Running a WooCommerce store with set business hours is essential for businesses like restaurants, local retail stores, or any online shop with restricted operating times. Using an “Open Close Store” plugin, WooCommerce allows you to define opening and closing times, display notifications for store hours, and set custom messages for upcoming events, holidays, and maintenance. This blog will explore how to set up a daily schedule, communicate closures effectively, and offer customers a more transparent shopping experience.

Automatically Open and Close Your Store

The WooCommerce Open Close Store plugin is a powerful tool for setting up operating hours for your online store. Whether you want to close the store on specific days, manage a lunch break, or even shut down for a few hours, the plugin makes it easy.

Key Features of the WooCommerce Temporarily Close Shop

• Daily Business Hours: Set custom operating hours for each day of the week.
• Holiday Closures: Temporarily close the store for holidays or other events.
• Add to Cart Control: Disable the “Add to Cart” button when the store is closed.
• Custom Notifications: Display closure notifications as pop-ups or bars.
• Manual Closures: Close your store with a single click, perfect for unexpected closures or last-minute changes.
• Multi-Slot Scheduling: Set up multiple hourly slots throughout the day for maximum flexibility.

Let’s dive into each feature and understand how to leverage them to keep customers informed and improve user experience.

Setting Up Daily Business Hours

With the WooCommerce Open Close plugin, setting your store’s business hours is straightforward. You can set different opening and closing times for each day. This flexibility is beneficial for businesses with varying hours, like cafes or specialty stores that open late or close early on certain days.

1. Define Business Days and Hours: Select the days your store will be open and the hours it will operate.
2. Set Custom Hours for Each Day: Set separate time slots if you have lunch breaks or morning and evening hours.
3. Shortcode for Schedule Display: The plugin provides a shortcode that displays your business hours on your site, helping customers check availability instantly.

Schedule Breaks During Business Hours

Many businesses need to schedule breaks during open hours, whether it’s for a lunch break, shift change, or any routine pause. With this plugin, you can set break times within business hours, and the store will temporarily close and reopen according to your schedule.

1. Easy Break Scheduling: Define start and end times for breaks, so customers aren’t left waiting or attempting purchases during downtime.
2. Automatic Resume After Break: The store reopens automatically once the break period ends, eliminating manual intervention.

Displaying Closure Messages

Letting customers know when your store is closed for an event or break is essential to avoid confusion. The Open Close Store plugin enables you to display custom closure messages through either a notification bar or pop-up.

• Notification Bar: A subtle bar at the top of the page that informs customers of the current store status.
• Pop-up Notifications: Display a larger message for greater visibility, and include an option to close the pop-up manually or set it to disappear after a certain time.

With customizable text, you can personalize these notifications to provide store closure details and expected reopening times.

Temporarily Close Store for Upcoming Events

Whether for a special event, holiday, or sudden emergency, temporary closures are easy to manage with this plugin. You can manually close the store for a designated period and set custom messages to explain the reason for the closure, which appears on the storefront.

1. Set Closure Dates and Hours: Define specific dates and hours for closure, from holidays to annual events.
2. Custom Messages for Each Event: You can add context, such as “Closed for Staff Training” or “Closed for Holiday Weekend,” to keep customers informed.

Maintenance Mode and “Coming Soon” Banner

Sometimes, your store needs to undergo maintenance or prepare for a new product launch. The WooCommerce Open Close Store plugin provides maintenance mode and “coming soon” banners to inform customers of these updates.

Maintenance Mode: When your store is undergoing maintenance, display a full-screen banner with a message and countdown timer indicating when you’ll be back. You can customize the banner text to let customers know about the improvements.

Coming Soon Banner: If you’re launching a new product, service, or feature, a “coming soon” banner helps build anticipation. This banner also includes a countdown timer and optional email signup for customers to receive notifications.

Disable “Add to Cart” Option

One of the core features of this plugin is the ability to disable the “Add to Cart” button outside operating hours. This way, customers won’t add items to their cart and get frustrated at checkout, only to find the store is closed.

• Selective Add to Cart Control: Disable “Add to Cart” during closed hours for all products or exclude certain items that should be available 24/7.
• Custom Messages: Display a message such as “Store Closed, Please Visit During Business Hours” when customers try to add products to their cart during off-hours.

Countdown Timer for Store Open and Close

The WooCommerce Open Close Store plugin allows you to display a countdown timer that shows customers how much time is left until opening or closing. This timer can be shown in either a pop-up or bar notification, enhancing transparency and ensuring customers know when they can start or finish their shopping.

• Popup Timer: A popup countdown timer grabs attention and is suitable for critical opening and closing information.
• Bar Timer: For a more subtle approach, the countdown timer can appear as a bar across the top of the page, helping customers plan without disruption.

Send Open Notifications

For customers who rely on your store, an open notification feature allows you to send automatic email notifications when the store opens. This is particularly helpful for regular shoppers or for when you reopen after a holiday or event closure.

1. Customize Email Notifications: Choose the sender name, email subject, and body text, so customers receive a clear, branded message.
2. Regular Updates: Send recurring updates if your store frequently opens for special sales or events at specific times.

Exclude Products or Categories from Store Closure

If you have certain products or categories that should always be available for purchase, even during store closure, the WooCommerce Open Close Store plugin provides an exclusion option.

1. Selective Product Availability: Designate certain products or categories as exceptions, so customers can continue shopping for them even during your off-hours.
2. Special Items: This feature is ideal for digital products, downloadable items, or any items you want accessible around the clock.

Manual Store Closure

Unexpected events might require you to close your store manually, and the plugin includes a convenient one-click store close button. This allows admins to shut down the store immediately, stopping all purchases and keeping customers informed with a pop-up message explaining the situation.

1. Quick Access: A manual closure option available directly from the dashboard.
2. Custom Messaging: Add a message to the pop-up so customers know the reason for the unexpected closure.

Customizable Notifications and Banners

Personalizing the notifications on your site is key to engaging customers. The WooCommerce Open Close Store plugin allows you to design custom messages, choose display locations, and select colors and fonts for your banners and pop-ups.

• Different Messages for Different Days or Hours: Customize messages based on your store’s schedule to offer personalized communication.
• Adapt Colors and Fonts: Use your brand’s colors and fonts for all notifications to maintain a cohesive look across the site.

Use Cases for Open and Close Store Plugin

The Open Close Store plugin is useful across industries:

• Food and Restaurant: Define meal-specific hours and close for events or holidays.
• Online Services: Schedule daily hours for consultations or specific service times.
• Digital Product Shops: Keep the store open for digital downloads but restrict specific times for customer support or physical products.

By adding open and close hours to your WooCommerce store, you provide customers with a smoother, more professional shopping experience. Displaying store hours, sending notifications, and enabling scheduled closures enhance transparency, improve customer relations, and allow you to run your WooCommerce store with greater control and flexibility.