Turn on the app embed and check activation status
Read time: 5 minutes. Last updated: June 20, 2026 Who it's for: Merchants whose Request a quote button isn't showing yet, and anyone setting QuotWay up for the first time who needs to confirm every storefront surface is live.
Before any QuotWay button appears on your storefront, two things have to be true: the app embed is turned on in your theme, and the blocks you want are placed. The app embed is the runtime - it loads the QuotWay storefront script so buttons, the quote drawer, and price hiding can work. This article shows you how to turn the embed on, read the Activation status panel, and understand what "Placed" and "Active" mean for each surface. If your button doesn't appear, start here - it's the most common fix.
What you'll achieve
By the end, the app embed is on, the Activation status panel shows green for the surfaces you use, and you know how to re-check after any change.
Before you start
- QuotWay is installed in your Shopify admin.
- You're using an Online Store 2.0 theme (Dawn, Horizon, and most modern themes qualify). The app embed turns on from the theme editor - no theme code to edit.
Step 1 - Turn on the app embed
- From your QuotWay admin, open Settings → Activation, then select Enable app embed. (Or go to Shopify admin → Online Store → Themes → Customize → App embeds.)
- In the theme editor's App embeds panel, find QuotWay and switch its toggle on.
- Select Save.
The app embed loads once per storefront page. With it off, no QuotWay button or drawer renders anywhere, no matter how your blocks are placed - so this is always the first thing to check.
Step 2 - Read the Activation status panel
Open Settings → Activation in your QuotWay admin. The Surfaces table lists every place QuotWay can appear, each with a live status badge and, where something still needs doing, a setup action. QuotWay probes your published theme in real time, so the badges reflect what's actually live - not what you intended.
| Surface | What the status means |
|---|---|
| App embed | Enabled (green) means the runtime is loaded in your published theme. Disabled (amber) means turn it on - nothing else works until you do. |
| Quote button block (product page) | Placed (green) means the QuotWay Quote Button block is added to your product template. Not placed (amber) shows an Add quote button action. |
| Cart quote block (cart page) | Placed (green) means the QuotWay Cart Quote Button block is on your cart template. Not placed (optional) (neutral) - the cart-page block is optional, so this stays neutral, not a warning. |
| Customer Account UI extension | Active (green) when the My Quotes block is placed on new customer accounts. If your store uses new customer accounts but the block isn't placed yet, you'll see a finish-setup action; legacy accounts route buyers to the hosted portal instead. |
| Hosted portal | Configured (green) - always available. Buyers reach their quote through a secure link with no setup needed. |
| Buyer path readiness | A roll-up: Ready (green) once the app embed is on and the product quote button block is placed - the minimum for a buyer to request a quote from your storefront. |
What "Placed" vs "Active" mean
- Active / Enabled describes the app embed - the runtime is switched on and loaded in your theme.
- Placed describes a block - you've added it to a template in the theme editor and saved.
- A surface is only fully green when both apply to it: for the product button, the embed must be Enabled and the block Placed.
The mini-cart (drawer) button and the product-card button don't appear in this table as separate "Placed" rows - they're auto-injected by the app embed (drawers and cards can't host theme blocks), so they have nothing to place. See Cart and mini-cart quote button.
Step 3 - Re-check after a change
The panel re-probes your theme automatically whenever you switch back to the QuotWay tab or window - so the usual flow is: open the theme editor in a new tab, make your change, switch back, and watch the badge turn green.
If a badge looks stale after you've changed your store's setup (for example, you enabled Shopify B2B after installing), use Settings → Activation → Re-check to force QuotWay to re-detect your store and refresh every surface.
Common gotchas
- Everything is amber and no button shows. The app embed is off. Turn it on (Step 1) - it gates every other surface.
- The embed is on but the product button is "Not placed." Add the QuotWay Quote Button block to your product template. See Quote button placement.
- A surface is green but buyers still don't see the button. The button only shows on products and buyers that match an active targeting rule. Confirm your rules. See Targeting rules.
- The badge didn't update after I changed my theme. The panel refreshes when you return to the tab; if it's still stale, use Re-check.
Related articles
- Quote button placement - add the product and cart blocks in the theme editor.
- Cart and mini-cart quote button - the cart-page block and the auto-injected drawer button.
- Targeting rules - decide which products and buyers see the button once everything is active.
Still need a hand? The team is happy to help.