How do I close my store for a while?
Show visitors a closed page for a launch, a holiday or a stock count, let the people you choose in with a password, and, once you turn on SignalLane's checkout rule, have Shopify refuse checkout. On every plan.
Sometimes a store needs to close for a while: before a launch, over a holiday, or for a stock count. SignalLane shows visitors a closed page instead of an empty or half-ready shop, lets the people you choose in with a password, and, once you have turned on its checkout rule, has Shopify refuse checkout until you open again. It is on every plan.
Open Visitor rules and press Store closed page. There is one closed page per store; it shows at the top of your rules list.
Choose when
Under Schedule, turn on Close the store on this schedule and choose when it closes and when it opens, in your store's own timezone. Leave the start empty to close as soon as you save, and leave the end empty to stay closed until you open the store yourself. Close now and Open now work at any time; your saved schedule's end still opens the store.
Choose what visitors see
- A page designed here: a heading, text, a picture from your store's Files and, when the schedule has an end, a countdown to opening. Set the colours, font, corners and button shape under Look, and add your own CSS if you want it. Leave a word field empty to use SignalLane's own words in each visitor's language.
- A page from my store: visitors are sent to one of your store's pages, such as
/pages/coming-soon. That page is never covered. To collect email sign-ups, put your own sign-up form on it: SignalLane never collects visitors' email addresses.
The preview beside the form shows the page as you change it.
Choose who gets through
Set a password and share it with the people who should get in, such as your team or a few early customers. They type it on the closed page and can browse for the rest of their visit. Anyone with the password gets through, so do not reuse one. SignalLane can't show it again, so note it down.
Under Countries, Close only for these countries limits the closure to the countries you choose. A visitor SignalLane cannot place is still shown the closed page.
Refuse checkout
Refuse checkout while the store is closed is what actually stops an order, because a page covering your store can be got around, and it works only once you turn on the SignalLane checkout rule in Settings › Checkout › Checkout rules in your Shopify admin. SignalLane cannot see whether that step was taken, so place a test order to check. See how checkout rules are turned on.
To place a test order while the store is closed, add the tag signallane-open to a customer in your Shopify admin and sign in as that customer before checkout.
Search engines and your visitor rules
Keep search engines out
Off by default. While the store is closed, it asks search engines not to list your pages. It is right for a new store before launch, and risky for a short closure of a store that is already live: search engines may drop pages that rank and take time to bring them back. Bots that ignore these instructions are not stopped.
Keep my visitor rules running
Off by default: your visitor rules stop while the store is closed and start again when it opens. On: they keep running under the closed page, so an automatic redirect can still send visitors to your other store.
Questions and answers
- Does the closed page hide my store completely?
- No. It covers your pages for visitors with JavaScript on. Anyone who turns JavaScript off can still see them, and search engines can read them unless you turn on "Keep search engines out". To hide your store completely, use Shopify's own password page instead.
- Can I still take orders while the store is closed?
- Draft orders you complete in your Shopify admin are not refused. For a test order at checkout, tag a customer signallane-open and sign in as that customer before checkout.
- What if I forget the password?
- SignalLane cannot show it again. Set a new one: everyone who typed the old one sees the closed page again.
- Which plan do I need?
- Any. The store closed page is on every SignalLane plan, and the checkout refusal works on every Shopify plan.
Was this helpful?
Related articles
- Visitor rulesWhat is the difference between Instant, Banner and Notice?
Instant redirects straight away, Banner lets the visitor choose whether to go, and Notice tells visitors you don't serve their region without sending them anywhere.
- Visitor rulesHow do I change how a banner looks?
Set one look for every banner and notice on the Default look page, then give a single rule its own words and look on its Customize screen, beside a live preview.
- Visitor rulesStyle your banner with Custom CSS
Add your own CSS to the banner, the popup, the 404 suggestions card and the cart suggestion: where the boxes are, the parts you can style, what SignalLane refuses and why, and the limits.
- Visitor rulesHow do visitor countries and states/provinces work?
Leave Visitor countries empty to match anywhere, add countries to narrow the rule, and use Except countries to leave some out. States/provinces are best effort.