Description
Looking for a simple, powerful WooCommerce preorder plugin? Pre-Orders for WooCommerce – PreCart is the easiest way to let customers pre-order products before they’re available. Whether launching new items, restocking popular ones, or selling out-of-stock products with automatic backorder support, this plugin helps you capture sales you’d otherwise miss.
With this free preorder plugin for WooCommerce, customers can place pre-orders for upcoming, out-of-stock, or limited-edition products directly on your site. Gain early insights into demand, improve inventory planning, and secure revenue in advance.
👉 Perfect for:
– Product launches & crowdfunded items
– Out-of-stock products with automatic backorder
– Limited-time offers & seasonal inventory
– Digital content, books, music, and more
💡 Give your customers the power to pre-order WooCommerce products confidently — and deliver a premium shopping experience with automatic email updates and customizable preorder settings.
Why PreCart is the best free WooCommerce Pre-Order plugin
Unlike paid alternatives that charge a monthly fee, PreCart gives you everything you need to run preorders on your WooCommerce store for free:
- Stock-based preorder — products automatically become available for preorder when they go out of stock (new in 0.7)
- Global or per-product — enable preorder for everything at once, or pick individual products
- Preorder limits — cap how many customers can preorder per product
- Custom status — preorders get a dedicated order status so you can filter and manage them
🔑 Key Features
🛒 WooCommerce Preorder for Any Product
Enable preorder on simple or variable products with one click. Works with your existing inventory.
📅 Set Custom Release Dates
Control when products ship with per-product or global availability dates. Customers see the date clearly on the product page.
📦 Stock-Based Preorder & Backorder (NEW in 0.7)
When a product runs out of stock, it automatically becomes available for preorder — with an optional backorder limit. No manual toggling needed.
💰 Flexible Payment Options
Charge upfront at checkout. Collect revenue before products are even released.
📨 Email Notifications
Customers automatically receive confirmation emails when they place a preorder.
🎨 Customizable Button & Message
Change the add-to-cart text, badge, and preorder message to match your brand. Use {precart_release_date} to show the ship date dynamically.
🚫 Preorder Quantity Limits
Set a maximum number of preorders per product. Prevents overselling before release.
🔄 Cart Mode Control
Choose whether customers can mix preorder and regular items in the same cart or require separate orders.
🏷️ Dedicated Preorder Order Status
Preorders get a custom status so you can filter, manage, and fulfill them separately from regular orders.
🚀 Why Use This WooCommerce Preorder Plugin?
Pre-orders are common for video games, smartphones, book launches, music/album releases, crowdfunded products, limited-edition products, and many more niches. Companies use them to gauge demand and secure early sales.
📈 Boost Sales
Never miss out on orders for out-of-stock or not-yet-released items. With the new automatic backorder feature, you keep selling even when inventory hits zero.
🔥 Build Hype Before Launch
Generate excitement with preorder options for exclusive or trending products. Show a countdown and release date to create urgency.
📊 Forecast Demand
Use preorder data to plan inventory, reduce waste, and align with manufacturing timelines.
💬 Improve Customer Experience
Give customers transparency with clear preorder messaging, release dates, and automatic updates.
Screenshots



Installation
- Upload the
precartfolder to the/wp-content/plugins/directory. - Activate the plugin through the Plugins menu in WordPress.
- Go to PreCart > Settings to configure the plugin.
- Enable pre-orders for individual products from the product edit page.
FAQ
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How do I enable pre-orders for a product?
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Navigate to your product edit screen in WooCommerce, click the Pre-Order tab in the Product Data section, check “Enable Pre-Order”, then set a release date. You can also enable preorder for all products from PreCart > Settings.
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What is stock-based preorder / backorder?
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Stock-based preorder (new in version 0.7) automatically turns on preorder mode when a product runs out of stock. You can set this per-product or globally. No need to manually check a box — it just works. You can also set a backorder limit to control how many preorders are accepted while out of stock.
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Can I set a limit on how many preorders are accepted?
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Yes! You can set a Pre-Order Limit per product for date-based preorders, and a separate Backorder Limit for stock-based preorders. Set to 0 for unlimited.
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Does this work with out-of-stock products?
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Yes. With the stock-based preorder feature (0.7+), out-of-stock products automatically become available for preorder. The “Pre-Order Now” button replaces the “Out of Stock” message, and customers can checkout normally.
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Can I collect payments for pre-orders immediately?
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Yes, you can collect payments for pre-orders immediately. A ‘pay later’ option is planned for a future version.
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Does this work with my theme or other plugins?
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Compatible with all WooCommerce-supported themes and most payment gateways. Not compatible with block-based cart/checkout (classic cart/checkout is fully supported).
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How are pre-orders tracked in inventory?
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Pre-orders are tracked with separate counters from regular stock. Date-based preorders use
_precart_pre_order_count, and stock-based backorders use_precart_backorder_count. -
Can I enable preorder for all products at once?
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Yes. Go to PreCart > Settings > General Settings and toggle “Enable Pre-Order” on, then set a global release date.
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What happens when an order is cancelled?
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Preorder and backorder counts are automatically decremented when an order is cancelled or refunded, so your limits always reflect actual pending demand.
Reviews
Contributors & Developers
“Pre-Orders for WooCommerce – PreCart” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
ContributorsTranslate “Pre-Orders for WooCommerce – PreCart” into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
0.7
Release Date: 2026-06-17
- NEW: Stock-Based Preorder / Backorder — products automatically enter preorder mode when they go out of stock. No manual toggling needed.
- NEW: Per-product “Enable Stock-Based Pre-Order” checkbox and “Backorder Limit” field in the product data tab.
- NEW: Global stock trigger setting with configurable out-of-stock preorder message (PreCart > Settings > Stock Trigger).
- NEW: Distinct amber badge style (
.wcpo-pre-order-badge--stock) to visually separate stock-triggered preorders from date-based ones. - NEW: Custom
wc-precartorder status is now editable in the admin — change items, recalculate totals, and apply actions. - IMPROVED:
{precart_release_date}token in stock messages shows “TBD” when no release date is set. - FIXED: Preorder counters could double-increment on thank-you page reloads — idempotency guard added.
- FIXED: Duplicated eligibility logic across Product, Cart, and Validation consolidated into a single
Helper::is_preorder_product()method. - FIXED: Preorder/backorder counts now decrement when an order is cancelled or refunded.
- NEW: Admin review prompt with modern card-style design, shown on PreCart pages after 5 days of installation.
- NEW: Dedicated settings-page review notice with a “Leave Review” button only (no dismiss controls) above the PreCart Settings page.
- FIXED: Global preorder mode now correctly displays the global release date instead of the per-product date when the per-product preorder is not enabled.
- FIXED: Product list page “Pre-Order Now” button now also renders for out-of-stock products when stock-based preorder is active.
- FIXED: Infinite recursion / memory-exhaustion bug in
woocommerce_product_is_in_stockfilter — now uses rawget_stock_status()to avoid the loop. - IMPROVED: Helpspace support widget link replaced with direct WordPress.org support forum link in admin settings.
0.6
Release Date: 2026-06-09
- FIXED: Fatal error “Call to member function get_id() on null” when product page contained WooCommerce shortcodes without a valid product context.
- FIXED: Invalid release date display when switching between per-product and global preorder modes.
- IMPROVED: Internal code cleanup and WooCommerce HPOS compatibility hardening.
0.5
Release Date: 2026-05-31
- FIXED: Incorrect date displayed when the global pre-order option was enabled.
- FIXED: Setting Pre-Order Product Limit to
0prevented products from being added to the cart. Value of0now means unlimited. - ADDED: Support for WooCommerce 10.8.
- UPDATED: Tested up to WordPress 6.9.
0.4
Release date: 2025-11-11
- Fixed: preorder product showing error on
Add To cart
0.3
Release date: 2025-06-01
- Fixed issue where button text would not update correctly.
- Fixed text domain error notice.
0.2
Release date: 12-03-25
- Added: New fields in Settings
- Added: Set global preorder for all products
- Added: Prevent customers to order pre order and regular products at once
- Fixed: cart-key error showing in the cart page
0.1
- First release
