WordPress eStore | Tips and Tricks WP eCommerce

WP eStore – How Does the Manual Checkout Option Work?

This documentation will address the usage and setup of the ‘Manual/Off-line Checkout Settings‘ feature of the WP eStore plugin.

What is the Manual Checkout Option?

The manual checkout option (when enabled) allows your customers to proceed to checkout with an item without needing to pay. This feature is useful if you have a business that has physical products where most of the transactions occur offline. Other business owners are able to use this feature to sell items to a non-for-profit organization where they give the items in return for a payment later on. The ‘Manual Checkout Option’ is also widely used for companies that wish to offer an in-store pickup and payment option. This feature is fully customizable allowing you to:

Choose if the product database is updated automatically after a manual checkout
Add a shipping charge
Customize emails sent from the plugin to both the seller and the buyer
Direct your customers to a specific page after the checkout is complete
Decide on functions that relate to the WP Affiliate and eMember plugins

manual-checkout-option

How Do my Customer’s Checkout with the Manual Option?

1) Your customer goes to your store and checks out via the manual checkout option.

2) The customer gets an email that contains all the items he/she ordered.

3) The customer also gets some “instructions” in the email. You specify the instructions in the “Directions for the Customer” field under the manual checkout settings section. This instruction could read:
“Come to our store [address of your store] with the money to pickup your item.”

Example: Ability to Manually Checkout

manual-checkout-box

Example: Manual Checkout Form

form-for-manual-checkout-option

Locating the Manual Checkout Option

The manual checkout option is located in the ‘Settings’ menu of the WP eStore plugin.

Click on the ‘Settings’ menu of the WP eStore plugin.
Click on the ‘Payment Gateway Settings’ tab.
You will now see a section titled ‘Manual/Off-line Checkout Settings’. This documentation will focus on this feature of the plugin.

Configuring the Manual Checkout Option

Configuring the manual checkout option is simple and easy.

Step 1) Under the ‘Payment Gateway Settings‘ tab, you will need to check the ‘Use Multiple Payment Gateways‘ box to be able to offer both a standard checkout (for example, PayPal) and a manual checkout to your customers.

Step 2) Use the above steps to locate the ‘Manual Checkout Options’ area. Check the box next to ‘Use Manual Payment Option‘ to enable this feature.

Step 3) Enter in the email address of the seller (merchant) and choose a subject for the emails that will be sent from the plugin.

Step 4) If you would like to add directions for your customers, you can type these in the ‘Directions for Customers‘ box. Email tags can be used in this field.

Step 5) Paste in a return URL where you would like to send your customers after they have enter in their details for manual checkout.

manual-checkout-options

Step 6) Tick the boxes for the following if they apply to your product: ‘Do Not Add Shipping Charge‘, ‘Automatically Update Customer & Product Database‘, ‘Create Membership Account‘, ‘Perform Autoresponder Signup‘, ‘Automatically Award Affiliate Commission‘ and ‘Send Product Download Links in the Email‘.

Step 7) You can edit the title of the ‘Manual Checkout Option’ viewed by your customers from the word ‘Manual’ to the wording of your choice in the ‘Manual Checkout Selector Label‘ field.

Step 8) Ensure you ‘Update‘ the changes you have made.

manual-checkout-full-options

Promoting Manual Checkout for the Products

To give your customers the option to use the ‘Manual Checkout Option’ you will need to use an ‘Add to Cart’ button. This can be a ‘fancy’ add to cart button or a simple add to cart button. Using a ‘Buy Now’ button will not offer your customers the choice of ‘Manual Checkout’. Your customer will see the option to checkout manually when they view the ‘Shopping Cart’. The ‘Manual’ option appears beneath their item total in a drop down menu. To complete a manual order, your customer will be required to fill in an order form.

When a customer checkouts using the ‘Manual’ option, their ‘Payment Status’ will appear as ‘Unpaid‘. This can be manually edited by admin once the customer pays cash in person or transfer money into the business account.

Using Product Specific Instructions in WP eStore

You can use the “Product Specific Instructions” feature of WP eStore to send special instructions (specific to a product) to your customers.

Your customers will only get this info when they purchase this product in question.

This is great for the following:

Send some special usage instructions specific to that product.
Explain some steps that they need to do before they can use the item.
Send them access to a URL that is password protected (you can share the URL and the password using this option).
Share the password to open the file (if there is one).
… and so on …

Step 1) Edit the product in question and enter the info in the “Product Specific Instructions” field

product-specific-instructions-configuration

Step 2) Edit the buyer email body (from the Email Settings menu of WP eStore).

Enter the following email shortcode in there (where you want the product specific instructions to show):

{product_specific_instructions}

WP eStore Bulk Discount By Line Item AddOn

The eStore Bulk Discount By Line Item addon allows your customers to automatically get a discount based on the number of items they are purchasing.

Installing the eStore Bulk Discount By Line Item Addon

You can install this addon the same way you install any WordPress plugin:

Go to the “Add New” plugins screen in your WordPress admin area
Click the “upload” tab
Browse for the addon file (eStore-bulk-discount-by-line-item.zip)
Click “Install Now” and then activate the plugin

Using this Addon

When this addon is active, You can easily configure some conditions that will be used to automatically apply a discount on the items in the shopping cart.

To configure a new discount condition click on the “eStore bulk discount” sub-menu under the WP eStore plugin menu.

To add a new discount condition you need to enter the following information:

From (Quantity): The minimum number of items required to apply this coupon. For example – 7.
To (Quantity): The maximum number of items required in the shopping cart to apply this coupon. For example- 9.
Discount Rate (%): The rate of discount in percentage that will be applied on the item amount. For example – 20.

Click the “Save” button which will add the new discount condition.

screenshot showing how to configure a bulk discount condition

How Does the Discount Condition Work

This addon is an improved version of eStore Bulk Discount addon. It calculates the total quantities of an item and apply the discount accordingly (instead of calculating the total quantities of all the items in the shopping cart).

Suppose, you have three products (ID#s: 2, 3, 4) and your condition is configured like the following:

Quantity 1 – 4: discount 20%
Quantity 5 – 6: discount 25%
Quantity 7 – 9: discount 30%

If a user on your site orders product 2 ( quantity – 7), product 3 (quantity – 5), product 4 (quantity – 11) discount will be applied as:

Product 2 – discount 30%
Product 3 – discount 25%
Product 4 – no discount

AddOn Price

The eStore Bulk Discount By Line Item Addon is FREE for all customers who purchased WP eStore plugin from us.

Download the Addon

You can download this addon from the addon download area of our customer only support forum.

General Note

Please note that some of these free eStore addons are developed by our users in the community. So they do not have any advanced customization option. The description above explains exactly what this addon does.

WP eStore Manual Checkout Form Builder AddOn

General Description

The eStore Manual Checkout Form Builder Addon is a plugin which allows you to customize the manual/offline checkout form.

The user can add new form fields or control how the form will be displayed using this addon.

See example screenshot below:

screenshot of manual form using estore checkout form builder addon

Using the eStore Manual Checkout Form Builder Addon

1. Once you have installed the addon it will appear in the eStore plugin menu

2. The addon automatically configures all the default form elements during activation.

screenshot of estore checkout form builder addon settings

3. To add a new form element enter the following and click the “Save Form Element” button.

a) Field label: The text for the input field

b) Field Name: The name of the input field (it needs to be unique)

c) Required: Check this option if you want to make this field required

d) Display Order: The order in which this field will be rendered (example: 11).

screenshot of how a new form element can be created in the estore checkout form builder addon

Get the Manual Checkout Form Builder Addon

The price of this addon plugin is $29.95

WP eStore Bulk Discount AddOn

The eStore Bulk Discount addon allows your customers to automatically get a discount based on the number of items they are purchasing.

Installing the eStore Bulk Discount Addon

You can install this addon the same way you install any WordPress plugin:

Go to the “Add New” plugins screen in your WordPress admin area
Click the “upload” tab
Browse for the addon file (eStore-bulk-discount.zip)
Click “Install Now” and then activate the plugin

Using this Addon

When this addon is active, You can easily configure some conditions that will be used to automatically apply a discount on the shopping cart.

To configure a new discount condition click on the “eStore bulk discount” sub-menu under the WP eStore plugin menu.

To add a new discount condition you need to enter the following information:

From (Quantity): The minimum number of items required to apply this coupon. For example – 7.
To (Quantity): The maximum number of items required in the shopping cart to apply this coupon. For example- 9.
Discount Rate (%): The rate of discount in percentage that will be applied on the shopping cart. For example – 20.

Click the “Save” button which will add the new discount condition.

screenshot showing how to configure a bulk discount condition

How Does the Discount Condition Work

Suppose, you configured one coupon condition and a user just came to your site to do a shopping cart checkout. If the user has 7-9 items in the shopping cart a 20% discount will be automatically applied to the total cart amount. You can add as many conditions as you want.

AddOn Price

The eStore Bulk Discount Addon is FREE for all customers who purchased WP eStore plugin from us.

Download the Addon (v1.3)

You can download this addon from the addon download area of our customer only support forum.

General Note

WP eStore Addon – File Download Stats

The eStore File Download Stats addon allows you to see which encrypted download links have been used by your users.

Installing the File Download Stats Addon

You can install this addon the same way you install any WordPress plugin:

Go to the “Add New” plugins screen in your WordPress admin area
Click the “upload” tab
Browse for the plugin file (eStore-file-download-stats.zip)
Click “Install Now” and then activate the plugin

Using the File Download Stats Addon

You can go to the download link stats menu in eStore admin dashboard to see the download stats of the encrypted links.

You can selectively (between any date range) view the stats of all the purchased file downloads.

estore-download-stats-addon-interface

AddOn Price

The eStore File Download Stats Addon is FREE for all customers who purchased WP eStore plugin from us.

Download the Addon (v1.1)

You can download this addon from the addon download area of our customer only support forum.

General Note

WP eStore – Save and Retrieve Cart Feature

You can enable the save and retrieve cart feature from the eStore settings menu by checking the “Enable Save and Retrieve Cart Feature” option.

When this feature is enabled, your customers will be able to add items to the shopping cart then save it. This will allow them to retrieve a previously saved cart and complete the checkout.

Add the following shortcode on a post, page or sidebar which will show a save and retrieve shopping cart section to allow your customers to save the current shopping cart or retrieve a previously saved cart.

[wp_eStore_save_retrieve_cart]

This is how it works in general:

A customer visits your site
Adds item(s) to the shopping cart
Hits the save cart button which gives a unique “ID” to the customer
This “ID” can be used later to retrieve an already saved cart and complete the checkout

Selling Audio/MP3/Music Files Using WP eStore Plugin

There are a few different ways you can configure the plugin and sell your music/mp3/audio files using the WP eStore plugin. Go through all these options and see which one works best for you.

Make sure to watch the basic setup video tutorial to familiarize yourself with WP eStore plugin before following any of the methods below.

1. Option One

Step i) Create a WordPress post or page (this will be your landing page for the audio/mp3 file you want to sell).

Step ii) Add the full details of the audio file along with any necessary images and videos for it to the page you just created. You have complete freedom in designing this page using the standard WordPress page editor.

Step iii) Use any WordPress audio player plugin to embed a preview for the audio file that you are selling on this page. Here are two potential audio players that you can use:

Step iv) Create a WP eStore product for this audio file (lets say the eStore product ID is 1)

Step v) Use a WP eStore shortcode to place a purchase button on this page (this button lets your customer purchase the audio file).

Here is an example screenshot of how your WordPress page will look like when you use the above option:

sell-mp3-file-with-estore-option-1

2. Option Two

In this option we will take advantage of WP eStore’s fancy product display templates.

Step i) Create a WP eStore product for your audio file as usual.

Step ii) Use any audio player plugin to add an audio file preview in the “Product Description” field of the product.

sell-mp3-file-with-estore-option-2-step-1

Step iii) Use an eStore fancy display shortcode to show the product so your customers can purchase the item. WP eStore has a few fancy display templates that you can use.

Here is an example screenshot of how your WordPress page will look like when you use the above option:

sell-mp3-file-with-estore-option-2-step-2

3. Option Three

In this option we will take advantage of WP eStore’s fancy product display templates that were designed specifically for selling audio/mp3 files.

Step i) Install the compact audio player plugin (if you don’t have it already)

Step ii) Create an eStore product for your audio file.

Step iii) Use eStore’s fancy display template 12 to place the product on a WordPress page.

Here is an example screenshot of how your audio product will look like when you use the above option:

fancy 12 product display template

WP eStore Advanced Variations UI Addon

The standard variation control feature of eStore is very lightweight and works for most users. However, we have seen a few users making mistakes while configuring variations so we have created this addon which has a user friendly interface for creating product variations.

The eStore Advanced Variations UI addon simply replaces the standard “Variations” configuration section in the “Add/Edit” products page with a user-friendly configuration form. You can also manage the inventory of the variations using this addon.

AddOn Price

The eStore Advanced Variations UI Addon is FREE for all customers who purchased WP eStore plugin from us.

Download the Addon

You can download this addon from the addon download area of our customer only support forum.

Installing the Addon

You can install this addon the same way you install any WordPress plugin:

Go to the “Add New” plugins screen in your WordPress admin area
Click the “upload” tab
Browse for the plugin file (eStore-advanced-variations-ui.zip)
Click “Install Now” and then activate the plugin

Using the eStore Advanced Variations UI Addon

Use the following documentation to learn how to use this addon.

eStore Variations UI addon documentation

Also watch the following video tutorial:

General Note

WP eStore Gift Voucher or Certificate AddOn

General Description

The eStore Voucher Generation Addon is a plugin which will dynamically create customizable and printable PDF vouchers after the purchase of a specified eStore product. The user can later redeem the gift voucher in your store.

The user can redeem the voucher for both digital and/or non-digital items in your store.

Partial voucher redemption is also supported. For example: A user can purchase a $50 gift voucher. This voucher can be used to purchase a $25 item from your store and the remaining amount will be usable at a later time (the addon will keep track of it). See example screenshot below:

Redeeming Gift Voucher Example

Gift Voucher AddOn Details

The eStore Voucher Generation Addon plugin gives merchants the ability to create printable PDF vouchers based on particular products which are configured in the eStore products database.

This plugin makes it possible to automatically issue a voucher to the customer after they purchase a product which is linked to a particular voucher template.

Each voucher created will contain a unique voucher code or serial number.

The voucher URL will be sent to the customer in the post purchase confirmation email where the buyer may download the voucher or view it in their browser.

The Voucher Generation Addon allows the admin to create voucher templates on a per product basis with configurable parameters such as product ID, voucher text, and terms and conditions. The administrator can also set the border frame of the voucher by choosing one of a selection of background images available in the voucher template creation page.

gift-voucher-template-configuration

The listing and management of all of the voucher templates which have been created is done via a convenient and easily navigable table which allows for bulk delete actions and sorting.

Similarly a separate tab also displays a list of all “issued vouchers” currently in the database. A voucher is considered as being “issued” when it has been generated after a product purchase and has been dispatched to the buyer.

issued-gift-voucher-list

Gift Voucher Addon Usage Documentation

Please read the following documents to learn how to properly use the Gift Voucher Generation Addon:

Manually Generating a Voucher

Normally, a gift voucher is something your customers buy first. When they buy a voucher from your shop, they get a gift voucher with a code (that can be used to purchase other items from your shop). However, you may want to quickly generate a voucher manually to do some testing or give it to a friend. Use the “Generate Voucher” link from the “Voucher Templates” interface to manually generate a gift voucher that can be used in your shop.

Get the Gift Voucher Addon

The price of this addon is $39.00