Title: PreOrder Pilot – Pre-Orders for WooCommerce Author: Weareplano Published: October 16, 2026 Last modified: October 16, 2026 --- Search plugins ![](https://ps.w.org/preorder-pilot/assets/banner-772x250.png?rev=3750117) ![](https://ps.w.org/preorder-pilot/assets/icon-256x256.png?rev=3750117) # PreOrder Pilot – Pre-Orders for WooCommerce By [Weareplano](https://profiles.wordpress.org/giorgaras/) [Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/preorder-pilot.0.3.2.zip) * [Details](https://wordpress.org/plugins/preorder-pilot/#description) * [Reviews](https://wordpress.org/plugins/preorder-pilot/#reviews) * [Installation](https://wordpress.org/plugins/preorder-pilot/#installation) * [Development](https://wordpress.org/plugins/preorder-pilot/#developers) [Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/preorder-pilot/) ## Description PreOrder Pilot by PLANO is a free WooCommerce pre-order plugin for selling products before they become available. Enable pre-orders on unlimited simple products, show an expected availability date and collect full payment through your normal WooCommerce checkout. Customers see the pre-order message and availability date on the product page, in the cart, at checkout and in their confirmation email. Manage products and pre-orders from one dashboard, update dates in bulk and release orders when products are ready. #### Features Everything below is free, with no product limit and no license key: * Pre-orders for any number of simple products, each with an optional expected availability date. * A custom pre-order button label and an availability message on the product page, in the cart, at checkout, in the order and in emails. * Full payment at checkout using your normal WooCommerce gateways. * A dedicated **Pre-ordered** order status (HPOS and legacy storage), so paid pre- orders are easy to find and are not shipped by mistake. * A “Pre-order confirmation” customer email built on WooCommerce emails. Edit it under WooCommerce Settings Emails, or override the template in your theme. * An admin dashboard with pre-order totals, a product list with search, an order list, and bulk enable, pause, set-date and mark-released actions. * Mark a product released and its pre-ordered orders move to Processing. * WooCommerce Classic and Cart/Checkout Blocks support. * Every string is translation-ready; community translations are delivered through WordPress.org language packs. * No account, no telemetry and no remote requests. Everything runs inside your store. #### Free vs Growth The free plugin supports simple products and full payment at checkout. Variable products, deposits, pay later, automatic stock rules and back-in-stock alerts require the separate Growth add-on. PreOrder Pilot is complete on its own. [PreOrder Pilot Growth](https://licenses.weareplano.gr/buy?tier=growth&period=monthly) is a separate, optional paid plugin that extends it through the public hooks below. It adds: * Deposits (fixed or percentage) and pay-later orders, with balance payment links and reminders. * Mixed-cart rules: allow, block, or split pre-order items into their own order. * Variable products and per-variation settings. * Automatic pre-orders when out of stock, and automatic release on restock. * Pre-order rules by product category. * Quantity limits with atomic reservations, start and end dates, and discounts. * Extra customer emails: release date changed, product released, balance reminder, and “email me when available” alerts. * CSV export of pre-orders and subscribers. * Countdown timers, a launch calendar and per-country allocations. * Marketing webhooks for Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Omnisend and similar tools. This free plugin contains none of the Growth code and never limits or locks its own features. #### For developers Actions: `preorder_pilot_loaded`, `preorder_pilot_settings_saved`, `preorder_pilot_release_date_changed`,` preorder_pilot_product_released`, `preorder_pilot_order_confirmed`, `preorder_pilot_product_panel_end`,` preorder_pilot_settings_fields`. Filters: `preorder_pilot_setting_defaults`, `preorder_pilot_sanitize_settings`, ` preorder_pilot_validate_settings`, `preorder_pilot_is_active`, `preorder_pilot_modes`,` preorder_pilot_supported_product_types`, `preorder_pilot_availability_message`, ` preorder_pilot_product_field_definitions`, `preorder_pilot_snapshot`, `preorder_pilot_cart_item_data`,` preorder_pilot_email_classes`, `preorder_pilot_admin_tabs`, `preorder_pilot_use_preorder_status`. ## Screenshots [⌊The PreOrder Pilot dashboard: monthly pre-order counts, units, net revenue and products in a demonstration store.⌉⌊The PreOrder Pilot dashboard: monthly pre-order counts, units, net revenue and products in a demonstration store.⌉[ The PreOrder Pilot dashboard: monthly pre-order counts, units, net revenue and products in a demonstration store. [⌊Product settings: enable pre-orders and set the expected availability date.⌉⌊Product settings: enable pre-orders and set the expected availability date.⌉[ Product settings: enable pre-orders and set the expected availability date. [⌊The product page with the pre-order button and availability date.⌉⌊The product page with the pre-order button and availability date.⌉[ The product page with the pre-order button and availability date. [⌊The WooCommerce cart clearly marks a pre-order item and its expected shipping date.⌉⌊The WooCommerce cart clearly marks a pre-order item and its expected shipping date.⌉[ The WooCommerce cart clearly marks a pre-order item and its expected shipping date. [⌊The Pre-order confirmation email under WooCommerce → Settings → Emails.⌉⌊The Pre- order confirmation email under WooCommerce → Settings → Emails.⌉[ The Pre-order confirmation email under WooCommerce Settings Emails. [⌊Pre-orders with the Pre-ordered status in the PreOrder Pilot order list.⌉⌊Pre- orders with the Pre-ordered status in the PreOrder Pilot order list.⌉[ Pre-orders with the Pre-ordered status in the PreOrder Pilot order list. ## Installation 1. Install and activate WooCommerce. 2. Upload the PreOrder Pilot ZIP through Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin, then activate it. 3. Open PreOrder Pilot and choose Add preorder, or open a simple WooCommerce product and its PreOrder Pilot section. 4. Choose the product, enable pre-orders and set the expected availability date. Save. 5. View the product and complete a checkout in your local or staging store before enabling live sales. 6. Optional: to add Growth features, install the separate PreOrder Pilot Growth plugin and enter your license key under PreOrder Pilot Growth license. ## FAQ ### How is a pre-order different from a WooCommerce backorder? WooCommerce backorders let customers order products that are out of stock. PreOrder Pilot adds an optional expected availability date, clear pre-order labels and messages, and a dedicated Pre-ordered status for paid pre-orders. You choose which simple products accept pre-orders; automatic activation when stock runs out requires Growth. ### Can I use variable products, deposits or pay later for free? The free plugin supports simple products with full payment at checkout and has no product limit. Variable products, deposits and pay-later orders require the separate paid PreOrder Pilot Growth plugin. ### Does Free require registration? No. Free works locally within WordPress and WooCommerce. ### How do I upgrade to Growth? Choose a plan at https://licenses.weareplano.gr/buy?tier=growth&period=monthly. After checkout you get a license key and a download link. Install PreOrder Pilot Growth next to this plugin and activate the key under PreOrder Pilot Growth license. Your account page at https://licenses.weareplano.gr/portal shows your keys, sites and downloads. ### Is there a free trial? Yes, every Growth plan starts with a 14-day free trial. A card is needed to start; you can cancel before the trial ends and you will not be charged. ### Can I move my license to another site? Yes. Deactivate it on the old site (or from your account page), then activate it on the new one. Local and staging sites (localhost, .local, .test, staging.*) do not count towards your site limit. ### Which emails do customers get? The free plugin sends “Pre-order confirmation” after payment. You can turn it off or edit it under WooCommerce Settings Emails. Growth adds release date changed, product released and balance reminder emails. ### Is there a limit on products or orders? No. The free plugin has no product, order or time limit. ### Does the free plugin contact your servers? No. It makes no remote requests and collects no data. The only external link is an optional, dismissible notice about Growth on the PreOrder Pilot dashboard. ### Are Shopify and Wix supported? This package runs in WordPress with WooCommerce. It does not install into Shopify or Wix. ### Does this work with every theme and gateway? WooCommerce-native hooks support standard product/cart/checkout flows. Custom builders, express checkout extensions, custom statuses and gateways that bypass normal order hooks need their own integration verification. Please test your own gateway and theme on a staging site first. ### What customer data is stored? The free plugin stores pre-order settings on products and a pre-order snapshot ( availability date and label) on order items. It stores no extra customer data and sends nothing to PLANO. ### What happens during deactivation or uninstall? Deactivation keeps all settings. On uninstall, data is kept unless you tick “Delete plugin settings and product pre-order settings when uninstalling” in PreOrder Pilot Settings. Historical order details always stay in WooCommerce. ### How are translations provided? All strings use the preorder-pilot text domain. Community translations are delivered through WordPress.org language packs; locale files are not bundled in this package. You can contribute on translate.wordpress.org or use Loco Translate. Dates follow the WordPress site timezone and locale. ## Reviews There are no reviews for this plugin. ## Contributors & Developers “PreOrder Pilot – Pre-Orders for WooCommerce” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin. Contributors * [ Weareplano ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/giorgaras/) [Translate “PreOrder Pilot – Pre-Orders for WooCommerce” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/preorder-pilot) ### Interested in development? [Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/preorder-pilot/), check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/preorder-pilot/), or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/preorder-pilot/) by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/preorder-pilot/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss). ## Changelog #### 0.3.2 * Show distinct customer preorder counts for this month and last month using the store timezone. * Exclude balance invoices, failed orders and cancelled orders from monthly customer preorder counts. * Refresh dashboard styling and PLANO mascot assets. * Preserve PHP 7.4 compatibility when reporting with custom dates. #### 0.3.1 * Harden output escaping and use allowlisted, escaped quick-editor attributes. * Align admin notice transient prefixes with the plugin namespace. * Use WordPress.org language packs instead of bundled locale files. #### 0.3.0 * Changed: the free plugin has no product limit and no license checks. Paid features now live only in the separate Growth plugin. * New: “Pre-ordered” order status for paid pre-orders (HPOS and legacy storage). * New: “Pre-order confirmation” customer email built on WooCommerce emails, with a theme-overridable template. * New: mark released moves pre-ordered orders to Processing. * New: public actions and filters for extensions. * New: Greek translation and an updated translation template. * Improved: WordPress coding standards and Plugin Check compliance. #### 0.2.1 * Prevent scheduled products from accepting ordinary purchases before the preorder opening date. * Keep global capacity shared across countries when country allocations are not configured. * Correct availability signup and delivery eligibility for in-stock and active preorder products. * Add fixed per-item deposits and exportable consented availability subscribers. * Add validated bulk expected-shipping-date updates. * Include consent-based restock email and subscriber export in Free, within the existing three-product limit. #### 0.2.0 * Added product and exact-variation pre-order settings and customer-facing integration. * Added atomic capacity handling across checkout, failed/cancelled orders and refunds. * Added the dedicated dashboard, bulk actions, real order reporting and CSV export. * Added separately enabled Growth scheduling, discounts, email availability alerts and balance payment links. * Added release packaging, inventory documentation and automated development verification. #### 0.1.0 * Initial plugin foundation and settings screen. ## Meta * Version **0.3.2** * Last updated **2 days ago** * Active installations **Fewer than 10** * WordPress version ** 6.5 or higher ** * Tested up to **7.1.3** * PHP version ** 7.4 or higher ** * Tags * [backorder](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/backorder/)[pre order](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/pre-order/) [preorder](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/preorder/)[product launch](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/product-launch/) [woocommerce](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/woocommerce/) * [Advanced View](https://wordpress.org/plugins/preorder-pilot/advanced/) ## Ratings No reviews have been submitted yet. [Your review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/preorder-pilot/reviews/#new-post) [See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/preorder-pilot/reviews/) ## Contributors * [ Weareplano ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/giorgaras/) ## Support Got something to say? Need help? [View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/preorder-pilot/)