FAQ & Troubleshooting

Answers to the most common questions about WP Sell Services, plus solutions for issues you might run into.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need WooCommerce to use this plugin?

No. WP Sell Services works completely standalone with its own built-in checkout, Stripe, PayPal, and Offline payment support. You do not need WooCommerce or any other e-commerce plugin. The Pro version optionally adds WooCommerce, EDD, and FluentCart as alternative checkout platforms if you want them.

How do I change the commission rate?

Go to Sell Services > Settings > Commission & Tax and set a platform-wide percentage (0-50%, default 10%). Per-vendor rates are also included free -- open a vendor under Sell Services > Vendors and give them their own rate, which overrides the global one. Pro adds tiered rules on top: rates that resolve automatically by category, seller level, or sales volume.

Can vendors set their own prices?

Yes. Each service has its own pricing packages (Basic, Standard, Premium), and vendors set the prices for each tier. You control the commission the platform takes, but vendors decide what they charge.

What happens if a vendor does not deliver on time?

Late orders are flagged in the system. Buyers can open a dispute, request a cancellation, or wait for the vendor to deliver. The dispute system lets both parties present their case, and an admin can step in to mediate and resolve the issue (including issuing refunds).

Is the marketplace mobile-friendly?

Yes. All frontend pages -- service listings, dashboards, order management, messaging -- are fully responsive and work on phones and tablets. The plugin also includes a full REST API, making it ready for native mobile app development.

Can I white-label the plugin?

[PRO] Yes, with the Pro version. You can rebrand the entire marketplace: custom platform name, logo, colors, and email branding. The "WP Sell Services" name does not appear anywhere your users can see it.

How do vendors get paid?

Vendors accumulate earnings as their orders are completed. They can request a withdrawal from their dashboard, and the admin approves and processes the payout. [PRO] With Pro, you can also set up automatic payouts via PayPal or Stripe Connect so vendors get paid without manual intervention.

Can buyers request custom work?

Yes. The Buyer Requests feature lets buyers post detailed project descriptions with budgets and timelines. Vendors browse these requests and submit proposals. When a buyer accepts a proposal, an order is created automatically.

What payment gateways are supported?

The free version includes Stripe, PayPal, and Offline (manual) payment gateways, all built into the standalone checkout. [PRO] The Pro version adds Razorpay and integrates with payment gateways from WooCommerce, EDD, and FluentCart.

Can I run multiple marketplaces on a multisite network?

Yes. WP Sell Services works on WordPress multisite. Each site in the network runs its own independent marketplace.

Common Issues and Fixes

Services not showing up

  1. Flush permalinks -- Go to Settings > Permalinks and click Save Changes
  2. Check service status -- Services must be published, not draft or pending
  3. Clear cache -- Clear your site cache and browser cache
  4. Assign categories -- Services need at least one category assigned

Vendor registration not working

  1. Enable WordPress registration -- Go to Settings > General and check "Anyone can register"
  2. Enable vendor registration -- Go to Sell Services > Settings > Vendors and enable it
  3. Check approval mode -- If admin approval is required, approve pending vendors at Sell Services > Vendors > Pending

Pages showing 404 errors

Go to Settings > Permalinks and click Save Changes. This refreshes URL routing. Also verify the page is published and assigned in Sell Services > Settings > Pages.

Orders not appearing in vendor dashboard

  • Verify the order exists and has the correct vendor assigned
  • Check that the order status is valid
  • Look for errors in your WordPress debug log

Emails not arriving

  1. Test WordPress email -- Try resetting a password to see if any WordPress emails work
  2. Install an SMTP plugin -- WP Mail SMTP or FluentSMTP dramatically improves deliverability
  3. Check spam folder -- WordPress emails frequently land in spam without SMTP
  4. Verify notification settings -- Make sure the email type is enabled in Settings > Emails

Buyer requests not expiring automatically

Request expiration runs on WordPress cron, which requires site traffic to trigger. On low-traffic sites:

  1. Install the free WP Crontrol plugin to check scheduled tasks
  2. Set up a real server cron job to ping your site every 15 minutes

Delivery files not uploading

  1. Check file size limits -- The default max is 10 MB. Increase in Settings > Advanced if needed
  2. Check allowed file types -- Make sure the file extension is permitted
  3. Check server limits -- Your hosting may have lower PHP upload limits than the plugin setting
  4. Verify disk space -- Make sure your server has available storage

Slow performance

  1. Install a caching plugin -- WP Super Cache, W3 Total Cache, or LiteSpeed Cache
  2. Use an object cache -- Redis or Memcached if your hosting supports it
  3. Optimize your database -- Regularly clean transients and optimize tables
  4. Consider a search plugin -- For large marketplaces, Relevanssi or ElasticSearch improves search speed

Getting Help

Enable debug mode for troubleshooting: Go to Sell Services > Settings > Advanced and enable Debug Mode. Check wp-content/debug.log for detailed error messages.

Have your details ready when contacting support:

  • WordPress version and PHP version
  • WP Sell Services version
  • Active theme name
  • List of active plugins
  • Error messages from the debug log
  • Steps to reproduce the issue

Support channels:

  • Free version -- open a ticket at wbcomdesigns.com/support
  • Pro version -- the same form, with priority handling on an active licence