Wordpress eStore Startup Guide for Dummies

WordPress eStore Startup Guide for Dummies

Categories: Blog Setup, Wordpress Plugin

I have had a few requests from some of the users of the WordPress eStore plugin (to Sell digital content from your blog securely) to write up a step by step startup guide so they can be up and running and selling their products in less than five minutes… So here it is.

If you prefer a video tutorial then take a look at the WP eStore quick installation and usage video tutorial

Before you dive into playing around with all the various settings of the WP eStore plugin I recommend getting up and running first by following the simple startup steps outlined below.

wp_estore_dummies_icon1

1. Once you get the product download link in your email go ahead and download the zip file.
2. Extract the zip file and upload the ‘wp-cart-for-digital-products’ directory to your ‘/wp-content/plugins/’ directory.
3. Activate the plugin through the Plugins menu in WordPress.
4. After you activate the WordPress eStore Plugin, the settings/options menu can be found on the left hand side menu similar to the following screenshot (on WordPress version 2.7 or above)

5. First go to the ‘Settings’ menu and configure the general, email and digital product delivery options.

Most of the default settings should be enough to get you going but you may want to customize a few things.
Make sure to change the ‘Random Code’ to something hard to guess.

6. Now go to the ‘Add/Edit Products’ menu.

Fill in the Product name and product price fields.
Now fill in the URL of the actual product file in the ‘Digital Product Download URL’ field if this is a digital product.
- eg. downloads/online-courses/seo-course/awesome_ebook.zip (relative to the WP eStore plugin directory). You can use the full URL too if your download file is located somewhere else on your blog, eg. http://www.your-domain.com/wp-content/uploads/products/ebooks/awesome_ebook.zip. Buyers will get an encrypted version of this link so they will never see/know this URL.

7. Upload the digital product (eg. the pdf, zip file) to the location you just specified above. (Make sure you have the correct URL and it is accessible… one easy way to check this is to copy the full URL and and paste it into the browser address bar and then press enter. If the URL is correct, the browser will pop a download window for that file.

8. Go to the ‘Manage Products’ menu and this page will show you a table of all the existing products you have. To edit a product just click on the edit button for the corresponding product. Take note of the Product IDs in the ‘ID’ column of the table. You will need this product id to display an ‘add to cart’ button on your blog that corresponds to this product.

wordpress_estore_manage_product_sc1

9. Now just put the following trigger text where ever you want to add the ‘add to cart’ button to sell the product you just configured (assuming the product id of the product is 1)

10. Add one of the following shortcodes for the shopping cart where you want it to appear (in the post and/or on a checkout page). You can use the widget too to show the shopping cart on the sidebar.

wp_eStore_cart_when_not_empty]

wp_eStore_cart]

The first shortcode is useful when you want to show the shopping cart only when there are items in the cart (eg. in a post). The 2nd trigger text always shows the shopping cart (useful on a checkout page).

Now just sit back and see those sales come through and in your spare time browse the WP eStore documentation site to learn all the cool things you can do with this plugin

WP eStore Shopping Cart Screenshot

Useful Related Links

All WP eStore related documentation can be found on the WP eStore Documentation Site.

The WordPress eStore plugin can be found here.

Articles you may also like:

Tags: WordPress eStore , Wordpress Plugin

#1 by admin on May 10, 2009 - 6:00 pm

@MD, You can create a test product with a price of $0.01 and then purchase that product to see how everything goes. See the section “How to test if everything is working” section for more details on testing.

Yes, you can point to the actual PayPal button… all you need is the URL of the button. Enter the URL of the button that you want to use in the ‘Button text’ field from the setting menu.

#2 by MD on May 10, 2009 - 5:47 pm

I just purchased your plugin. Is there a way to mimic a transaction so that I know that everything is working properly? Also is there a way that I can point to the actual paypal button (.gif file) instead of your button?

#3 by Crystal Signature on May 10, 2009 - 8:51 am

Hi, I am wondering if there is a self-registration module/function, I am not selling digital downloadable products but real product, so I would defintely need my client’s address registered so I can mail my product out. Do you have any plan on expanding that function? Let us know. Your product is great and working nicely with NextGen Gallery. Although I had lots of problem on fixing a conflict with other plugings, but it seems now it’s working (so far).

http://www.crystalsignature.com

#4 by admin on May 9, 2009 - 10:27 pm

@Matt, Yes. You can use a custom button image or use the CSS file to change how the ‘Add to Cart’ button looks. To use a custom button image… upload it to your webhost and use the URL in the ‘Add to Cart button text or Image’ field of the plugin’s settings menu.

To change the look and feel of the button add or update the CSS div code in the ‘wp_eStore_style.css’ file.

#5 by Matt Kline on May 9, 2009 - 1:18 pm

Just wondering if there is a way to change the color of the add to cart button?
Great plugin, thanks

#6 by J Scott on May 4, 2009 - 2:28 am

I just upgraded and tried again, and everything is working perfectly now…

I would suggest you put a note on your page in case others run into the same problem…

Thanks for the help…and great plugin!

Thanks,
J

#7 by admin on May 4, 2009 - 2:11 am

Yep that is the problem. You need at least wordpress version 2.5 for the automatic product delivery to work as the paypal.php script needs some functionality that doesn’t exist in earlier versions.

#8 by J Scott on May 4, 2009 - 1:54 am

Here you go:

http://www.reistartup.com/business-plan

I’m using an older version of WordPress (v2.3.3)…though I assume that isn’t the problem…

Thanks for your help!

#9 by admin on May 4, 2009 - 1:52 am

The settings look good. Can you please post the URL of the page where you are using the button so I can check the HTML code?

#10 by J Scott on May 4, 2009 - 1:47 am

Yes…here’s a screen shot of the bottom of the admin panel:

http://www.reistartup.com/wp-content/uploads/screenshot.jpg

#11 by admin on May 4, 2009 - 1:42 am

Did you mark the “Allow Auto Product Delivery” option checked and save the settings?

#12 by J Scott on May 4, 2009 - 1:32 am

Hello,

I purchased your plugin today, and everything was going great until I tested the download functionality. I was able to complete the PayPal purchase, but never received the download link email.

I turned on debugging and tried again, but the ipn_handle_debug.log file was never written to (it’s still empty).

Any thoughts on why the download email is not being sent AND the debug log isn’t being written?

#13 by admin on April 28, 2009 - 11:50 pm

@Crystal,
I understand that you are new to WordPress. Lets get you going with the buttons…

1. There is a slight mistake in the trigger text you are using to show the button.
Use the following trigger text and the button should appear:

[wp_eStore_buy_now:product_id:1|button_text:Topaz:end]

2. To see the shopping cart you need to add the “WP Cart for Digital Products” widget to your sidebar. You can use the trigger text explained in the “Usage” section of the plugin page to show the shopping cart on your posts and pages too

Let me know how you go with these then we will go forward.

#14 by Crystal Signature on April 28, 2009 - 11:32 am

I just purchased your product but just hanging here because nothing show up, I wonder if you can help me sort it out.

Here is my site: http://66.147.242.172/~crystau5/, you can see there is a post with the title TEST, I have one single picture there, and you can see the text beneath it:
[wp_estore_buy_now:product_id:1|button_text:Topaz:end]
which I expect to be a “Buy Now” fancy button just like the page you are selling your product (that’s exactly what attract me to purchase the product)

And I also don’t see the “Your SHopping Cart”, no link is working and taking me to PayPal.

I just started blogging (on WordPress) a few days ago, and I believe there are many people like me who are your potential clients, can you help all of us by helping me to sort it out, thank you very much in advance.

#15 by admin on April 26, 2009 - 9:53 pm

@ Frosty, hmm.. both URLs (full and relative) should work. i will email you to get some more details off you so I can track the issue and get you going.

#16 by admin on April 26, 2009 - 9:12 pm

@Self-Publishing Children’s Books , If you are trying to do something like install the plugin on domain A and use it on domain B then it is not going to work. Do keep in mind that a sub-domain is a different domain. Bottom line… the page where you want to put the PayPal buy Now button needs to be part of your wordpress installation where this plugin is installed.

#17 by SimonJ on April 26, 2009 - 9:12 pm

Hum… Maybe I was not clear enough…

By “under” I was meaning “outside” (sorry, my english is sometime tired…)

I want to place the file in :

“home/user/download”

and NOT ins :

“home/user/public_html/download.

This way, the files wont be accessed via the Internet http browser… It’s a way to protect files.

If I can suggest a feature, it would be to make a “custom” download link, wich doesn’t mention the wordpress plugin directory…

#18 by The Frosty @WPCult on April 26, 2009 - 9:04 pm

Great plugin.
Best I’ve found so far.

Though, I’m having an issue with full download URLs. (http://……)

where only the (download/….) is working. But Since you don’t have an uploader, I’ve got to move files around on the server for it to get to the download folder of your plugin directory.

Thoughts, ideas?

#19 by admin on April 26, 2009 - 8:47 pm

@SimonJ, yes, it is possible to store the file under the ‘public_html’ directory. you can store the file anywhere as long as it can be accessed by the internet browser.

The link needs to go to the plugin directory because the plugin needs to decrypt the link and check to make sure the link hasn’t expired before it lets the buyer download the file.

At the moment it is not possible to limit the number of downloads. I intent to add a similar feature in the future.

#20 by admin on April 26, 2009 - 8:40 pm

@Helene, Please turn on debug explained in the “Email doesn’t arrive after purchase” section of this post.

To offer free products with your main product just put all the different products in a folder and then zip it and sell it as one product that comes with other free products. When the customer downloads the zip file he/she will get everything.

#21 by Self-Publishing Children's Books on April 26, 2009 - 7:28 pm

I bought this and can get it to work, but wondered is it possible to have a link on a webpage that is NOT part of my blog that would also trigger a Buy Now action?

And I don’t mean a static page that is administered through WordPress. I meant a different subdomain than my blog.

#22 by SimonJ on April 26, 2009 - 5:09 pm

Oh… And another question

Is there a way to limit the number of download attempt and/or knowing that the file was indeed downloaded by the customer ?

Thanks again

#23 by SimonJ on April 26, 2009 - 4:25 pm

It is possible to store the files to be sold “under” the public_html directory ?

Also, I readed in this thread that the link sent by email will look like :

http://www.your-domain.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-cart-for-digital-products/download.php?file=kz35q4ZymGtoPBPyZx25a3BcQQk1ma

Is there any way to make a custom link without the path to the plugin directory ?

Thanks

#24 by Helene on April 26, 2009 - 3:21 pm

I’ve tested the site so many times and tried to change parameters to see if I am doing wrong – but it is not working. HOW DO I GET THE DOWNLOAD LINK to reply to the buyer??? At every purchase I do, a receipt from PayPal arrives, but never the download link for the purchased image. Should arrive from my email post@….

Also, I want to offer some free stuff. It doesn’t look like PayPal likes free stuff, cos’ they treat it like error…
Do you have any idea how to solve this?

#25 by Cornel on April 24, 2009 - 7:24 pm

Amin – please send me the new version as well… I need the Admin Functions Menu bad

JK, I sell multiple products as well, in order to give the free bonuses for the ebooks, I have included all the bonuses and original ebook into a zip file. So the downloadable is a zip containing between 2-3 files.

#26 by JK on April 22, 2009 - 8:14 am

Thank you for your response. I’ll stay in touch with this page.

#27 by admin on April 22, 2009 - 7:46 am

@JK, at the moment this can’t be done but I will work on a solution and add it to the next release.

#28 by JK on April 22, 2009 - 6:09 am

Hi
I’ve just bought the plugin and I think it’s great.

But I have a question.I sell a product which is big, and it’s split in multiple archives. Is there anyway to add all the archived files in one link? Or how can I sell a package which contains multiple products?

thanks

#29 by Joe on April 21, 2009 - 8:25 am

Thanks for this excellent plugin, and for the timely replies to my queries. Best of luck!

Joe

#30 by admin on April 21, 2009 - 1:08 am

@Dana, the shopping cart is pretty dynamic and will automatically fit to the width of the sidebar but if your sidebar is too narrow (only 100pixel for example) then it is going to be hard for it to fit as it needs a little bit of room to show the “Item name”, “Quantity”, “Price” etc headers.

The CSS div name for the shopping cart is “shopping_cart”. You will find the CSS for this plugin in the file named ‘wp_eStore_style.css’. Try setting a width in that div.

In case your sidebar is too narrow I would recommend displaying the shopping cart on the post or on a checkout page and link it from the sidebar.

#31 by admin on April 21, 2009 - 1:03 am

@videodro, you can generate an encrypted link for a product and email that to a customer using the Admin Functions menu of the WP eStore plugin.

#32 by Dana on April 20, 2009 - 8:32 pm

Hi – Great plugin! The estore works well, but the shopping cart sidebar widget doesn’t fit. Can I change the width of the widget? Where is it in the plugin css?

Thanks,
Dana

#33 by videodro on April 20, 2009 - 2:07 pm

forgot to turn on the Allow Auto Product Delivery buttom
how can i send the customer the link to download the product…

#34 by Matt on April 16, 2009 - 6:05 am

Hey – Thanks for your quick response – this turned out to be user error ( d’oh) – all seems to be functioning fine.

Matt

#35 by admin on April 16, 2009 - 1:54 am

Hello Matt, Please turn debug on by checking the ‘Enable Debug’ check box from the settings menu and saving the settings. Now perform a test transaction. The plugin generates a file named “ipn_handle_debug.log” when the debug is on. email me that file and I should be able to tell you exactly where it’s having the issue.

#36 by Matt on April 16, 2009 - 1:48 am

Hi – I’m testing this plugin and the down load link isn’t arriving at the client email – the Paypal invoice arrives but no download link or notification.

ANy sugestions about where the issues might be.

Cheers

#37 by tom on April 14, 2009 - 6:19 pm

my comment did not post so I am testing if this does – sorry

#38 by Pyro Chue on April 14, 2009 - 5:41 am

hi, is it posible to let the customer purchase with account? thanks

#39 by Julius on April 13, 2009 - 11:49 pm

#40 by admin on April 13, 2009 - 11:14 pm

Hi Julius, The WordPress eStore plugin can be found here. There is an option to buy the plugin near the end of the post.

#41 by Julius on April 13, 2009 - 10:46 pm

sorry 4 multiple post. my email add on prev post was mistyped incase you send the url to my email add this one is right. thx again

#42 by Julius on April 13, 2009 - 10:42 pm

Hi where can I buy this plugin ? a website URL would be great. sorry, can’t see it anywhere. thx.

#43 by admin on April 3, 2009 - 8:25 pm

Hi Ben, The way you suggested is how I tell everybody to add tax if they need it. Not many people like to separate tax and the price so I never implemented the option. So unfortunately there is no way to automatically add 5% sales tax on a separate line. Now that you have mentioned it I will implement it in a future release though

#44 by Ben Saren on April 3, 2009 - 9:52 am

Hi there,

This is a fantastic plugin and it works like a charm for me!

One question though – is there any way to automatically add 5% sales tax? My client sells skin care products and in Massachusetts she is required to include, and line-item, sales tax on her transactions for auditing purposes. Is there a way this can be done?

I suppose I could just edit the PRODUCT-NAME to be something like “Product Name plus 5% MA sales tax” and just include the 5% in the final price, but that may not be good enough – might need that extra line item.

Any suggestions?

Thanks so much!
Ben

#45 by admin on March 29, 2009 - 8:58 pm

Hi Allison, the WP eStore is a Premium plugin… so you will have to buy it from the WP eStore plugin page

#46 by Allison Gardner on March 29, 2009 - 10:40 am

I can’t find how to download this plugin, i have searched for it in wordpress but it shows no links. How can I find this?

#47 by Jackie on March 25, 2009 - 10:00 pm

Brilliant thanks – all fixed it was the other plugin

#48 by admin on March 25, 2009 - 9:50 pm

Looks like some other plugin is conflicting with it.. the other plugin is filtering the :end] part with ” /> tag so when this plugin comes in it doesn’t find what its looking for.

The first thing I would do is check if the “WordPress Simple Paypal shopping cart plugin” is active. If it is then please disable it and then refresh the page to see how it goes. Let me know how you go after you have done that and we will go from there.

#49 by Jackie on March 25, 2009 - 9:45 pm

Wow, good response time thanksk. Um I put the code added a product and edited product id to “1″. but the html is showing up broken instead of the Add to cart button.

My blog is
http://joltconsulting.com.au/blog/

And the locaiton of the problem is

post http://joltconsulting.com.au/blog/?cat=101