Installation & Setup¶
Requirements¶
Before installing, make sure your store meets these requirements:
- Shopify plan: Shopify, Advanced Shopify, or Shopify Plus (gift cards are not available on Basic)
- Store currency: Set to your primary operating currency — GiftCard Hero uses this for gift card denominations
- Admin access: You need the "Manage gift cards" permission in Shopify Admin
Installing the app¶
- Find GiftCard Hero in the Shopify App Store.
- Click Add app.
- Review the permissions the app requests and click Install app.
Permissions explained¶
GiftCard Hero requests access to:
| Permission | Why it's needed |
|---|---|
| Gift cards (read/write) | Create, update, and read gift card balances |
| Orders (read) | Match gift card purchases to orders for analytics |
| Customers (read/write) | Associate gift cards with customer accounts |
| Products (read/write) | Set up the gift card product on your storefront |
| Storefront API | Enable customer-facing features |
Completing the onboarding wizard¶
After installation, you'll be taken through the setup wizard. It covers the essential steps:
Step 1 — Select a plan¶
Choose the GiftCard Hero subscription plan that fits your store's volume. You can upgrade or downgrade later from the billing section.
Step 2 — Set up your eGift card product¶
The wizard creates a Shopify product that customers use to purchase gift cards. You can:
- Set the product title and description
- Choose which denominations to offer (e.g., $25, $50, $100)
- Allow custom amounts within a range
This product will appear in your Shopify storefront and can be managed like any other product.
Step 3 — Customize the gift card email¶
Set up the email that recipients receive with their gift card code. At minimum, configure:
- Your store logo
- A message from the store
You can fully customize the template later from [[email-templates|Email Templates]].
Step 4 — Enable the balance check widget (optional)¶
If you want customers to check their gift card balance on your storefront, enable the widget here. It adds a small widget to your storefront that you can position and style. Full configuration is available in [[balance-widget|Balance Widget]].
Step 5 — POS setup (optional)¶
If you use Shopify POS, follow the prompts to enable the GiftCard Hero POS tile. See [[pos-integration|POS Integration]] for the full setup guide.
After installation¶
Once the wizard is complete, you'll land on the GiftCard Hero dashboard. At this point:
- Your eGift card product is live on your storefront
- Customers can purchase gift cards and recipients will receive them by email
- You can access all features from the left navigation
Uninstalling¶
If you uninstall GiftCard Hero:
- All existing gift cards remain valid in your Shopify store — they are native Shopify gift cards
- The balance check widget is removed from your storefront
- Your customizations and analytics history are retained for 30 days in case you reinstall
- After 30 days, your data is permanently deleted per our data retention policy
- Greetiong messages/videos become unavailable
Note: Uninstalling does not delete or invalidate any gift cards that have already been issued. Customers can still redeem them at checkout.