WordPress eStore | Tips and Tricks WP eCommerce

WP eStore Order Management AddOn

General Description

The Order Management Addon plugin displays order information based on transaction id. This plugin will conveniently allow merchants to track and list all orders made via a useful order management console in the eStore menu.

Order Management AddOn Details

The eStore Order Management Addon plugin allows online merchants to better manage their orders which are made via the eStore plugin.

This plugin is particularly useful for people selling physical products via the eStore plugin.

The plugin will display order information in an easy and manageable console where the administrator can easily track orders based on transaction ID and other criteria such as order status.

The administrator can also edit various fields of an order and set the status to appropriate defined values which reflect the different stages an order goes through from the initial purchase to dispatchment and completion.

The user is also able to archive any completed or old orders which will be removed from the main display table but can be viewed and edited via the Archived Orders tab.

Using the eStore Order Management Addon

Please see the following document for how to use the eStore Order Management Addon:

eStore Order Management Addon Usage

AddOn Price

The eStore Order Management Addon is free for all customers who purchased WP eStore plugin from us.

Download the Order Management Addon

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

Addon download area

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 Google Base Feed Addon

General Description

The eStore Google Base Feed Addon plugin will create an XML formatted product feed which you can add to your Google Merchant account so that your products will be displayed in Google Product Search.

Google Base Feed AddOn Details

The eStore Google Base Feed Addon plugin currently creates a basic XML product feed which includes all of the mandatory product attributes.

The user is also given an option of including some extra attributes which can be configured via the settings page.

Google has strict guidelines and policies regarding the product feed attributes and it is very important that you familiarize yourself with them before submitting your product feed.

(See the Google Merchant support page here: (http://support.google.com/merchants/?hl=en)

Using the eStore Google Base Feed Addon

Please see the following document for how to use the Google Base Feed Addon:

eStore Google Base Feed Addon Usage

AddOn Price

The eStore Google Base Feed Addon is FREE for all customers who purchased WP eStore plugin from us.

Download the Google Base Feed Addon (v1.2)

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

Addon download area

General Note

WP eStore and NextGen Gallery Integration to Create Digital Photo Store (Method 1)

WordPress eStore and WordPress Paypal Shopping Cart Plugins can be integrated with the NextGen Gallery Plugin to create a Digital photo store similar to the screenshot shown below (please see the integration steps below to find out the full details):

WP eStore and NextGen Gallery Integration

The images were resized to 800×600 resolution using the NextGen Gallery resize utility. An watermark was also applied to the image using the NextGen Gallery ‘Effect’ option to prevent stealing. Once the purchase is complete the encrypted download link for the original image stored in a separate location (1920×1200 resolution and no watermark) is emailed to the buyer.

Just to clarify… You don’t necessarily have to sell digital photos to use the gallery. You could be selling anything and still use the Gallery as a means of displaying the products where each thumbnail is the icon of the product you are selling.

How to Integrate NextGen Gallery and WordPress eStore Plugins

There are two ways to integrate NextGen Gallery with the WP eStore plugin:

Method 1: Create/Configure every product separately
Method 2: Configure one product then use that as a template

This page explains the first integration method. Please see the following link for the 2nd integration method:

NextGen Gallery Alternative Integration Method (Method 2)

What Plugins do You Need for This Integration?

You will need the following 3 plugins for this:

WordPress eStore plugin
NextGen Gallary Plugin
eStore NextGen Gallery Addon Plugin

This guide assumes that you have used NextGen Gallery Plugin and know how to use it. If you don’t know how to use NextGen Gallery then I suggest you read the ‘Readme.txt’ file that comes with the NexGen Gallery plugin or try the NextGen Gallery forum.

The Integration Steps

Step1. Install the eStore NextGen Gallery Addon

How to download and install the Free eStore NextGen Gallery Addon is explained here.

Step 2. Displaying the Gallery

Use the following shortcode to display the NextGen Gallery in a post or page:
[nggallery id=1 template=wp-eStore]
Given the nextgen gallery id is 1. You will need to change “1” to whatever your NextGen Gallery ID is.

Using the ‘template=wp-eStore’ option will show captions underneath each thumbnail image where you can display the ‘Add to Cart’ button and a little bit of other details/description of the image.

Note: The “S” in “wp-eStore” is capitalized.

Step 3. Adding the ‘Add to Cart’ Buttons below the Image Thumbnails

1) First make an eStore product for the NextGen Gallery image in question (if you haven’t done so already). You will need to make a product for each of your gallery images.

2) Go to ‘Manage Gallery‘ from the NextGen Gallery settings menu and choose the Gallery that you want to turn into a shop.

3) Now in the ‘Alt & Title Text / Description‘ field of every image, enter the Image details (name, price etc) and the shortcode for the Add to Cart button of that image.

[wp_eStore_add_to_cart id=4]

It should look similar to the following example:

In the above example the eStore Product id of the Photo is 4 (the product ID can be found in the “Manage Products” menu of eStore). I have configured this product in WP eStore already. "<br />" is an HTML code to insert a line break so the name, price and the buy button doesn’t appear all on the same line.

4) Do the same for all the images in the gallery.

5) Save the Changes to the Gallery and Now your Gallery will look similar to the demo shown at the start of this Page.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Question 1: Can I use an eStore fancy display inside a NextGen gallery display?

No, the NextGen gallery itself is a way of displaying your products. So you cannot insert a pre-configured eStore’s fancy display inside a NextGen gallery display (they are two different display methods).

The WordPress eStore Plugin can be found in the WordPress eStore Plugin Page. All WP eStore related documentation can be found on the WP eStore Documentation Site.

Google Analytics E-Commerce Tracking for WP eStore

WP eStore has built in stats feature that gives you overall sales data as well as itemized sales stats. This statistics is very useful but having the option to track sales through Google Analytics is really good so we added this option to WP eStore plugin.

There is now an e-commerce tracking addon that makes this integration very easy.

How to Add Google Analytics E-Commerce Tracking on eStore

Refer to the addon’s page.

Stylish Product Display Options for WP eStore

This page has a list of all the different pre-configured product display templates and styles that you can use to display your products when using the WP eStore plugin.

Note: You are not restricted to using one of these product displays if they don’t suit your needs. You can design your own product display in a WordPress post or page then use eStore’s simple “Buy” button (there are shortcodes to embed plain buttons on a post or page) to facilitate the purchase of the product (very helpful when designing an optimized sales/landing page).

Stylish Product Display 1 (Fancy 1)

Demo 1 and Demo 2

This is a test description. This description is here to show how the description of this product looks like. You can insert plain HTML in this field too. Some more text to fill the shopping cart product description.

Available Qty: 30

Price: $15.99

Stylish Product Display 2 (Fancy 2)

Test Product For Fancy Display

Some test description of the product to show how this description field looks like. You can insert plain HTML in this field too. Some more description of the product goes here. Damn! This product display looks good.

Stylish Product Display 3 (Fancy 3)

Stylish Product Display 4 (Fancy 4)

Fancy Display Test

Price: $29.95

Stylish Product Display 5 (Fancy 5)

Fancy Display Test

Price: $29.95

Stylish Product Display 6 (Fancy 6)

Price: $59.95

Test Product For Fancy Display

Stylish Product Display 7 (Fancy 7)

If you wanted to show a very simple and plain product display with name, price and the purchase button then this template will come in handy. This display can be useful for users selling mp3/music/audio files too. Below is an example of how this template looks like:

Stylish Product Display 8 (Fancy 8 )

Below is an example of how the fancy 8 product display template looks like. This display template is useful for audio/music/mp3 file sellers.

Stylish Product Display 9 (Fancy 9)

Fancy Display Test 2

Price: $37.00

Some test description of the product to show how this description field looks like. You can insert plain HTML in this field too.

If you don’t specify a description for a product then this display will become a very compact one with just name, price and a buy button.

Stylish Product Display 10 (Fancy 10)

Fancy Display Test 3

This is another test product to show how the fancy display looks like. This product has multiple images which are shown below the main thumbnail image. You can insert plain HTML in this description area too.

Price: $37.00

Price: $29.95

Fancy10 is a lot similar to the popular Fancy1 display except it has a section to show the additional images below the main thumbnail. The images will show in a lightbox when clicked. The default Add to Cart button has a nice elegant style too. You can still use a custom button image for the “Add to Cart” button just like any other displays.

Stylish Product Display 11 (Fancy 11)

Fancy Display Test Product Four

$49.95$39.95

Stylish Product Display 12 (Fancy 12)

This one is just like fancy 8 template but it uses our compact audio player plugin for the audio file preview. Below is an example of how this display template looks like:

Stylish Product Display 13 (Fancy 13)

Here is an example of how this display template looks like:

Stylish Product Display 14 (Fancy 14)

Here is an example of how this display template looks like:

Stylish Product Display 15 (Fancy 15)

Here is an example of this display template:

This is a very compact product display template that only has the product thumbnail image and the product name. This display template can be very helpful when you want to show a product on your sidebar or footer area (where you don’t have a lot of space). If you fill out the “Product details page” field of the product then the name will be linked to that page.

Here is an example of how it looks like when you stack a few products using this display template on your sidebar:

Stylish Product Display 16 (Fancy 16)

This template doesn’t use any product image thumbnail in the template. So this one should be good for users who don’t want to use an image for their product(s).

Below is an example of how this display template looks like:

Stylish Product Display 17 (Fancy 17)

This template uses just the thumbnail image, product name and the add to cart button. It it good for using in a grid display layout.

The following screenshot is an example of how this template looks like:

Stylish Product Display 18 (Fancy 18)

This template uses a vertical/portrait thumbnail size so it will be useful if you use a vertical image for your product.

The following screenshot is an example of how this template looks like:

How to Use the Stylish Product Display Templates

To display a product in any of the above styles you simply have to use a Shortcode (to display it on a post or page) or use a line of PHP code (to display it from your theme files e.g. footer.php). All the available shortcodes and PHP function references can be found here.

NextGen Gallery Alternate Integration Method (Method 2)

There are two ways to integration WP eStore with the NextGen Gallery plugin. Each of these two methods have pros and cons. Depending on what you want, one might work out better than the other.

So make sure to check the details of both these integration methods so you can decide which one works best for you.

The method 1 of NextGen Gallery integration is explained on the following page:

WP eStore and NextGen Gallery Integration Instructions

Method 1 is slightly better for the security of the digital photo/image since you can configure to deliver a separate copy of the image than the one on display. The following link has more details on this :

Why configure every product separately

The only issue with method 1 is that you manually have to configure every product separately which is not ideal for some users. So for people who are not really that concerned about the security of the digital image (example, if you are selling prints of wedding photos) the method 2 (alternate way of integrating NextGen Gallery) works out better as you don’t have to manually configure every product.

What to Expect From Integration Method 2 (the objective)

The aim of this integration is that you will configure one product with the price, variation, shipping etc options that you prefer and then use that product’s information as a template to create a “Buy Now” button for every image in your gallery. The name of the product will be dynamically changed to the “alt text” of the image on a per image basis and upon purchase the “image url” for that image from the NextGen gallery will be given as a download.

Important Note: One thing people miss when using this method is that the image that you are using in the NextGen gallery will be delivered to your customer after purchase (not the one you configure in the “Digital Product URL” field of eStore).

If you want to deliver the image from the “Digital Product URL” field then you need to use method 1 of NextGen gallery integration.

The Integration Steps

Step1. Install the eStore NextGen Gallery Addon

How to download and install the Free eStore NextGen Gallery Addon is explained here.

Step 2. Configuring a product to be Used as Template

Add a product from the “Add/Edit Products” menu of the eStore plugin. Specify the price, variation, shipping etc options that you prefer for your images appropriately (the product name doesn’t matter as it will be dynamically changed to the alt text of the image).

Step 3. Specify the Template Product ID in the Settings Menu

Browse to the “3rd Party Integration” tab of eStore’s settings menu and specify the product ID configured in step 2 as the template product.

NextGen Gallery Settings Screenshot

Step 4. Displaying the Gallery with Buy Buttons

Use the following shortcode/tag to display the Gallery in a post or page.
[nggallery id=1 template=wp-eStore-auto]
The gallery id is 1 in this example. You will need to change “1” to whatever your NextGen Gallery ID is.

Using the “template=wp-eStore-auto” option will show/display a “Buy Now” button below every image in this gallery that the visitors can use to make a purchase.

Important Notes and F.A.Q:

Question 1: Can I Use “Add to Cart” Buttons Instead of “Buy Now” Buttons When Using This Integration?

Yes, There is another template in eStore so you can use “add to cart” type buttons. The template is stored in the “view” directory of the eStore plugin and is called “gallery-wp-eStore-auto-addtocart.php”. Copy this template file to the “view” directory of the NextGen gallery plugin. Now, you can follow the 2nd and 3rd step of the above instruction and use the following shortcode to use this template:

[nggallery id=1 template=wp-eStore-auto-addtocart]

1 is the ID of the nextgen gallery.

Question 2: Can I use an eStore fancy display inside a NextGen gallery display?

Selling Large Files with WP eStore

WP eStore does not impose any restriction on the downloadable file size. As long as your server can handle it eStore will be fine. We have users serving files as big as 8 Giga bytes (GB) in size using the eStore plugin.

With that said, WP eStore sits between the actual file and the browser creating a shield (this is how eStore keeps the true location of the file hidden). However this means that eStore has to read the file and serve it to the browser (meaning the file will be temporarily loaded in your server’s RAM). If you are selling large files and your hosting plan has a limited RAM available for you to use then this could create a file download issue (the file won’t be downloaded fully).

When hosting companies refer to *unlimited* disk space they refer to the hard disk space not the RAM memory size. So make sure to ask your hosting provider how much RAM memory is available to your PHP application. To better understand this… imagine a computer having 500GB hard disk but having only 32MB RAM (see the difference between them?).

There are a few possible workarounds that can be tried:

You could break the bigger file into multiple parts (e.g. each 50MB) and use the multi-part download option of eStore.
Try one of the other download methods explained here and see how you go (there are a few different ways to get around this depending on your server’s configuration but it may not work on all servers).
Use the Amazon S3 Integration option of eStore.
Edit the eStore product in question and uncheck the “downloadable” checkbox for the product (look under the “Digital Content Details” section for this option). This will force eStore to let the browser handle the download.
If you server supports mod_xsendfile (its an Apache module to handle large file downloads) then we can configure eStore to work with “mod_xsendfile” so large files can be downloaded without any issues.
You can upgrade your hosting to a plan with enough RAM.

The bottom line is… Please make sure to check with your service provider about any upload/download restrictions or the available server RAM your hosting plan may have before you purchase the eStore plugin.

WP eStore – Checkout Demo

WP eStore Payment Gateways

There are 4 payment gateways available in the core plugin that you can use to accept payment from your customers when using the WP eStore plugin.

PayPal (Your customers can pay using a Credit Card or their PayPal account)
Authorize.net (Your customers can pay using a Credit Card or Bank account)
2Checkout (Your customers can pay using a Credit Card or PayPal)
Manual/Offline (Customers can pay using cash, cheque or bank transfer)

There are a lot of free and premium payment gateways for WP eStore that you can add via addon/extension plugins. Check the supported payment gateways page for a full list of supported gateways.

You can make all of them available so your customers can decide which one they want to use to pay you or you can selectively make one or two of them available. I personally use only PayPal to process all my payments for my products (www.tipsandtricks-hq.com/checkout).

WP eStore Payment Gateway Settings

WP eStore PayPal Payment Gateway Settings

WP eStore Manual Payment Settings

WP eStore 2Checkout Payment Gateway Settings

WP eStore Authorize.net Payment Gateway Settings

If you want to use multiple payment gateways then select the “Use Multiple Payment Gateways” checkbox and then select which ones you want to use (eg. PayPal, Manual, 2Checkout).

If you want to use only one of them then leave the “Use Multiple Payment Gateways” checkbox unchecked and simply select the payment gateway you want to use.

Using 2Checkout Gateway in eStore

2Checkout Payment Gateway Setup

Using Authorize.net Gateway in eStore

In order to use the Authorize.net gateway in eStore you need to go to the Payment gateway settings and then the “Authorize.net Settings” section and fill in your merchant details.

If you want to use more than one gateway at the same time (example, PayPal and Authorize.net) then check the “Use Multiple Payment Gateways” field under the “General Payment Gateway” section of this payment gateway settings page.

Notes

Please note that PayPal is the most advanced payment gateway in the world. When you are using some of the other payment gateways (example: 2checkout, authorize.net), some eStore features may not be available simply because these gateways don’t offer those advanced controls and features.