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.

📋 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

🎛️ 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.

📅 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.

➕ 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.

🗑️ 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).

💾 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.

🎉 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 🎉

📚 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

Updated on: 20/08/2026