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Each subshop has an operational status that controls whether it is publicly accessible. Administrators can change the mode via the admin interface. The change takes immediate effect for all visitors.

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Available modes

A subshop is always in one of the following modes.
ModeAccessTypical use
ActiveAnyone.Normal live operation.
Test modeOnly visitors who authenticate via the test mode login.Testing and acceptance before going live.
Test products become visible.
InactiveNo one — every request is redirected to a short “Shop not available” page.Shop not yet started or shut down.

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Changing the mode (Admin Interface)

Path: Admin → Configuration → Subshops In the subshop table there is a column called “Status” that displays the current mode of each subshop. Each row has a context menu whose entries are based on the current status — only the transitions that make sense from the current state are displayed:
  • Go live - switch to Active mode.
  • Set to test mode - switch to test mode.
  • Deactivate - switch to Inactive mode.
Websale Doku Set Testmode

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Going live

Before every change, the Go live option performs a readiness check. All active online payment methods are checked, and every one that is still in sandbox mode is reported. All checks were passed - The shop is set to Active and a success message appears. The table is reloaded and the row shows the new status. A blocker was found - No change is applied. An error message (“Go-live blocked”) lists each blocking service and the reason (e.g., PayPal: sandbox). Resolve the blocker and try again.

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Switching to test or inactive mode

When you select test mode or the Deactivate option, the change is applied directly without a readiness check being performed.

The following happens after the change (depending on the selected mode):
  • Test mode
    The public shop is locked behind the test mode login. Only authenticated visitors see the shop. Products marked as “test” become visible. This is suitable for go-live validation with payment providers in a safe state. Orders placed in test mode automatically receive the verification status test.
  • Inactive
    Every visitor sees the short “Shop is currently inactive” page, regardless of the URL they called. For details about the template, see here.

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Readiness check via API

The readiness check can also be triggered programmatically. The same checks are performed as for the “Go live” button, but the status is not changed. Details about the endpoint method and the subsequent setting of the status can be found in the API reference.

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Inactive page

If a subshop is in inactive mode, every incoming request is redirected to a standalone “Shop not available” page — regardless of which URL the visitor called. The inactive page is rendered from the template myshop/template/views/inactive.htm. Here myshop serves as a placeholder for the actual shop name.

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Customization

If you would like to customize the inactive page for a specific shop (e.g., branding, localization, contact information), override this template in the shop-specific template directory.

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Multilingual support

An English variant does not currently exist. If needed, create it under the path templates-english/views/inactive.htm.

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Good to know

  • The status is a per-subshop setting (more on this here).
  • Status changes are reversible at any time via the same context menu.
  • The readiness check is only executed when switching to the “Active” state. A switch to test mode or inactive mode is always allowed.
  • The status can also be set directly in the configuration to "status": "active". In this case, the readiness check is skipped, so the mentioned checks do not take place.