# Getting Started / Initial Setup

## Step 1: Create a Promotion

1. Open the **Giveaway Gator** app from your Shopify admin dashboard.
2. Click **Create promotion**.
3. Fill in the promotion details:
   - **Name**: Give your promotion a descriptive name.
   - **Dollar Per Entry**: Set how many dollars a customer needs to spend to earn 1 entry (e.g., $1 = 1 entry). Minimum is $1.
   - **Start Date & End Date**: Define when the promotion runs.
   - **Timezone**: Select the timezone for your promotion. If you've set a default timezone in App Preferences, it will be pre-selected.

> **Important:** To include the full last day of your promotion, set the end time to **12:00 AM on the day after** the final day. For example, for a promotion ending October 31st, set the end date to November 1st at 12:00 AM.

4. Click **Create** to save your promotion.

## Step 2: Add Giveaway Gator to Your Storefront

Giveaway Gator tracks entries automatically in the background — even without any theme setup, every order is processed and entries are calculated. But to show customers their entries, display countdown timers, and build excitement, you'll want to add Giveaway Gator's storefront components.

### Recommended Setup

These are the components most merchants install right away:

**1. Enable the Giveaway Gator App Embed**

This is the engine that powers all the storefront blocks below. It runs site-wide and handles entry calculations, countdown timers, and global styling.

1. Go to **Shopify Admin > Online Store > Themes**.
2. Click **Customize** on your active theme.
3. In the left sidebar, click **App embeds** (the puzzle piece icon).
4. Toggle on **Giveaway Gator**.
5. Click **Save**.

You can customize global styling here — colors, font size, border radius, and multiplier badge appearance. These settings apply to all Giveaway Gator blocks across your store.

**2. Add the Giveaway Entry Tag to Product Pages**

This shows customers how many entries a product is worth (e.g., "50 entries" or "50 entries 3X"). It automatically updates when a customer selects a different variant.

1. In the theme editor, go to your **product page** template.
2. Click **Add block** in the product information section.
3. Under **Apps**, select **Giveaway Entry Tag**.
4. Position it where you'd like (e.g., below the price), then **Save**.

On Horizon and newer themes you can add the same **Giveaway Entry Tag** block to your collection product cards too — no code required. See [Displaying Entries on Product Cards](product-entry-tags.md) for more details.

**3. Add the Thank You Page Extension**

This shows customers how many entries they just earned after completing a purchase. It activates automatically once the app is installed — you can customize it from **Shopify Admin > Settings > Checkout > Thank you page**.

See [Thank You Page Entries Display](thank-you-page.md) for more details.

**4. Add the Entry Checker**

This gives customers a self-service page to look up their total entries by email. Create a page (e.g., "/pages/check-entries"), then:

1. In the theme editor, navigate to that page.
2. Click **Add block** and select **Entry Checker** under Apps.
3. Customize the title, button text, and styling, then **Save**.

See [How Customers See Their Entries](entry-checker.md) for more details.

### Advanced Blocks

These blocks add extra engagement features. They all require the Giveaway Gator app embed to be enabled.

To add any of these: in the theme editor, click **Add block** in the section where you want it, select the block under **Apps**, configure it, and **Save**.

**Timer Banners** — A countdown timer showing time remaining in your promotion or bonus period. Supports 4 display styles: Inline, Banner, Floating, and Boxes. You can customize the timer template using placeholders like `${days}`, `${hours}`, `${minutes}`, `${seconds}`. See [Countdown Timer](countdown-timer.md).

**Timer Boxes** — A dedicated boxes-style countdown timer with additional layout options like label placement (inside or outside boxes), separator visibility, and independent desktop/mobile sizing. Use this instead of Timer Banners if you want more control over the boxes layout.

**GG Progress Bar** — An animated progress bar that fills up as the promotion or bonus period countdown progresses. Multiple animation styles available: Pulse, Gradient Flow, Left-Right Pulse, and Glow Pulse. Can also add slanted bar overlays. See [Countdown Progress Bar](countdown-progress-bar.md).

**POS Receipt Claim** — A form for in-store POS customers to claim giveaway entries by entering their receipt number, name, and email. See [POS Claim External API](pos-claim-api.md).

## Step 3: Set Up Bonus Periods (Optional)

See [Bonus Periods](bonus-periods.md) for how to create time-limited entry multipliers.