Collect waitlist signups before a launch

Use this guide if you want customers to join a back in stock waitlist for a product before it launches, so you can notify them all the moment it goes live. By the end, customers will be able to sign up with the Notify me button, and everyone on the list gets an alert the instant you publish or restock the product.

Before you begin

You need	Why
The Notify me widget on	The button only appears when your back in stock signup widget is enabled. It’s on by default. See Set up back in stock alerts.
A reachable product page	The Notify me button appears on a product page only where customers can actually open that page. Decide how shoppers reach your coming-soon product before launch (see Choose your setup).
A paid plan, for the publish alert	Alerting the waitlist the moment you publish needs a paid plan. On a free plan you can still collect signups and alert everyone when you restock.

Choose your setup

There are two ways to run a pre-launch waitlist. Pick the one that fits how you want the product to appear before launch.

• Publish now, out of stock (simplest). Publish the product to your Online Store with its inventory at zero so it shows as sold out and the Notify me button appears. Customers sign up, and when you add stock the normal restock alert goes out. This works on any plan and needs no extra setting.
• Stay unpublished until the drop. Keep the product unpublished until launch, then publish it to trigger the alert. This needs the publish alert setting below (a paid plan), and you have to arrange your own way for customers to reach the signup before the page is public, since an unpublished product isn’t on your live storefront.

What customers will see

On an out-of-stock product page, customers see the Notify me button (default label “Notify me when available”) and can join the waitlist. When the product launches, everyone who signed up beforehand gets your standard back in stock alert, the same email or SMS they’d get for any restock. Anyone who arrives after launch simply sees the product in stock and can buy right away.

Only customers who signed up before the launch event are notified. Signups are tied to the variant, so publishing or restocking never retroactively alerts people who join afterward.

Set it up

On a phone, this menu is collapsed. In the Shopify mobile app, tap the STOQ logo at the top of the screen to open it, then choose the section named below. There is no hamburger icon. See Finding the STOQ menu.

1. Confirm the Notify me button is on

   In the left menu bar of the STOQ app, click Back in stock alerts, and check the widget toggle at the top is on. To control which products show the button, see Choose which products show the button.

2. Make the product reachable and out of stock

   Set the product’s inventory to zero so its page shows the Notify me button. Then either publish it to your Online Store now (customers can sign up straight away), or keep it unpublished until launch if you’re using the publish alert in the next step.

3. (Paid) Turn on the publish alert

   This tells STOQ to notify the waitlist the moment you publish, not only when you restock.

   1. In the left menu bar, click Back in stock alerts.
   2. Click the Settings tab.
   3. Open the Delivery settings sub-tab.
   4. Expand the card titled Notify when restocked.
   5. Under the Publishing heading, select Notify customers when a product is published or restocked.
   6. Click Save.

   On a free plan this option is disabled. Leave it off and the waitlist is alerted when you restock instead.

4. Launch the product

   When you’re ready, publish the product to your Online Store (if it isn’t already) and add inventory. Publishing fires the alert when the publish setting is on, and restocking fires it either way. The product must be Active in Shopify, a draft or archived product won’t alert anyone.

Check your setup

1. On your live storefront, open the product page in an incognito window and confirm the Notify me button appears while the product is out of stock.
2. Sign up with your own email. See Test your setup.
3. Launch the product the way you plan to (publish, or add stock) and confirm the alert arrives.

Good to know

• The Notify me button appears regardless of a product’s publish status, but only where customers can open the page. A genuinely unpublished product isn’t on your public storefront, so plan how shoppers reach the signup before launch.
• Changing the button’s label is shop-wide, in the Button text field. See Design the Notify me button.
• If your store is password protected before launch, STOQ holds alerts by default until you open the store. See Send alerts while your store is password protected.
• To take orders before stock arrives instead of just a waitlist, use preorders. You can also show the Notify me button on preorder products so customers can choose to preorder or wait.

FAQ

Do I need a paid plan to collect pre-launch signups?

No. Collecting signups and alerting everyone when you restock works on any plan. A paid plan only adds the option to alert the waitlist the moment you publish the product, on top of restocks.

Will people who sign up after launch get an alert?

No, and they don’t need one. Only customers who signed up before you publish or restock are notified. Anyone who arrives after launch sees the product in stock and can buy immediately.

Can customers sign up on a product that isn't published yet?

The button isn’t gated on publish status, but an unpublished product isn’t on your public storefront, so shoppers can’t reach its page on their own. If you want signups before the page is public, publish the product out of stock, or arrange your own link to the signup.

Nobody got an alert when I published the product

Confirm the product is Active in Shopify (not draft or archived), the publish alert setting is on, its inventory meets your minimum restock quantity, and there were pending signups on the variant before you published. See Alert when a product is published.

Related guides

Alert when a product is publishedThe setting that notifies the waitlist the moment you publish.

Choose which products show the buttonControl which products and variants display the Notify me button.

Design the Notify me buttonChange the button text, colors, and position.

Set up preordersTake orders before stock arrives, instead of a waitlist.