Contest Setup
By James
By James
Configure contest details, prizes, entry settings, rules, and lifecycle status.
Contest Basics
The contest title, schedule, description, language, and URL are managed from the full-screen editor. Open the settings 1. From the dashboard, click the contest. 2. Open Build. 3. Expand Contest settings. Click the pencil beside the contest title in the editor header to rename it. Schedule Choose Contest mode under Schedule: - Fixed dates — set a start and end date. The end must follow the start, and entries close at that time. An ended contest needs a new future end date before reactivation. - Ongoing (Pro) — set a start date and a weekly, monthly, or quarterly Draw frequency. There is no final end date; the editor shows the next draw in your store's timezone. Entrants stay eligible for later draws until they win. Both modes must be activated before customers can enter. For the full recurring-draw setup, see Ongoing Contests. Description Use the description to explain the prize, the entry requirements, and important campaign details. It appears on customer-facing contest surfaces when the relevant display option is enabled. Contest language Choose English, German, Spanish, or French. This localizes system text, dates, generated templates, default terms, and discount emails. Text that you wrote yourself is not translated automatically. See Contest Languages for the full checklist. URL slug The slug is the final part of the hosted contest URL: https://yourstore.com/apps/contest/your-slug Use lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens, and keep it short and memorable. Each slug must be unique within your store. Avoid changing a slug after sharing the contest. Previously shared links do not automatically redirect to the new URL. Saving changes When the editor has unsaved changes, a bar provides Save and Discard actions. Preview the contest before saving major design or copy changes, especially on an active campaign.
Prizes
You can offer Shopify products, custom prizes, or a mixture of both. Prize order and quantity guide one-off winner selection in Results. In an ongoing contest, the first prize is awarded at every scheduled draw. Add prizes 1. Open the contest editor. 2. Go to Build and expand Prizes. 3. Choose a Shopify product or add a custom prize. Shopify product prize Use the product picker to search the store catalog. The product title and image are brought into the contest automatically. Where applicable, choose the intended product or variant. Custom prize Enter a title and optional description, then upload an image if you have one. Custom prizes are useful for gift cards, experiences, bundles, or anything not represented by a Shopify product. Edit prize quantity Click any prize card to expand it, then set the quantity from 1 to 999. Quantity is the number of winners that can be recorded for that prize. For fixed-date contests, Results shows how many awards remain for each prize and prevents you from exceeding the configured quantity. An ongoing contest repeatedly draws for the first prize, so plan enough stock or fulfillment capacity for future draws. Prize order The first prize is treated as the grand prize. Prizes appear to entrants in their configured order. For fixed dates, Results uses that order to guide one-off winner selection. For ongoing contests, the first listed prize is the one each draw awards. Remove a prize Expand the prize card and use its remove action. A prize linked to an existing winner cannot be removed: edit it instead, or keep it and add another. Review active contests carefully before changing an advertised prize, and ensure your terms still match the offer. Prepare a prize for fulfillment Winner selection and manual prize handling are available on Free and Pro. On Free, choose Handle redemption yourself and contact the winner directly. On Pro, UserLoop can collect delivery details and create a fully discounted Shopify draft or order. Shopify order creation is available only for a prize linked to a Shopify product. If the product has multiple variants, the winner chooses an option on the secure claim form. Custom prizes can use secure delivery-detail collection or manual redemption. Shopify fulfillment requires optional read_draft_orders and write_draft_orders access. The winner's submitted details remain available if order creation needs attention, so you can approve access or fix the issue and use Try again. See Sending and Fulfilling Winner Prizes. Where prizes appear Prizes can appear on the standalone page, popup, and app block when Show prizes is enabled in the Entry form or Design display options. They also appear in Results when you select winners. For recurring prize awards and delivery set up before launch, see Ongoing Contests.
Entry Settings
Entry settings control the information customers provide, marketing consent, and how many chances one person can earn from the base form. Configure the form 1. Open the contest editor. 2. Go to Build. 3. Expand Entry form. Email is always required. For First name and Phone number, choose: - Don't collect — the field is not shown. - Optional — the field is shown, but the entrant can leave it blank. - Required — the entrant must complete the field before submitting. Required fields are checked both in the storefront form and when the entry is submitted. Phone numbers must contain text, but UserLoop does not impose a country-specific format. Entrant contact information is encrypted at rest. Marketing consent (Pro integrations) When a Pro marketing integration is active, use Marketing consent to control: - Show email marketing opt-in and its consent text. - Show SMS marketing opt-in and its consent text. Opt-ins are optional, unchecked, and shown only while an active Pro integration needs them. Connecting Klaviyo or Campaign Monitor enables email consent on existing contests. Connecting Omnisend enables both email and SMS consent. Contests created while those integrations are active inherit the required controls. You can edit the consent text for each contest. Connected-integration warnings identify controls currently used by an email or SMS audience. If you turn one off, entrants may not be added to that audience. A Photo upload action can reuse the contest's email consent text in its vote form. Enable Require email to vote, then Ask voters for marketing consent. The checkbox remains optional and unchecked; only voters who select it are sent to active Pro email integrations. SMS subscription requires the contest to collect a phone number and the entrant to provide it and select the SMS opt-in. UserLoop never treats an unchecked control as marketing consent. See Photo Contests and Public Voting for voter consent, plus Klaviyo Integration, Omnisend Integration, and Campaign Monitor Integration. Entries per person Set a limit from 1 to 10. The system keeps one entrant record per email address. If the same address submits again before reaching the limit, its total entry count increases instead of creating a duplicate record. When the limit is reached, the customer is told they have already entered. Bonus actions can add further entries to the same entrant record. Random winner selection is weighted by the total entries earned, so three entries provide three chances compared with one chance for a single entry. Display and button text The Entry form step also lets you: - Change the submit button text. - Show or hide prizes. - Show or hide contest dates. - Show or hide the terms link. Custom text (Pro) Pro stores can open Design > Custom text to override translated labels, placeholders, validation messages, status notices, success copy, and action text. Leave a field blank to keep the built-in translation for the selected contest language. Where an override shows variables such as {{date}}, {{start}}, {{end}}, or {{count}}, keep the variable in the text so the correct live value can be inserted. Custom text applies to the standalone page, popup, and form block. A button or success-message override configured directly in a theme block takes precedence for that block. Use Design to preview the result on desktop and mobile and across standalone, popup, and app-block surfaces. Winner selection For a fixed-date contest, choose the final winner after the contest ends in Results using random draw, manual selection, or most votes for an eligible photo contest. For an ongoing contest, confirmed entrants remain in later scheduled draws until they win, and their total earned entries continue to weight each random draw. See Ongoing Contests.
Terms & Conditions
Clear rules help entrants understand eligibility, timing, prizes, and how a winner will be selected. Generated terms New contests can start with generated terms based on their current settings and language. Review them before launch: they are a useful starting point, not legal advice. For an ongoing contest, generated terms describe the start date, weekly/monthly/quarterly draw frequency, timezone, eligible period, and one-win rule instead of a final end date. Check that they match the prize and confirmation settings, and explain any changes to entrants. If you change a contest's dates or other material details, check that the terms still match. When an ended contest with auto-generated terms is reactivated using a new end date, the default terms are regenerated for the new schedule. Edit the rules 1. Open the contest editor. 2. Go to Build and expand Contest settings. 3. Edit the Terms & Conditions text. 4. Save the contest. Once you replace generated terms with custom text, later language changes do not translate that text for you. What to cover Most contest rules should explain: - Who is eligible, including age and location restrictions. - The opening and closing dates and timezone for fixed dates, or the start date, draw frequency, timezone, and any end policy for an ongoing contest. - How to enter and any limits. - The prizes and their approximate value. - How and when winners are chosen. - How winners will be contacted and how long they have to respond. - How submitted information and uploaded photos may be used. - Any exclusions, platform disclaimers, and right to modify or cancel. Photo contests should explicitly cover usage rights and moderation. Discount rewards should explain the offer, expiry, eligible products, and any other conditions. Displaying terms Enable Show terms in the Entry form or Design display options. Entrants can then open the rules from the contest experience. For high-value campaigns or contests spanning several jurisdictions, have a qualified legal professional review the final rules. For the Ongoing mode and its draw rules, see Ongoing Contests.
Contest Lifecycle
Every contest has a display status that tells you where it sits in its entry window and whether customers can submit entries. Mobile Contests dashboard showing the What's new bell, Needs attention tasks, status filters, and Live, Scheduled, and Paused badges Live A Live fixed-date contest has been activated and is between its scheduled start and end dates. An Ongoing contest has no final end date and stays Live after each draw while it is active. It can appear on the standalone page, popup, and app block and can accept entries. On a new Free-plan contest, the base entry remains live while bonus actions stay paused for entrants until you upgrade to Pro. Scheduled A Scheduled contest has been activated but its start date is still in the future. It sits in the dashboard's Active tab and becomes Live when the entry window opens. Draft A new contest starts as Draft. It is not customer-facing, and you can configure it in the editor before launch. Drafts also sit in the dashboard's Active tab because they are in-progress work. Paused Deactivate pauses a contest. A Paused contest is offline but keeps its settings, entries, storefront selections, and results. Activate it again when you are ready. Paused replaces the older Inactive dashboard label. Ended A fixed-date contest appears as Ended as soon as its end date passes or when you end it manually. Ongoing contests continue across draw periods until you end them; each draw does not end the contest. New entries stop, but the Results stage remains available for reviewing entrants and choosing winners. To reactivate an ended fixed-date contest, choose a new future end date. If the contest still uses auto-generated terms, they are regenerated for the new schedule; custom terms remain unchanged and should be reviewed manually. Archived Archiving hides a contest from the normal workflow and removes it from customer-facing surfaces without deleting its data. Find it under the Archived or All dashboard tab. You can unarchive or reactivate it later. Permanently deleted Permanent deletion is a destructive action, not a recoverable status. In the contest editor, open More actions (…), choose Delete permanently, and review the confirmation carefully. UserLoop removes the contest with all entries, winners, uploaded photos, and statistics. Uploaded entry photos are also removed from Shopify Files. This cannot be undone. Permanent contest deletion confirmation showing the data that will be removed Use Archive instead when you may need the contest, results, or entrant data again. Plan-aware bonus actions A Free-plan contest can be activated even when it contains paused bonus actions. Launch names the paused actions before activation, and a running contest can appear under Needs attention as Activate bonus actions. Upgrading to Pro makes the saved actions live immediately, with no relaunch. Contests that already had bonus actions when plan gating was introduced are grandfathered and keep them live. See Bonus Entry Actions for configuration and removal behavior. Dashboard filters - Active contains Live, Scheduled, Draft, and Paused contests. - Ended contains ended contests. - Archived contains archived contests. - All contains every contest. Common actions - Activate — launch a draft or resume a paused contest, subject to a valid schedule. - Reactivate — restart an ended fixed-date contest after choosing a new future end date. - Deactivate — pause a live or scheduled contest reversibly. - End contest & draw now — stop a live fixed-date contest early from Results and continue to winner selection. - Run draw now — for a live ongoing contest, draw from current eligible entries without ending the contest or changing its schedule. - Archive — hide the contest while preserving data. - Duplicate — create a new draft with copied settings and a unique slug; entries and winners are not copied. - Delete permanently — irreversibly remove the contest, results, uploaded photos, and statistics. Status flow Draft → Scheduled → Live ⇄ Paused ↓ Ended ↓ Archived A contest can move straight from Draft to Live when its start date has already arrived. Ended and archived contests can also be reactivated. Permanent deletion ends the lifecycle and is not shown as a status because no contest remains. Before changing a live campaign, consider what customers have already seen and ensure the public terms remain accurate. For recurring draws, automatic or manual confirmation, and Pro pauses, see Ongoing Contests.
Discount Code Rewards
On the Pro plan, a contest can automatically give every confirmed entrant a unique, single-use Shopify discount code. Before you begin The app needs Shopify discount access. If the editor shows Allow discount access, approve the requested read_discounts and write_discounts permissions before enabling the reward. Configure the reward 1. Open the contest editor. 2. Go to Build and expand Discount code. 3. Enable the discount reward. 4. Choose a percentage or fixed-amount discount. 5. Set the value and expiry. 6. Choose whether to send the code by email. 7. Save the contest and submit a test entry before launch. The app creates the supporting Shopify discount and generates a different code for each confirmed entrant. Each code is limited to one use by that customer. Entrants see their code in the success experience immediately after entry. Optional email delivery Enable email delivery when entrants should also receive their code in their inbox. The email uses the contest logo and colors, falling back to the store name when no logo is configured. It follows the contest language and includes the code, offer, and expiry. Example of a branded discount reward email Use Send test to deliver a sample to the store owner's email. A test checks layout and branding; it is not a substitute for a full storefront test entry. Monitoring codes Results indicates whether a discount code was issued for an entrant. Shopify remains the source of truth for discount configuration and redemption. Important considerations - Decide on the reward before promoting the contest and state it clearly in the terms. - Review value and expiry carefully before launch. - Keep email delivery enabled only when entrants have been told to expect it. - If you deactivate or end the contest, no new entrants can receive codes, but already issued Shopify codes follow their existing discount rules. - Do not delete or materially change the underlying Shopify discount while the campaign is active. If a code is not issued, confirm the store is on Pro, discount access is granted, the contest is active and within its schedule, and the entry was confirmed successfully.
Ongoing Contests
An Ongoing contest stays open without a final end date and draws a winner every week, month, or quarter. Entrants remain in later draws until they win. Ongoing contests are available on Pro. Recreation of Contest settings showing Ongoing mode, a monthly draw and manual winner confirmation Set up an ongoing contest 1. Create a contest or open a draft, then go to Build > Contest settings. 2. Under Schedule, set Contest mode to Ongoing. Choose a Start date and Draw frequency: Weekly, Monthly, or Quarterly. The editor shows the next draw in your store's timezone. 3. Under Winner confirmation, choose Manually confirm winners or Confirm winners automatically. 4. Add at least one prize under Build > Prizes. The first prize in the list is awarded at every draw, so plan for repeated awards. 5. In Contest settings > Prize delivery, choose how each winner receives the prize. For a Shopify product, you can create a discounted draft order for review or create the order automatically. You can also collect delivery details only, or choose Handle it myself. Shopify order creation requires you to click Approve Shopify access when prompted. 6. If UserLoop will contact winners, choose how long they have to claim (3, 7, 14, or 30 days). You can customize the winner email subject and message, or leave them blank to use the standard email in the contest's language. 7. Review your terms and storefront preview, save, then activate the contest from Launch. There is no end-date field in Ongoing mode. Weekly draws occur at the start of Monday, monthly draws on the first day of the month, and quarterly draws on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July, and 1 October, using your store's timezone. The first draw is at the next such boundary after the contest starts. How entrants and draws work Each scheduled draw randomly selects a confirmed entrant who entered before that period closed and has not already won this contest. Entrants stay eligible for later periods without submitting again. More earned entries, including bonus entries, increase their chance of being selected. If nobody is eligible, Draw history records No entries and no winner is chosen. Open Results (on mobile, tap Draw winners) to see Scheduled draws, the next draw, frequency, confirmation setting, prize, delivery method, any proposed winner, and Draw history. A draw does not close the contest to new entrants. The dashboard also shows the next draw on an ongoing contest's card. You can click Run draw now in Results when the contest is live, has a prize and eligible entrants, and has no proposal waiting for your decision. This draws from current entries without changing the regular schedule. Confirm a proposed winner With Manually confirm winners, UserLoop emails you the proposed winner. Open the email's secure decision link or Results (tap Draw winners on mobile), then choose Accept winner or Redraw. Redraw replaces the proposal and excludes that entrant from the same draw; up to five attempts are available. The proposal must be decided before the next draw or it is skipped. If three proposals go unanswered, draws pause until you click Resume draws in Results. With Confirm winners automatically, the selected winner is confirmed without your approval and UserLoop emails you the result. A confirmed entrant cannot win this contest again. When a winner is confirmed, the saved prize-delivery choice starts immediately. UserLoop emails the winner a secure claim link for the draft-order, automatic-order, or delivery-details options. If you chose Handle it myself, UserLoop does not email the winner: contact them using the winner card and arrange delivery yourself. Track claims and fulfillment from the winner card in Draw history. Changes and troubleshooting - Ongoing contests require Pro. If the store moves to Free, scheduled draws pause. Returning to Pro resumes future draws; missed periods are not drawn retrospectively. - You can change draw frequency, confirmation, prize order, and delivery in Build. Once a contest has a draw in its history, it cannot be switched back to Fixed dates. - A prize already associated with a winner cannot be removed. Edit it instead, or keep it and add another prize. Removing a confirmed winner does not return that entrant to future ongoing draws. - If Run draw now is unavailable, check that the contest is live, Pro is active, a prize and eligible entrants exist, and no proposal is awaiting confirmation. - If a winner email or Shopify order needs attention, open the winner card in Results. Check the email status, claim, product, and Shopify access; use Try again when the card offers it. For the one-off winner workflow, see Selecting Winners. For claim and order details, see Sending and Fulfilling Winner Prizes. For status changes, see Contest Lifecycle.