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# 🚀 Standard Shipping How to manage Blackout Dates

Closed for a holiday? Warehouse maintenance next week? Courier on strike? 🚫📦

**Blackout Slots** let you block specific dates (or even specific hours on those dates) so customers can't pick them for Standard Shipping — no awkward "sorry, we can't actually ship then" emails afterwards.

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# **📋 Before You Begin**

Make sure:

* ✅ **Standard Shipping** is turned on in **Settings → Standard Shipping**  
* ✅ The **Enable slots (Optional)** checkbox is ticked, so the **Blackout Slots** card is visible

→ Find the card under **Settings** → **Standard Shipping** → **Blackout Slots**

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# **🎛️ Step 1 — Choose Your Blackout Type**

At the top of the card, pick one of the two options:

* **Date range** → blocks entire days. Customers can't select any date inside the range (this is the default)  
* **Date range with time slots** → blocks only specific hours within the range, leaving the rest of each day available

### **Example**

* Carrier holiday from Dec 24 – Dec 26 → use **Date range** to block those days completely  
* A staff meeting every afternoon next week → use **Date range with time slots** to block just those hours

ℹ️ The type you choose applies to **all** blackout entries in the list — you can't mix full-day and partial-day entries.

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# **📅 Step 2 — Pick the Dates**

Use the calendar to select your date range:

→ Click a **start date**, then click an **end date**

The selected range is highlighted so you can double-check it before adding.

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# **➕ Step 3 — Add the Blackout Entry**

→ Click the **Add** button.

The entry appears in the list below, showing its **Start Date** and **End Date**.

If you chose **Date range with time slots**, each entry also includes:

* **Start Time** → when the blocked period begins (default **11:00 AM**)  
* **End Time** → when the blocked period ends (default **12:00 PM**)

Adjust these dropdowns to block exactly the hours you need.

💡 Repeat Steps 2–3 as often as you like — you can keep a whole list of blackout ranges, like one per public holiday.

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# **🗑️ Step 4 — Delete Entries You No Longer Need**

Plans change — removing a blackout is easy:

→ Find the entry in the list

→ Click its **Delete** button

The dates become available for booking again right away (after saving).

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# **💾 Step 5 — Save Your Changes**

→ Click **Save** in the save bar at the bottom of the page.

⚠️ Blackout changes only reach your storefront after you save — don't close the page while the save bar is showing.

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# **🎉 Final Result**

Once saved:

* ✅ Blocked dates are greyed out in the storefront calendar, so customers can't select them  
* ✅ With **Date range with time slots**, only the blocked hours are unavailable  
* ✅ Your schedule stays accurate through holidays, maintenance, and time off 🎉

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# **📚 Related Guides**

* **Standard Shipping: How to set Minimum order value and Generate Time Slots**  
* **Standard Shipping: How to Set Cut-off Time and Number of Days Shown to Customers**  
* **Standard Shipping: How to Set Up Simple vs Advanced Slot Availability Conditions**