What the plugin does
When a product is sold out, the customer does not leave empty-handed: they leave their e-mail with a “Notify me when available” button, and when the product is back in stock they get an automatic message. You see what customers are waiting for and how many alerts turn into purchases.
What it does
A “Notify me when available” button
For an out-of-stock product (also a sold-out variation, e.g. a size) a button replaces “Add to cart” and opens a popup with the form. You can also show the form directly on the product page, add a “Notify me” link in product lists, or place it anywhere with the [restock_alert_form] shortcode. Optionally also for products on backorder.
Result: you win back customers who would otherwise buy elsewhere.
A form that fits your store
You set the heading, description, button and message texts, the accent colour and the corner style. The form can ask for a name and a quantity, require GDPR consent and allow sign-ups for logged-in customers only.
An automatic e-mail when the product is back
The plugin detects stock changes – also from imports and wholesaler integrations – and sends a “back in stock” e-mail with a product card. After signing up the customer gets a confirmation. Both e-mails are edited in the WooCommerce e-mail settings and go out in the language the customer signed up in.
Fair sending and minimum stock
If only 5 units come back, only as many customers are notified as there are units – by sign-up order and requested quantity. The rest wait for the next delivery. You can also set a minimum stock level before alerts are sent.
Result: no customer gets a “it’s back!” e-mail only to find it sold out again.
A waitlist with statistics
WooCommerce → Waitlist shows all sign-ups with filters (waiting, notified, purchased after alert), search, CSV export and manual sending. The product list gets a column with the number of people waiting. The plugin marks sign-ups that ended in a purchase and calculates the conversion rate.
Spam protection and GDPR
A hidden honeypot field, a minimum fill-in time, a per-IP sign-up limit and optional Cloudflare Turnstile – without breaking page cache. Every e-mail has an unsubscribe link (including one-click unsubscribe in Gmail). Customer data is exported and erased with the WordPress privacy tools.
Good to know
- Sending runs in the background (Action Scheduler) with an e-mails-per-minute limit – useful on hosting with mail limits.
- The waitlist has Sending diagnostics: e-mail and queue status, the last mail server error and a test e-mail button.
- Form templates can be overridden in your theme:
your-theme/restock-alerts-for-woocommerce/. - The plugin is compatible with HPOS, the block checkout, WPML and Polylang.
Installation and first settings
Before you start
You need WordPress 6.2 or newer, WooCommerce 7.0+, PHP 7.4+ and an administrator account. Back up your store before installing any new plugin – most hosting panels do it with one button.
Step 1: download the plugin and the licence key
After your order (Pro, or the free 5-day Free version) you get an e-mail with your licence key and a Download button. The key and the file are always available in My account → Licences on wpasist.eu.
- Click Download and save
restock-alerts-for-woocommerce.zipon your computer. - Do not unzip the file – WordPress installs the plugin straight from the ZIP.
Safari on a Mac may unzip downloads automatically. If you see a folder instead of a ZIP file, compress it again (right-click → Compress) or turn off opening “safe” files after downloading in Safari.
Step 2: install and activate the plugin
- Log in to your WordPress dashboard (usually
yourstore.com/wp-admin). - Go to Plugins → Add New Plugin and click Upload Plugin.
- Choose
restock-alerts-for-woocommerce.zipand click Install Now. - When you see “Plugin installed successfully”, click Activate Plugin.
Result: the left menu now has a wpAsist item with this plugin and the Licences screen.
Step 3: activate the licence
- Go to wpAsist → Licences.
- Paste the key from the e-mail next to this plugin and click Activate licence.
- The status changes to Active until … (the end date of your licence).
Without an active licence the sign-up form disappears and new sign-ups and restock notifications are switched off. The waitlist, unsubscribe links and privacy tools keep working.
The key works on one domain. If you move the store to another address, change it yourself in My account → Licences → Change domain on wpasist.eu. New versions arrive in the dashboard like any WordPress update (Dashboard → Updates) while the licence is active – your settings are kept.
Step 4: set up the form
Go to WooCommerce → Settings → Restock Alerts (the same screen opens from the wpAsist menu). Section Subscribe form:
| Field | What it means | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Show form automatically | The form on out-of-stock product pages. | ticked |
| Display | A button in place of “Add to cart” that opens a popup, or the form directly on the page. | popup |
| Popup button label | E.g. “Notify me when available”. | default |
| Backorders | Also show the form for products on backorder. | unticked |
| Guests | Allow visitors who are not logged in to subscribe. | ticked |
| Name field / Quantity field | Ask for the name and number of units (the quantity is used by fair sending). | as needed |
| Shop pages | A “Notify me” link under out-of-stock products in lists. | ticked |
| Consent checkbox, Consent text | Require GDPR consent; the text can link to your privacy policy. | ticked |
| Heading, Description, Button label, messages | Texts of the form and of the messages after signing up. | default |
In Appearance choose the accent colour and the corner style (cut, soft, square).
Step 5: set sending and protection
| Field | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum stock | Send alerts only when stock reaches this quantity. 0 = on any restock. | 0 |
| Fair sending | On a partial restock, notify only as many people as there are units. | ticked |
| Batch size, Speed limit | E-mails per background job and the maximum per minute (0 = no limit). | 50, 0 |
| External stock updates | Check hourly for stock changed directly in the database (ERP, importers). | tick for wholesaler imports |
| Sign-ups per IP per hour | Protection against mass sign-ups. 0 = no limit. | 10 |
| Turnstile keys | Optional Cloudflare Turnstile protection. | empty |
| Delete finished entries after (days) | Waitlist housekeeping. 0 = keep forever. | 180 |
Click Save changes.
Step 6: adjust the e-mails
In WooCommerce → Settings → Emails you find the plugin’s two e-mails: the sign-up confirmation and “back in stock”. Click Manage to change the subject, heading and text, and check that both are enabled.
Step 7: test it
- Set a test product to “Out of stock”.
- In a private window open the product, click Notify me when available and sign up with your e-mail – a confirmation arrives.
- WooCommerce → Waitlist shows the sign-up with the status “Waiting”.
- Set the product back in stock and save – the “back in stock” e-mail arrives and the status changes to “Notified”.
No e-mail? Send a test e-mail from Sending diagnostics on the waitlist screen – you will see the exact mail server error.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | What to do |
|---|---|
| No button on the product | The product must be out of stock (or on backorder with that option on). Check the licence and “Show form automatically”. |
| E-mails do not arrive | Check Sending diagnostics and that the e-mails are enabled in WooCommerce → Settings → Emails. Install an SMTP plugin if the server does not send mail. |
| No alert after a stock import | Turn on “External stock updates” – the plugin then checks hourly for stock changed outside WooCommerce. |
| Fewer people were notified than are waiting | That is fair sending – the others get the e-mail with the next delivery. |
Changelog
1.0.4 – 2026-10-25
- Compatibility release: tested with WordPress 7.1 and WooCommerce 11.2 (HPOS, WPML, Elementor) – popup and inline sign-up form, duplicate detection, instant restock e-mail when the product is back in stock, waitlist screen with CSV export; no functional changes.
1.0.3 – 2026-10-24
- Licence: the plugin sends its name when it checks the key, so a key works only in the plugins it covers (one plugin, a bundle or All Access).
- wpAsist → Licences: new “Use this key for all wpAsist plugins” – a bundle or All Access key is activated in every plugin at once; plugins the key does not cover keep their own key.
1.0.2 – 2026-10-23
- New step-by-step guide: what the plugin does, installation and first settings (readme.txt and instrukcja-pl.txt).
1.0.1 – 2026-10-20
- Updates straight from the WordPress dashboard (Dashboard → Updates) while the licence is active.
- A clear notice in the dashboard when the licence is not active.
- All wpAsist plugins and licences in one wpAsist menu.
1.0.0 – 2026-10-18
- First release: a waitlist for out-of-stock products with an automatic “back in stock” e-mail.
- Popup mode – a “Notify me when available” button replaces “Add to cart”, also for out-of-stock variations; “Notify me” link on shop pages.
- E-mails are sent right after the restock, without depending on WP-Cron; the background queue is used for large lists and retries.
- Fair sending on partial restocks; every subscriber is notified only once, even with parallel sending.
- “Send now” in the waitlist and a “Sending diagnostics” box with a test e-mail.
Customer forum
Ask before it gets annoying 🙂
A problem after installing? Something unclear in the guide? There are no silly questions here – only stores that do not work the way they should yet. We reply personally, usually the same day.
The forum is for customers only. Log in or buy the plugin to grow your store together with us, ask questions and get support.
