What are pre-order modes? #

Pre-order modes control how your store handles orders when one or more products are set as pre-order.

This matters because pre-order products have an availability date, and your store needs a consistent rule for how orders are created and when they ship.

Where to find this setting #

Go to: WooCommerce → Settings → Pre-Orders → General.

Look for the option named: Pre-order Mode.

How to choose the right mode #

Pick the mode that matches how you want to manage:

• Orders that contain only pre-order products
• Orders that contain only in-stock products
• Mixed carts (pre-order + in-stock products)

If you are not sure, start with the default mode and run a quick test order on a staging site.

Pre-order modes available #

1 — Treat the whole order as a preorder #

If you choose this mode, the customer places one order and everything ships together on a single date.

Shipping is based on the latest availability date in the order. This means in-stock items will wait and ship together with the pre-order item.

For example, if the cart includes:

• In-stock cap (Available Sep 3)
• Pre-order jacket (Available Oct 1)

Then the order will ship on Oct 1, because that is the earliest date when all items in the order are available.

Note: If the order includes multiple pre-order items, the shipping date is based on the latest availability date among them.

2 — Generate two separate orders, one for preorders and one for in-stock products #

If you choose this mode, the customer gets two different orders:

• one order for in-stock items
• one order for pre-order items

For example, if the cart includes:

• In-stock cap (Available Sep 3)
• Pre-order jacket (Available Oct 1)

Then two orders are created:

• an in-stock order that ships on Sep 3
• a pre-order order that ships on Oct 1

3 — Generate separate orders for each preorder products #

If you choose this mode, the customer gets:

• one order for all in-stock items, and
• one separate order for each pre-order product, shipped on that product’s specific pre-order date

For example, if the cart includes:

• In-stock cap (Available Sep 3)
• Pre-order phone (Available Sep 15)
• Pre-order jacket (Available Oct 1)

Then the store creates:

• one in-stock order (cap) shipped on Sep 3, plus
• one pre-order order shipped on Sep 15 (phone), and
• one pre-order order shipped on Oct 1 (jacket)

4 — Order only preorder products or available one #

Free version: This is the only available pre-order mode in the free version.

Use this mode if you want to allow customers to purchase only pre-order products or only in-stock products.

If a customer tries to mix a pre-order product with an in-stock product in the same cart, checkout is blocked and they must choose one type.

Notes about availability (Free vs Pro) #

Some options may appear differently depending on your plan.

If your settings screen shows anything marked as “Pro” (or similar), that option requires the Pro version.