Step-by-step instructions on how to set up and customize your preorders for your Shopify products

In this article, I will walk you through how to set up Magical Preorder on your Shopify store.

Please note that these instructions are for the older version of the Magical Preorder app, Fortescue Preorder Pro, available if you installed before July 23, 2024. If you’d like to upgrade for free, see “Installed the app before July 23, 2024?” below.

I’ll go through the two steps of the initial setup build which include setting up your first rule and activating the app embed block. You can start accepting preorders from your Shopify store in minutes. 

Like you, I came into this app for the first time with no prior experience or knowledge of it. Despite that, I found the setup process thorough, logical, and easy to understand.

Once the app is installed you’ll:

  1. Create Rules which govern how your preorder sales run. Products will flow through three distinct, automated stages: Active, Preview, and Closed.
  2. Define the Essentials for your preorder rule, which includes the title and included products.
  3. Customize preorder settings for your products in the Active stage.
  4. Enable and customize preorder settings for products that are in the Preview stage and not yet available for preorder.
  5. Enable and customize preorder settings for products that are in the Closed stage and no longer available to purchase. 
  6. Customize Notifications, email templates sent to customers, and the style and text of buttons and badges

The first step is to install the app which I’ll go over first below.

Table of contents

Installed before July 23, 2024? Upgrade to the latest version for free.

If you installed the app before July 23, 2024 and have not contacted the Magical Apps team to upgrade to the newest Magical Preorder app, your store is using Fortescue Preorder Pro, the previous version of the app.

Please note that some features available in the previous version are not currently available in Magical Preorder. New features will be added over time.

View feature comparison.

To upgrade to the Magical Preorder app for free, please contact the Magical Apps team.

If you find anything missing, please get in touch with our team.

App install instructions

Installing the app in Shopify is easy.

Visit the Magical Preorder listing and click “Install”.

App setup instructions

After completing the app installation, complete the following:

Initial app setup

If you require assistance with the setup, please contact the Magical Apps team after the app is installed.

It is important to complete the initial setup process first as certain features will not be available until the setup is complete.

Under Apps section on the left hand side of your Shopify admin, click ‘Magical Preorder’. You should see a notice to “Finish setting up Magical Preorder”. Click “Continue Setup”.

There will be 2 steps to complete:

1. Create a rule. 

You must add a rule to be available on the online store.

  1. Click the View Rules button to go to the Rules page.
  2. Click the Create Rule button to create a new preorder rule.
  3. In the first section titled “Essentials”, enter a title for your rule. This title will later be displayed in a list of rules you’ve created and it may also be displayed in preorder emails you send to customers, so choose a title that will help you and customers easily identify the preorder. For example, “Blue Snowboard July 10 Launch”.
  4. Choose the product(s) that you would like to set a rule for.

Under that, you’ll be able to configure the settings for the rule. The settings are categorized into 3 stages of product availability. 

To complete the setup, at least one stage must be enabled for the rule you are creating

You’ll see these 3 sections below for each stage:

  1. Active Stage: During the active stage, customers can purchase your latest preorder products, which are now officially available for sale.
  2. Preview Stage: During the preview stage, customers have the opportunity to view your latest products before they are officially available for purchase.
  3. Closed Stage: During the closed stage, the preorder period has ended, and products are no longer available for purchase. Choose how you would like your preorder to end.

Under each stage, you have the option to enable or disable each setting using the button on the top right hand corner of each section. So for example, if you are only interested in creating an active preorder with a set end date right now, you would make sure that the Active and Closed stages are enabled, and the Preview stage is disabled.

Below I’ll go over how to configure your settings for each stage.

Configure Active Stage

In the Active stage customers can purchase your latest preorder products, which are now officially available for sale.

To configure the settings for this rule:

  1. Click the Enable button in the top-right corner, if the section is not already expanded. 
  2. Select when your active stage should start and end using the following options:
    1. Choose one of two options under Start when:
      1. Select Schedule and choose the start date and time.
      2. Select Product variant out of stock to automatically enable the active stage and start a preorder when stock falls to zero.
    2. Choose one of four options under End when:
      1. Select Do not end to run the active stage indefinitely.
      2. Select Schedule and choose the end date and time.
      3. Select Product variant back in stock to automatically disable the active stage and end the preorder when the product comes back in stock.
      4. Select Preorder variant sold out to automatically disable the active stage and end the preorder when the preorder limit has been reached.
  3. Optionally set a Preorder limit by entering the number of items you’re willing to sell on preorder. Leave blank if there is no limit.
  4. Add a custom Message that will be displayed on the product page. Use it to communicate important details or expectations with customers, such as estimated shipping date or a return policy.
Configure Preview Stage

In the Preview stage, ​​customers have the opportunity to view your latest products before they are officially available for purchase. They will see a coming soon label and you have the option to let customers sign up to know when a preorder begins. 

To configure the settings for this rule:

  1. Click the Enable button in the top-right corner, if the section is not already expanded. 
  2. Select when your preview stage should start and end using the following options:
    1. Choose one of three options under Start when:
      1. Select Schedule and choose the start date and time.
      2. Select Product variant out of stock to automatically enable the preview stage and apply a coming soon label when stock falls to zero.
      3. Select Preorder variant sold out to automatically add a coming soon label when your preorder limit has been reached.
    2. Choose one of three options under End when:
      1. Select Do not end if you want the preview stage to run indefinitely.
      2. Select Schedule and choose the end date and time.
      3. Select Product variant back in stock to automatically disable the preview stage and remove the coming soon label when the product is back-in-stock.
  3. You can choose to enable Email Signup. This will capture email addresses from customers who want to be notified when a preorder starts.
  4. Add a custom Message that will be displayed on the product page, such as when the customer can expect the product to be back in stock, or product alternatives.
Configure Closed Stage

In the Closed stage, the preorder period has ended, and products are no longer available for purchase. If this is left disabled, then products will continue to be available for immediate purchase when a preorder period ends. You’ll want to enable this stage if the product will no longer be available after the preorder period.

To configure the setting for this rule:

  1. Click the Enable button in the top-right corner, if the section is not already expanded. 
  2. Select when your closed stage should start. These two options will only be available if the respective stage is enabled:
    1. Select Active ended to start the closed stage when your active stage has ended.
    2. Select Preview ended to start the closed stage when your preview stage has ended.
  3. Select when your closed stage should end:
    1. Select Do not end if you want it to continue indefinitely.
    2. Select Schedule and choose a date and time.
    3. Select Product variant back in stock to end the closed stage once the product is back in stock.
  4. Add a Message that will be displayed on the product page, such as when the customer can expect the product to be back in stock, or product alternatives.

Once you’ve completed the set up for your first rule, click Save at the top of the admin. 

You’ve just finished configuring your first rule. This was the first step in the Initial App Setup, and there is one more step to complete the setup.

There will be a warning on this page that says: “Finish setting up Magical Preorder”. Click Continue Setup to proceed to Step 2.

2. Activate app embed block

This app uses an app embed block to enable the display of the preorder button and other elements.

The app embed block must be activated on your store. To activate it:

  1. Click the Activate App Embed Block button. This will take you directly to your Online Store theme editor.
  2. Under the Theme Settings panel in the App Embeds tab, make sure the Magical Preorder toggle is on. 
  3. Click Save in the top right hand corner of the editor.

Once complete, you can return to the app and you should see “Setup complete. Congratulations! Your first rule is now live and the app setup is complete. Customers will now be able to place preorders on your Online Store.”

This marks the completion of the setup. You should now have access to the app’s remaining features.

With the setup complete, you should have one rule setup. However you may be interested in setting up additional rules for other products.

How to create additional rules 
  1. On the left-hand side of the app menu, click Rules to display a list of your current rules.
  2. Click Create Rule and then enter a title for the rule
  3. Click Browse and choose the products for this rule
  4. Below you can configure your Active, Preview, and Closed stages as needed. 
  5. Click Save at the top of the admin to save the rule.

How to customize notifications

Email templates to notify customers of their preorder status are saved within the app. Customize the messaging of these emails by clicking the Notifications tab in the app menu.

You will find 3 email templates you can edit:

Preorder placed

This is the email customers will receive when they pay for a preorder.

  1. Edit the email subject in the Email subject field. 
  2. In the Email body text area you can write a new message. To access variable fields such as Rule Title, Shop Name, and Variants, click on Dynamic Content.
  3. Click Save at the bottom of the page.
Preorder active

This is the email customers will receive when a preorder moves from Preview to Active stage and becomes available for order. Customers will have needed to sign up for this notification when the product was labeled ‘Coming Soon’.

  1. Edit the email subject in the Email subject field.
  2. In the Email body text area you can write a new message. To access variable fields such as Rule Title, Shop Name, and Variants, click on Dynamic Content.
  3. Click Save at the bottom of the page.
Signup

This is the email customers will receive when they sign up to be notified later when a product is available for preorder.

  1. Edit the email subject in the Email subject field.
  2. In the Email body text area you can write a new message. To access variable fields such as Rule Title, Shop Name, and Variants, click on Dynamic Content.
  3. Click Save at the bottom of the page.

Customize sender email

You will need to create an account with SendGrid for your business email.

  1. In the app menu on the right-hand site, click Settings.
  2. Scroll down to the last section Notifications.
  3. For Delivery Service, update this using the dropdown and select “SendGrid”. Enter your SendGrid API key and update the remaining settings including sender name, sender email address, and the reply-to email address.
  4. Click “Save” at the bottom of the page.
How do I set up an account with SendGrid?

You can set up a free account with SendGrid. Follow these steps:

  • Click Start for free button on SendGrids homepage: https://sendgrid.com 
  • Enter your user name and password.
  • Verify your email.
  • Verify phone number.
  • Save recovery code.
  • Find the Finish account setup and click on Authenticate domain.
  • Follow the setup instructions to fit your specific requirements.
  • Add the required records to your selected DNS section.
  • Verify DNS records.
Where do I find my SendGrid API key?

If you have an account with SendGrid then follow these steps. Or, you can set up a new account for free.

  • Click API keys in the lefthand sub-menu in the Settings section in SendGrid.
  • Click Create api key.
  • Choose a name and select Permissions.
  • Click Create & view.
  • Important: copy the Api key token somewhere safe and secure.

How to customize display settings

To customize your display settings, click on Settings in the app menu.

How to customize the style display settings

The first section will allow you to update the style. This includes font, colour, and size for branding. Click on Preorder App Embed Block settings which will take you to the app embed settings on page editor.

How to customize the text display settings

Under the general section, you can edit the text that displays on buttons for the following:

  1. Preorder button
  2. Coming Soon button
  3. Closed state button
  4. Sold out message which a preorder is sold out
  5. Preorder label, used on an order or a preorder product
  6. Signup success message
  7. Signup exists message
  8. Signup error message
How to customize mixed cart warnings

You can choose to show a mixed cart warning when customers have a preorder item and a non-preorder item in their cart. This will appear as a pop-up modal. 

This is enabled by default. To disable this, click the checkmark next to Show mixed cart warning. 

Below those are fields to customize the text for the title of the mixed cart warning, the mixed cart message, and the text in the button to close the modal.

How to customize badges

You can choose to show badges on product images on the home page and collection pages.

This is enabled by default. To disable this, click the checkmark next to Enable badges.

Below this, you can edit the text that displays on badges for products that are either Active (available for preorder) or Preview (coming soon).

App Setup Instructions Library

Managing Preorders

To view a list of your preorders

The app will allow you to view a list of all of your existing preorders.

To view a list of your existing preorders:

  1. Click Preorders from the app menu.
  2. Choose a filter to narrow down your preorders list:
    1. Click Unfulfilled to view orders that include preorders purchased by customers but not yet fulfilled by you.
    2. Click Partially Fulfilled to view orders that contain some products that have been fulfilled and some products not yet fulfilled by you.
    3. Click Fulfilled to view orders that have been fulfilled by you.
    4. Click Cancelled to view orders that have been cancelled.
  3. Click on a line to open and view details about the order, such as the order number, the date of the order, customer information, the Rule that was used for the Active stage, and a list of products with their status.

To fulfill an item

If you’re ready to fulfill an item for an existing preorder:

  1. Click Preorders from the app menu.
  2. Locate the order from the list view and click on the line to open the order.
  3. Under Order ID click View Order.
  4. Under Unfunfilled Items, click Fulfill Item.

To view a list of email signups 

If you’ve enabled Email Signup for your preview stage Rule, you can view a list of all the customers who requested a sign-up.

To view a list of your email signups:

  1. Click Signups from the app menu
  2. Choose a filter to narrow down your email signup list:
    1. Click Not Notified to view only those customers who have not yet been notified of a preorder becoming available.
    2. Click Notified to view only those customers who have already been notified of a preorder becoming available.
  3. Click on a line to open and view details about the signup, such as the signup number, the date of the signup, customer information, the Rule that was used for the Preview stage, and the product the customer wants to be notified about.

Magical Preorder

Everything you need to add preorder sales to your shop. Forecast demand. Build hype. Boost sales.

View App on Shopify