Contest Setup
By James
By James
Configure contest details, prizes, entry settings, rules, and lifecycle status.
Contest Basics
Every contest has three core fields: a title, a description, and a URL slug. These are the foundation of your contest and what customers see first. Title The contest title appears on the entry form, in theme blocks, and in the public contest page. Keep it short and descriptive. - Required - Maximum 200 characters - Examples: "Summer Giveaway 2026", "Win a Free Product Bundle", "Holiday Sweepstakes" Description The description gives customers more detail about your contest. It appears below the title on the contest page and in theme blocks (if display is enabled). - Optional - Maximum 5,000 characters - Use this to explain what customers can win and how to enter URL Slug The slug is the last part of your contest's web address. When you type a title, a slug is generated automatically — but you can customize it. - Required - Maximum 50 characters - Only lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens (a-z, 0-9, -) - Must be unique within your store Your contest URL follows this format: https://yourstore.com/apps/contest/your-slug Tips for good slugs: - Keep them short and readable: summer-giveaway is better than summer-giveaway-2026-enter-now - Use hyphens to separate words - Avoid changing the slug after sharing the link — the old URL will stop working Editing Contest Details To edit a contest's basic information: 1. Go to Contests and click on the contest you want to edit. 2. You'll land on the Setup tab where you can modify the title, description, and slug. 3. Click Save to apply your changes. Note: Some fields may be locked once a contest is activated to prevent issues with existing entries.
Prizes
Prizes are what motivate customers to enter your contest. You can add as many prizes as you like, and mix product prizes with custom prizes. Product Prizes Product prizes are pulled directly from your Shopify catalog. This is the easiest way to add prizes because the product image and title are imported automatically. To add a product prize: 1. Open your contest and go to the Setup tab. 2. Click Add product prize. 3. Browse or search your catalog using the product picker. 4. Select one or more products. If a product has variants, you can choose a specific variant. 5. Set the quantity — how many of this prize you're giving away. Product prizes display with their catalog image on the entry form and contest page. Custom Prizes Custom prizes let you offer anything — gift cards, experiences, exclusive access, or prizes that aren't in your Shopify catalog. To add a custom prize: 1. Open your contest and go to the Setup tab. 2. Click Add custom prize. 3. Enter a title (e.g., "$100 Gift Card"). 4. Optionally add a description with more details. 5. Optionally add an image URL if you have a hosted image. 6. Set the quantity (1–100). Managing Prizes - Reorder — Prizes are displayed in the order you add them. The first prize appears at the top of the entry form. - Remove — Click the remove button next to any prize to delete it. - Quantity — Each prize has a quantity field (1–100). This controls how many winners can be selected for that specific prize. How Prizes Display Prizes appear on: - The public contest page — With images, titles, and quantities - Theme blocks (popup and form) — When the "Show prizes" display option is enabled - The winners tab — Where you assign prizes to selected winners If a product prize has an image, it's shown alongside the prize title. Quantities greater than 1 show a multiplier badge (e.g., "x3"). Best Practices - Use product prizes when possible — They look better because they pull in your catalog images automatically. - Keep prize titles clear — Customers should understand exactly what they can win at a glance. - Set accurate quantities — The quantity determines how many winners you can draw for each prize.
Entry Settings
Entry settings control how customers enter your contest and how winners are chosen. You'll find these options on the Setup tab of any contest. Winner Selection Method Choose how winners will be picked: Random draw Winners are selected randomly from all eligible entries. When you draw a winner on the Winners tab, the system picks a random entry — entries with higher total entry counts have proportionally better odds. Manual selection You hand-pick the winners yourself. On the Winners tab, you'll see a list of all entries and can select specific ones as winners. Entries Per Customer This sets how many times a single customer can enter the contest. Entries are deduplicated by email address. - Minimum: 1 (each email can enter once) - Maximum: 10 - Default: 1 When a customer enters with the same email a second time, their total entry count increases (improving their odds in a random draw), but no duplicate entry record is created. Optional Form Fields By default, the entry form only asks for an email address. You can collect additional information: Collect name Adds an optional name field to the entry form. The field is labeled "Your name (optional)" and uses the name autocomplete attribute for convenience. Collect phone Adds an optional phone number field to the entry form. The field is labeled "Phone number (optional)" and uses the tel autocomplete attribute. Both fields are optional for the customer — they can enter without filling them in. All personal information (email, name, phone) is encrypted at rest for privacy. How Entry Deduplication Works When a customer submits the entry form: 1. The system checks if that email has already entered this contest. 2. If it's a new email, a new entry is created. 3. If the email already exists and the customer hasn't reached their entry limit, the total entry count on the existing entry is incremented. 4. If the email already exists and the limit is reached, the customer sees a message that they've already entered. This means each unique email address has exactly one entry record, with a total_entries count that tracks how many times they've submitted.
Terms & Conditions
Adding terms and conditions to your contest protects both you and your customers. The terms appear as a collapsible section on the contest entry page and can be toggled on or off in theme blocks. Adding Terms 1. Open your contest and go to the Setup tab. 2. Scroll to the Terms & Conditions section. 3. Enter your contest rules in the text area. 4. Click Save. The field supports up to 50,000 characters. How Terms Display On the public contest page: Terms appear as a "Terms & Conditions" link below the entry form. When clicked, the full text expands in a collapsible section. In theme blocks (popup and form): Terms display is controlled by the "Show terms link" toggle in the block settings. When enabled, the terms link appears below the form. What to Include While legal requirements vary by jurisdiction, most contest terms should cover: - Eligibility — Who can enter (age, location, etc.) - Entry period — Start and end dates - How to enter — What's required (email, etc.) - Prizes — Description and approximate value - Winner selection — How and when winners are chosen - Notification — How winners will be contacted - Privacy — How personal information is used - General conditions — Void where prohibited, right to modify, etc. Best Practices - Always include terms for public-facing contests — even simple ones. - Be specific about dates — Include exact start and end times with timezone. - Consult a lawyer for high-value contests or contests open to multiple jurisdictions. - Keep language clear — Customers should be able to understand the rules without legal training.
Contest Lifecycle
Every contest moves through a series of statuses. Understanding these helps you manage your contests effectively. Statuses Draft When you create a contest, it starts in Draft status. - The contest is not visible to customers - The contest page URL returns a "not found" page - You can freely edit all fields - Theme blocks won't display draft contests Actions available: Activate, Edit, Delete Active Activating a contest makes it live and available to customers. - The contest page is publicly accessible at its URL - The entry form accepts submissions - Theme blocks (popup and form) can display the contest - The contest is synced to Shopify metaobjects so your theme can access it - Analytics tracking begins (page views, entries) Actions available: End contest, Preview, Copy link, Archive Ended A contest ends when you manually end it or when the end date passes. - The contest page is no longer accepting entries - Existing entries are preserved - You can still view entries and select winners - Theme blocks stop displaying the contest - The contest metaobject is kept in Shopify in draft mode so existing block selections stay connected Actions available: Archive, View entries, Select winners Archived Archiving a contest removes it from your active view. - Hidden from the contest list by default (use the filter to see archived contests) - Not available in theme blocks - Metaobject remains in Shopify in draft mode to preserve existing block references - All data (entries, winners) is preserved Actions available: View entries, View winners Changing Status Activating a Contest 1. Open the contest you want to activate. 2. Click the Activate button. 3. The contest immediately goes live. Before activating, make sure your title, description, prizes, and entry settings are configured — some fields lock after activation. Ending a Contest You can end a contest in two ways: - Manually — Click the End contest button on any active contest. - Automatically — The contest stops accepting entries when the end date passes. The status updates the next time the contest is accessed. Archiving a Contest Click Archive from the contest actions menu. This works from any status (draft, active, or ended). Status Flow Draft → Active → Ended → Archived ↓ ↑ └────────────────────────┘ (can archive directly) Duplicating a Contest You can duplicate any contest to create a copy with the same settings: 1. Go to the Contests list. 2. Find the contest you want to copy. 3. Click Duplicate from the actions menu. The duplicate is created in Draft status with a new slug (the original slug with a timestamp suffix to ensure uniqueness). All settings, prizes, and display configurations are copied — entries and winners are not.