Turn on the app embed
enGate Me runs through a Shopify theme app embed, so it never edits your theme code.
- Open enGate Me and click Turn on on the Home page (or Online Store → Themes → Customize → App embeds).
- Switch on enGate Me and click Save in the theme editor.
- Back in the app, click check again — the Home page shows “App embed on”.
If your gate doesn't appear, this is almost always the reason. Gates are also hidden inside the theme editor itself so you can keep editing — use Preview on my store instead.
Who can enter
One setting decides who can get into your store:
- Everyone — no store-wide gate. Use page rules, the age check or a drop on their own.
- Password holders — everyone needs a password, even logged-in customers.
- Password or customer login — guests enter a password; logged-in customers go straight in.
- Logged-in customers — guests are sent to your customer login page.
- Customers with a tag — only logged-in customers tagged e.g.
wholesale. Others see a “Members only” screen.
Pages listed under “Pages anyone can open” (e.g. /pages/contact) always stay open. Login, account, policy and checkout pages are never blocked. Use Preview as next to the live preview to see what a guest, a customer or a tagged customer gets.
Passwords
- Go to Passwords, type who it's for (e.g. “Wholesale A”) and a password — or click Generate.
- Optional: an expiry date and time, a usage limit, a discount code that is applied automatically after unlocking, and a page to open (e.g. your VIP collection).
- Click Create password and copy it — for your security it's stored as a one-way fingerprint and can't be shown again.
Need many codes for an event or influencers? Use Create many codes and download them as CSV. Each password shows its uses and when it was last used; turn one off any time without affecting the others.
Secret links & QR codes
Every password has a link like yourstore.com/?engate=… that unlocks the store in one tap — perfect for emails, SMS and printed inserts. Click Link & QR to copy it or download the QR code. Each open counts as a use. Leaked? Click Make a new link; the old link stops working.
Drops & waitlist
- On Drops, switch on the coming-soon screen and choose when the store opens. It opens by itself at that time.
- Keep waitlist on to collect emails (visitors tick a consent box), and show the live “people waiting” counter.
- Optional: let password holders or tagged customers in early, and turn on Skip the line — each sign-up gets a personal link, and when enough friends join with it they get early access.
Export the waitlist as CSV, or send every sign-up to a webhook (Zapier, Make, Klaviyo flows).
Pages, products & sections
Pages & links lists your menus. For any item — or any product, collection or page you add — choose who can open it: logged-in customers, customers with a tag, or password holders. Tick Hide links to also remove it from menus, product grids and search results for visitors without access. Products in a locked collection are locked too.
Sections lists the sections of your live theme. Hide a section from guests, show it only to guests (e.g. a sign-up offer), or show it only to tagged customers.
Hide prices & Add to cart
On Prices & cart, hide prices and/or the Add to cart and Buy now buttons from guests — or from everyone without a tag. Visitors see a “Log in to see prices” button instead. Works with Dawn and most Online Store 2.0 themes; if something still shows on your theme, add its CSS selector under Theme compatibility (or email us and we'll find it for you).
This controls the storefront for your whole catalogue. To restrict only some products — and stop them at checkout too — use Product rules.
Product rules
Restrict some products without locking their pages: visitors can still browse them, but can't buy them. On Product rules, add a rule and choose:
- Applies to — products in chosen collections, specific products, products with a tag, or product types.
- Who can't buy them — guests, guests and customers without a tag (e.g. everyone except
wholesale), or everyone. - What they see instead of Add to cart — a message (e.g. “Log in to buy”, linking to your login page), a button that opens another page (e.g. “Request a quote”, or your product on another marketplace), or nothing.
- Also hide the price, if you like.
- Block these products at checkout (recommended) — the order can't go through even through a direct cart link, another app, or express buttons such as Shop Pay, and your message is shown in checkout. The cart page and cart drawer warn shoppers before they get there, with a Remove link.
Add to cart and Buy now are hidden on the product page and on product cards in collections, search and recommendations. If a product matches several rules, the first rule in the list decides — reorder with Move up / Move down. Changes reach your storefront within about a minute.
Insights shows how many visitors reached a restricted product and how many clicked your redirect button.
Checkout blocking is a Shopify “checkout rule” that enGate Me adds for you; you'll see it under Settings → Checkout → Checkout rules. If you switch it off there, product pages still hide the buttons but checkout no longer blocks.
Age check
Choose one-click confirmation or date of birth, your minimum age, and different ages per country (e.g. 21 in the US). The date fields follow the visitor's local order automatically. You can ask only on some pages or collections, let visitors tick “Remember me”, and choose where under-age visitors are sent. Search engines don't see the popup, so your pages stay indexed.
A popup is a self-declaration. Products that legally require ID checks need a dedicated ID-verification service.
Design & wording
Pick one of eight designs, then tweak the button, background, card and text colours (button text adjusts itself to stay readable, and you'll get a warning if text is hard to read). Choose a blurred view of your store, a solid colour or a background image behind the gate, a font, corners and your logo — Use my Shopify brand logo fills it in from Settings → Brand.
Under Wording, pick a screen and edit every text. Stuck for words? Choose a tone and click Suggest wording.
Translations
Add languages on Settings → Languages, then choose the language on Design → Wording and translate each text. Visitors automatically see the language of the store they're browsing; anything you leave empty uses your default text.
Regions
On Settings → Regions, block visitors from some countries or allow only some. The country comes from Shopify (Markets / geolocation), so it follows what Shopify detects for the visitor.
Insights & weekly report
Insights shows gate views, visitors let in, wrong tries, top passwords and waitlist sign-ups for the last 7, 30 or 90 days. Every Monday you get a short email summary — turn it off or change the address on Settings. Counts are anonymous daily totals; we never track individual visitors.
Search engines (SEO)
Pages that need a login, tag or password get a noindex tag so they don't appear in Google half-hidden (you can turn this off on Settings). Open pages are never affected, and the age check isn't shown to search engines.
Uninstalling
Because enGate Me never edits your theme code, uninstalling removes everything: gates stop immediately and your theme is exactly as before. Shopify cancels the subscription automatically, and 48 hours later we permanently delete your settings, passwords and waitlist.
Support
Email support@theappsgalore.com. Tell us your store address and what you expected to see — screenshots help. We usually reply within one business day.