How to Block Countries on Shopify
Shopify can stop orders from a country, but not visitors. Here's how to block visitors and orders from any country, state or province, even through a VPN.
Short answer
Shopify can stop orders from a country, but not visitors. Ongoing Defender does both: visitors from blocked countries or states see a stop page in your own words, and orders shipping there are refused at checkout, even if the buyer uses a VPN.
Why stores block countries
- You can't ship there, and want to stop people browsing products they can't buy.
- Fraud or chargebacks keep coming from one region.
- Copycat stores and scrapers in one country keep taking your content.
- Legal, licensing or distribution agreements limit where you can sell.
- You serve one market and want to keep things simple.
How to do it with Ongoing Defender
- 1Install Ongoing Defender and switch on its app embed.
- 2Open Country blocking and add the countries, states or provinces to block. Or switch to letting in only the places you choose.
- 3Write your stop page heading and message, and check the live preview beside it.
- 4Turn on checkout rules, so orders shipping or billing to blocked places are refused too.
- 5Check the status banner. It tells you exactly what's live, like "Visitors from United States see the stop page," and warns you if your own location is blocked, with one click to exclude your IP.
Google and other search engines always get in, so blocking never costs you rankings or Google Shopping listings.
Write a stop page that keeps the sale
A blocked visitor might still be a customer somewhere else. Use your stop page to point them in the right direction.
- Link to your store or stockist for their region.
- Say why, briefly, for example "We don't ship to your area yet."
- Keep your brand's tone, so it feels like your store rather than an error.
- Use View stop page on my store to see exactly what visitors will see.
Before you switch it on
- Exclude your own IP and your team's, so travel never locks anyone out.
- Exclude wholesale customers by tag if any are based in a country you block.
- Turn on VPN blocking too, for the tightest protection.
Why Ongoing Defender instead of Shopify's built-in tools
| What you need | Shopify on its own | With Ongoing Defender |
|---|---|---|
| Stop orders shipping to a country | Yes, through Markets and shipping zones | Yes, refused at checkout as well |
| Stop people in a country seeing your store | Not built in | They see your stop page instead |
| Block one state or province | Orders only, through shipping zones | Visitors and orders |
| Let in only the countries you choose | Orders only | Visitors and orders |
| Stop a VPN getting around the block | Not built in | VPN blocking plus refusal at checkout |
Tips for best results
- Pair country blocking with VPN blocking, so visitors can't get around it by switching location.
- For regions in Italy, Spain, Ireland and the Philippines, use checkout rules, which go by the shipping address.
- Use letting-in-only mode if you sell in one or two countries. It's a much shorter list to manage.
- Changes reach visitors within a minute, so you can open a country for a launch straight away.
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