Getting Started
← All documentationInstalling the app from the Shopify App Store is only the first step. Storefront blocking doesn’t take effect until you also turn on the app’s theme embed and confirm Order Shield’s own status is on.
1. Activate the theme app embed
Shopify never lets an app switch on a theme embed for you automatically — that’s a deliberate security boundary, not a limitation of this app. From the app’s Dashboard, use the “Activate in theme” link. It opens your Shopify Theme Editor with this app’s embed already selected in the App embeds panel, so you don’t have to find it among every other app’s embeds. Turn it on, then save your theme.
Without this step, the storefront-side blocking script never loads on your store, and none of your rules will be enforced — even if they’re fully configured in the app.
Why the app can’t do this for you
Enabling a theme app embed requires editing the merchant’s live theme, which Shopify only allows through the Theme Editor UI itself, with your explicit action. No Shopify app can toggle this silently in the background.
2. Turn on Order Shield’s status
Separately from the theme embed, the app has its own on/off switch (visible on the Dashboard as “Order Shield app status”). Both need to be on: the theme embed lets the blocking script run on your storefront at all, and the app status switch is the master toggle for whether it actually evaluates your rules.
3. Confirm setup on the Dashboard
The Dashboard shows both of these as a real, live checklist — not just a static reminder — so you can see at a glance whether the embed is active and whether Order Shield is on, without needing to open the Theme Editor again to check.
4. Create your first rule
Once both are on, go to Block & Re-director to create your first IP, country, or province rule. See Block Rules for exactly how matching and precedence work.