Enable STOQ on your theme
STOQ adds its buttons to your storefront through a Shopify app embed, a theme extension that injects the "Notify me" and "Preorder" buttons onto your product pages. If the app embed is off, the buttons don't appear even though everything else is set up. This is the first thing to check when buttons are missing.
Before you begin
- STOQ must be installed.
- You (or your staff) need the Themes permission in Shopify.
- The app embed is enabled per theme. It doesn't carry over when you switch or duplicate themes, so enable it on each theme where you want STOQ buttons, including a draft theme you want to preview before publishing.
Check the status from STOQ
Open the Home page
Open the STOQ app and go to the Home page.
Read the status cards
The Back in stock and Preorders cards each show App embed is enabled with a green check, or a disabled state.
Activate if needed
If it's disabled, click Activate. STOQ turns the embed on automatically where it has permission, or opens the Shopify theme editor for you to do it manually.
STOQ's Home cards reflect your published theme only. To check another theme, enable the embed in that theme's editor directly.
Enable it manually in Shopify
Open the theme editor
In your Shopify admin, go to Online Store > Themes and click Customize on your live theme.
Open App embeds
In the theme editor, open Theme settings (the gear), then the App embeds section.
Turn on STOQ and save
Find STOQ in the list, toggle it on, and click Save. Refresh your storefront to confirm the buttons appear.
Which themes work
All Online Store 2.0 themes support the app embed and are recommended. Vintage (Online Store 1.0) themes generally don't support app embeds; on those, the App embeds section may be missing and STOQ may need an alternative placement. Heavily customized themes can also interfere with button placement.
Troubleshooting
The buttons don't appear on my storefront
The most common cause is the app embed being off. Enable it in Online Store > Themes > Customize > App embeds, save, and hard-refresh the page (Ctrl+Shift+R or Cmd+Shift+R).
There's no App embeds section or no STOQ toggle
You may be on a vintage theme that doesn't support app embeds, or the install didn't finish. Switch to an Online Store 2.0 theme, or reinstall STOQ.
The buttons disappeared after I switched themes
The app embed is per-theme and doesn't carry over. Enable STOQ on the new live theme.
The Activate button in STOQ doesn't do anything
Automatic activation needs theme write permission. If it's missing, enable the embed manually in the theme editor.
Buttons still missing with the embed on
Confirm the feature is on (signups collecting for back in stock, or an active preorder offer for that product) and that the product's status actually calls for the button. See Where the Notify me button shows and Troubleshoot the preorder button.
FAQ
Does the app embed slow my store down?
No. It's lightweight and only loads on the product pages where it's needed.
Does disabling the embed delete my data?
No. It only stops the buttons showing. Your waitlist, offers, settings, and history stay intact.
Can I preview the button on a draft or unpublished theme?
Yes. The app embed is per-theme, so enable STOQ on the draft theme too: in Shopify admin go to Online Store > Themes, click Customize on the draft theme, open Theme settings > App embeds, turn STOQ on, and Save. Use the theme editor's page selector to preview an out-of-stock product. When you publish that theme, the embed stays on.
