for

• Partial payment / deposit: Take a deposit now, remaining on fulfillment (matches WooCommerce Pre-Orders "charge on release")
• Release date display: Show estimated ship date on product page and cart
• Automatic release emails: Notify customers when their pre-order ships
• Pre-order badge: Visual badge on product images showing "Pre-Order" status
• Mixed cart handling: Customer adds pre-order + in-stock item — handle separate shipments or hold in-stock item

Shopify inventory setup for pre-orders

Configure pre-order products in Shopify correctly:

Continue selling when out of stock

• In product variant settings: "Continue selling when out of stock" = ON
• Set inventory to 0 (or negative in Shopify if tracking inventory)
• The pre-order app will intercept the "Add to Cart" button and replace it with "Pre-Order"

Release date as metafield

• product.metafields.preorder.release_date (date_time) — expected release/ship date
• product.metafields.preorder.is_preorder (boolean) — flag for theme logic
• product.metafields.preorder.deposit_percentage (number_integer) — % charged now if partial payment

Pre-order product page elements

Update product pages for pre-order products:

• Button: "Pre-Order" instead of "Add to Cart" — handled by pre-order app via theme app extension
• Expected ship date: display below button ("Ships approximately March 2026")
• Pre-order badge: on product images in collection and product pages
• Cart messaging: "This item is on pre-order. Estimated ship: March 2026"
• Checkout note: informational text about pre-order nature of purchase
• Email: order confirmation explicitly states pre-order status and expected ship date

Notification emails for pre-orders

Configure Shopify notification emails for pre-order lifecycle:

• Order confirmation: Customize Shopify's order confirmation template to detect pre-order products (via tag or metafield check in Liquid) and add pre-order messaging
• Fulfillment notification: When you fulfill the pre-order and ship, Shopify sends a standard shipping notification with tracking. This serves as the "release" notification.
• Pre-order release campaign: Send a marketing email via Klaviyo/Omnisend to all pre-order customers when stock is confirmed — before shipping, build excitement

Pre-release and launch day workflows

When the pre-ordered product becomes available:

1. Update Shopify inventory to actual stock quantity
2. Change pre-order product status: turn off "continue selling when out of stock" if limiting to actual stock
3. Update the preorder.is_preorder metafield to false (removes pre-order badge and button)
4. Pre-order app handles fulfilling existing pre-orders — some apps batch-create fulfillments automatically
5. Or: manually fulfill pre-order orders in Shopify order management

Mixed cart handling

If customers can add both pre-order and in-stock items:

• Most pre-order apps detect this and add a cart warning: "Your cart contains pre-order items that will ship separately from in-stock items"
• Configure shipping rules: separate fulfillments for pre-order vs in-stock (ships separately)
• Or: hold all items until pre-order releases (some customers prefer consolidated shipment)

Pre-order migration checklist

• Inventory all active WooCommerce pre-orders (order IDs, customers, products, payment status)
• Decide migration strategy for active pre-orders: fulfil before migration, transfer to Shopify draft orders, or maintain parallel WooCommerce
• Email active pre-order customers about platform migration
• Select Shopify pre-order app (PreProduct or Timesact for partial payment; Preorder Globo for simple)
• Configure pre-order metafields: release_date, is_preorder, deposit_percentage
• Set up pre-order product pages: button, estimated ship date, badge
• Configure cart and checkout messaging for pre-order items
• Customize order confirmation email template for pre-order detection
• Test full pre-order flow: add pre-order to cart, checkout, receive confirmation, mark as fulfilled
• Document release day workflow: inventory update → pre-order fulfillment → customer notifications

The biggest risk in pre-order migrations is losing track of customers who paid for products that haven't shipped yet. Every active pre-order must be documented before migration and reconciled — either fulfilled via WooCommerce, transferred to Shopify draft orders, or explicitly communicated to customers. These are the highest-stakes orders in any migration.