Products and Plans

Everything you sell lives in one place. Go to Plugins, then Commerce. Click the Products tab.

Three smaller tabs sit under it: Products, Inventory and Downloads. This page covers the first two. Downloads is for files you sell. See Digital products.

Each product you publish gets its own page on your website, at /shop/ and then its short web name.

The product list

The Products tab opens on a list of everything you sell.

Chips across the top filter it: All, Plans, One-time, Variable, External and Bundles. The Search by name box finds one by its name. When you use tags, a list beside it filters by tag.

Column	What it shows
Product	Its name.
Type	Plan, One-time, Variable, External or Bundle.
Price	Its price. “From” means the variants have different prices.
Status	Draft, Published, or Published + draft pending.
Updated	The day it last changed.

Published + draft pending means the live product has saved changes that are not live yet.

A row of buttons sits at the top right: Size charts, Tier templates, Calculation templates, Categories, Attributes and New product. The first five open the helpers. See The helpers.

Click a row to open a product.

A product or a plan

There is one list, not two. A switch tells them apart.

A product is bought once. Pine and Wick Candle Co. sells a Maple Falls Cedar candle for $28. Somebody buys it, pays, and that is the end of it.

A plan is paid again and again. Their Candle of the Month plan is $24 every month. The card is charged each month until the customer stops it.

The switch is Recurring billing (a subscription plan). Turn it on for a plan. Leave it off for a product.

Making a one-time product

1. Go to Plugins, then Commerce, and click the Products tab.
2. Click New product.
3. Type the Name, such as Maple Falls Cedar candle.
4. Check the URL slug. It is made from the name. It cannot be changed later.
5. Write a Short summary. One or two lines.
6. Type the Price ($). Type 28, not $28.
7. Under Photos, click Choose main photo or Upload.
8. Click Save as draft, or Save & publish.

Save as draft, or Save & publish

The buttons stay pinned at the top of the page while you scroll.

Save as draft stores your work. Nobody can buy it yet. On a product that is already live, the live page does not change. The list then reads Published + draft pending.

Save & publish stores your work and puts it in the shop. A visitor can buy it from that moment.

A draft is not in the shop, is not for sale, and has no page of its own.

← Back to Products takes you back to the list. View on site opens the product’s own page in a new tab.

The Basics box

Box	What it does
Name	What the thing is called. You must fill this in.
URL slug	Its web name. Only on a new product.
Short summary	A line or two, shown on its card in the shop.
Feature bullets (one per line)	One selling point per line. Shown on plan cards and the product page.
Description	The long words on the product’s own page. A blank line starts a new paragraph.
Price ($)	The price. On a plan it reads Monthly price ($).
Sale price ($)	A lower price for a sale. See Sale prices.
SKU	Your own stock code. Nobody else sees it.
GTIN (barcode number)	The number under the barcode. See Search engines and shopping feeds.
Condition	New, Refurbished or Used.
Google product category	Helps Google file it.
Shipping weight (lb)	Used for shipping costs by weight, and for labels.
Length (in), Width (in), Height (in)	The packed size, for live carrier rates.
Button label	The words on the buy button. Blank reads “Add to cart”.
Sort order	A number. Low numbers come first.
Turnaround	A note under the price, such as “Ships in 5 business days”.
Categories	Which shop categories it is in. See Categories.
Tags	Words that group your products. See Tags.
Attributes	Facts such as brand, for the shop’s filters. See Attributes.
Recurring billing (a subscription plan)	Turn it on for a plan.
Requires shipping	Ask the buyer where to send it.
Featured	Marks this one out. Some blocks show featured items only.
Requires proof approval	The customer must OK a proof first. Only shows when proofs are on. See Orders.
Shipping profile	Which shipping rates it uses. Only shows when Requires shipping is on.

Most boxes have a ? beside them. Rest your mouse on it to read what the box does.

The description

Plain words go straight in the Description box. Need headings, lists or links? Click Use the full content editor. A description with that kind of formatting is then edited there only.

Photos

The Photos box holds one main photo and as many more as you like.

• Choose main photo picks one from your Media library. Upload adds a new one from your computer. Remove takes it off.
• Under More photos, Add from library and Upload photos add more. The arrows move a photo earlier or later. The × takes it off.

You can also copy a picture and paste it onto the box, with Cmd+V on a Mac or Ctrl+V on Windows.

Making a subscription plan

Start the same way, then turn on Recurring billing (a subscription plan). Three more boxes appear.

Monthly price ($) is now the price each month. Type 24 for a plan at $24 a month.

Yearly price ($) adds a yearly choice beside it. Type 240 and the shop shows a Monthly and a Yearly button, and works out the saving for you. Leave it blank and there is no yearly choice at all.

Free trial days holds off the first charge. Type 14 and the card is not charged for two weeks. Type 0 for no trial.

Feature bullets (one per line) matter most on a plan. Each line becomes a bullet on the plan card. Keep each one short.

A plan has no variants, no kits and no volume pricing.

Project credits

A project credit is a unit of work you owe. One candle-making class. One hour of your time.

On a one-time product, fill in Project credits per purchase. Type 5 and a buyer gets five credits when they pay. That makes a credit bundle.

On a plan, fill in Project credits per billing period. Type 2 on a monthly plan. The customer gets two credits when they sign up, and two more each month the plan renews.

You spend a customer’s project credits from the panel, by hand. The customer sees the balance on their own account. Customers shows you how.

Leave it blank on anything that does not come with credits.

Simple or Variable

The Type box decides what kind of product it is.

• Simple is one thing at one price. A candle.
• Variable (Color, Size, …) has choices, each its own version. A T-shirt in three colors and five sizes. Each version is a variant.

Sells as sets how the product is bought:

Sells as	What the shopper does
Standard	Picks one choice at a time, and adds it to the cart.
Calculated pricing	Types a size, and the price is worked out. Variable only. See Calculated pricing.
Bulk order grid	Types a quantity for many sizes and colors at once. Variable only. See Bulk order grid.
External link	Clicks through to buy it on another website. See Sold on another site.
Bundle (kit)	Buys several products together, at one price. See Kits and sets.
Set	Picks several products from one page, each at its own price. See Kits and sets.

Plans do not have Sells as.

Options and variants

A Variable product has an Options box. There are two kinds of option.

• A Variant option, such as Color or Size. Each mix of values becomes a variant, with its own price and stock. Up to 3 per product.
• An Add-on, such as gift wrap, initials, or a logo upload. It adds to the price on top. Up to 10 per product.

Adding an option

1. Click Add variant option or Add add-on.
2. Type its name, such as Color.
3. Type a value in the box, such as Black, and click Add value. Do it again for each value. Up to 100 values.
4. Pick how it is Shown as: Buttons, Dropdown or Swatches. Swatches are small color dots.
5. Click Save as draft or Save & publish.

The arrows move an option up or down. Remove takes it off.

Each value has a fold-out, Price, photo and more:

• Price change adds to the price for that value. Pick $ or %, and per item or once per line. Once per line suits a setup fee.
• Show photo when chosen swaps the main photo when a shopper picks it.
• On swatches, Swatch sets the color, or Swatch photo uses a picture.

Add-ons

An add-on can ask for one of four things:

Kind	What the shopper does
Choose one	Picks one value.
Choose any	Checks as many as they like.
Text box	Types something, such as a name to print.
File upload	Uploads a file, such as their logo.

Check Required if the shopper must answer it.

Show only when hides an add-on until an earlier answer matches. For example, ask for “Back text” only when “Both sides” is picked. A hidden add-on is never charged.

The Variants box

Once an option has values, every mix shows in the Variants box. A blank box on a row follows the product’s own setting.

Column	What it holds
Variant	The mix, such as Black / Large.
Price	Its own price. Blank uses the product’s price.
Sale price	Its own sale price.
SKU	Its own stock code.
GTIN	Its own barcode number. Each variant needs its own.
Weight (lb)	Its own weight.
Photo	The photo it shows.
Status	Its own stock status, such as Out of stock.
Stock	The stock count it uses. See Inventory.

To change many at once, check the rows. Then use the bar above the list: Set a price, sale price or weight, Set status, or Link stock. With no rows checked, the bar changes them all.

A mix you do not sell? Click the × at the end of its row. Shoppers see it as not available. It moves to a fold-out under the list, where Restore brings it back.

Import from inventory

If you count stock in Inventory, you can build the options from it.

1. Click Import from inventory.
2. Pick the Inventory item.
3. Uncheck any colors or sizes this product does not sell.
4. Click Import. The button counts the mixes.
5. Save the product.

Each variant is then linked to its own stock count. Import again later to add a new color.

Prices

Sale prices

Type a Sale price ($) lower than the Price ($). The sale price is what the buyer pays. The shop shows the normal price crossed out beside it.

Leave it blank for no sale. A sale price at or above the price is refused.

On a Variable product, variants that follow the product’s price get its sale too. A variant with its own Price sets its own Sale price.

Volume pricing

Volume pricing is a cheaper price when someone buys more. “Buy 10 or more for $8.00 each.”

The Volume pricing box sits beside Type. Click its arrow to open it.

1. Pick Percent off or Price each.
2. In Buy at least, type the quantity, such as 10.
3. Type the percent or the price for that quantity.
4. Click Add tier for another step, such as 25 or more.

Every item in the order gets the price of the highest step it reaches. Sizes and colors of one product count together. 6 Medium and 4 Large reach a 10-or-more step.

To use the same steps on many products, pick a saved one in Use a template. See Tier templates.

Calculated pricing

Calculated pricing works out the price from a size the customer types. A banner priced by the square foot. Rope priced by the foot.

Set the product to Variable, then set Sells as to Calculated pricing. The Calculated pricing box opens.

Box	What it does
Priced by	Area (width x length), Length, Weight or Count.
Customer enters	The unit they type in, such as inches.
Priced per	The unit you charge by, such as sq ft.
Measurement label, Smallest, Largest	What each box is called, and the sizes allowed.
Price per sq ft ($)	Your rate. The label follows the unit you picked.
Minimum charge ($)	The least the item costs, whatever the size.
Size line label	What the size line on the order is called, such as “Total size”.

Try it: at the bottom lets you type a sample size and see the price.

Each variant can have its own rate, such as a heavier material. To use one recipe on many products, pick it in Use a template. See Calculation templates.

Bulk order grid

A bulk order grid sells many sizes and colors at once, from one table. Good for team shirts by the dozen.

Set the product to Variable, then set Sells as to Bulk order grid.

The product page shows every mix as a table, with a quantity box in each cell. One Add to cart adds the lot. Volume pricing counts the whole order. Add-ons are picked once for the whole grid.

• Rows picks which option runs down the side, when there are two.
• Minimum order quantity sets the fewest pieces per order. Blank means no minimum.

Kits and sets

Both put other products together. Set Sells as to Bundle (kit) or Set, then add products with Add a product.

A kit is sold as one item, at the kit’s own price. Set the price below what the items cost apart, and the shop shows the saving, such as “Save $12”. Stock comes out of each item. For an item with sizes, pick one in Option, or pick Shopper chooses.

A set is a page of products to buy together. The shopper sets how many of each, and each one goes in the cart at its own price. A set has no price.

Up to 10 items each. Plans, products sold on another site, and other kits and sets cannot go in.

Sold on another site

You can list something you sell somewhere else, such as on a craft market. The shop shows it with one button that opens the other site in a new tab. Your checkout never takes it.

1. Set Sells as to External link.
2. Paste the address into Product page on the other site. It starts with https://.
3. Type Button text if you like. Blank reads “Buy on” and the other site’s name.

A line can show under the button, saying you may earn a commission. Set it in External product disclosure. See Commerce settings.

Reports counts how many people clicked through.

Stock and availability

Counting stock

You do not have to count stock. A product with no count never runs out.

To count it on a simple product, use the Stock box.

1. Click Track stock. It makes a stock count for this product.
2. Type the number you have in In stock.
3. Save the product.

Either save button stores the count, even Save as draft.

A product with sizes and colors counts its stock in Inventory. Link each variant to its count in the Variants box.

How long checkout holds stock aside, and whether shoppers see counts, are set on the Settings tab. See Commerce settings.

The Availability box

Box	What it does
Status	In stock, Out of stock, Backorder, Pre-order or Coming soon.
When tracked stock runs out	Stop selling, or Allow backorders.
Stock counts	Follow the store setting, Show, or Hide.
Ships around	A date shown on a pre-order, such as “November 2026”.
Pre-order deposit	Take part of the price up front.

Out of stock and Coming soon show a Notify me button instead of a buy button. A shopper who signs up hears when it is back.

Pre-order and Backorder still sell. The page says when it ships.

Pre-order deposit can be Percent of the price or Fixed $ per item. None, pay in full takes it all. You ask for the rest later, from the order. See Orders.

A variant can have its own status, in the Variants box.

Shipping boxes

Turn on Requires shipping for anything you post. Checkout then asks for a delivery address, and offers your delivery choices.

Leave it off for a plan, a class, or a file. See Digital products.

Shipping profile picks which set of rates it ships at. Most products stay on the default. A heavy item can use its own. See Shipping.

Shipping weight (lb) and the three size boxes help work out shipping. Fill them in if you charge by weight or use live carrier rates.

Search engines and shopping feeds

Three boxes help Google and other shopping sites list your product.

• GTIN (barcode number) is the number under the barcode: a UPC, an EAN or an ISBN. Copy it from the maker’s barcode. Never make one up. The box checks it as you type.
• Condition is New, Refurbished or Used. It starts as New.
• Google product category is a number or a path from Google’s list, such as 2271. Blank lets Google pick.

These matter most if you send your products to Google, Facebook or ChatGPT. See Commerce settings.

Custom work: proofs and turnaround

Turnaround puts a note under the price, such as “Ships in 5 business days”. It also shows on the cart and the order.

Requires proof approval makes the customer OK a proof before you make it. The switch shows only when proofs are on. See Commerce settings.

Featured, Button label and Sort order

Featured marks an entry as one of your best. Two blocks can be set to show featured items only. See The Shop page and blocks.

Button label changes the words on the buy button.

Sort order is a plain number. Low numbers come first. Give your entries 1, 2, 3 and so on, and you can shuffle them later without touching anything else.

The helpers

Some things are set up once and used by many products. Each has its own screen. They are not in the side menu of the panel. You reach them from the buttons at the top of the product list.

Helper	What it is for	Where you edit it
Size charts	A table of measurements a shopper can open on the product page.	Size charts button
Tier templates	A set of volume price steps, shared by many products.	Tier templates button
Calculation templates	A calculated price recipe, shared by many products.	Calculation templates button
Categories	Groups in your shop, each with its own page.	Categories button
Attributes	Facts such as brand or style, for the shop’s filters.	Attributes button
Tags	Words that group products, each with its own page.	Settings tab, then Tags

Each helper screen has a ← Products button that goes back to the list. Inside one, ← Back to and its name goes back to that helper’s list.

Changes to a helper reach every product that uses it, as soon as you save.

Size charts

A size chart is a table of sizes, such as chest and length for each shirt size. One chart can serve many products.

1. On the product list, click Size charts, then New size chart.
2. Type a Name, such as Unisex tees.
3. Check Units. It starts as “Measurements in inches”.
4. Fill in the table. Add column and Add row make it bigger. The × takes one away. Up to 20 columns and 100 rows.
5. Write any Notes (shown under the table).
6. Click Save.

A chart goes live the moment you save it. Duplicate makes a copy to start from.

To use it, open a product. In the Size chart box, pick the chart.

Shoppers see a Size chart link on the product page, beside the size choice. It opens the table in a pop-up.

Tier templates

A tier template is a set of volume price steps you can share. Edit the template and every product that uses it changes price.

1. On the product list, click Tier templates, then New tier template.
2. Type a Name, such as Shirt bulk pricing.
3. Set the steps, as in Volume pricing.
4. Click Save.

To use it, open a product. In Volume pricing, pick it in Use a template.

Trashing a template puts its products back on their own pricing.

Calculation templates

A calculation template is a calculated price recipe you can share. Rate, units, sizes and minimum charge.

1. On the product list, click Calculation templates, then New calculation template.
2. Type a Name, such as Vinyl banner.
3. Set the recipe, as in Calculated pricing.
4. Click Save.

To use it, open a Variable product that sells as Calculated pricing. In its box, pick the recipe in Use a template.

Categories

A category is a group in your shop, such as “Banners” or “Gifts”. Each one has its own page, at /shop/category/ and its short web name. Categories can sit inside other categories.

1. On the product list, click Categories, then New category.
2. Type a Name.
3. Check the URL slug. It cannot be changed later.
4. Pick a Parent category, or leave it on None (top level).
5. Write a Description, if you like.
6. Add an Image for its card, and a Banner for the top of its page, if you like.
7. Click Save.

Saving here publishes the category. Its page goes live right away.

There are two ways to put products in a category.

• By hand. Open a product and check the category under Categories.
• By rule. Under Automatic rules, click Add condition. Products that match join the category on their own.

Rule	Example
Tag	Tag is gifts
Price	Price is less than 20.00
On sale	On sale is yes
Featured	Featured is checked
Availability	Availability is Pre-order
Product type	Product type is Plan

With two or more conditions, Match picks all conditions or any condition.

On the categories list, the arrows change the order. Up and down move it among its neighbors. Left and right move it out of, or into, another category.

Trashing a category moves its own sub-categories up a level.

A published category can go in your menu. See Menus.

Attributes

An attribute is a fact about a product, such as Brand or Style, with a list of values. The product page lists them as specs. The shop’s filter bar lets shoppers filter by them.

1. On the product list, click Attributes, then New attribute.
2. Type a Name, such as Brand.
3. Under Values, click Add value for each one, such as Gildan.
4. Leave Show in the shop filter bar on, or turn it off.
5. Click Save.

The URL key shows how the attribute looks in a filtered shop address. It is made from the name, and fixed once you save.

To use it, open a product and check its values under Attributes.

The filter bar must be on for shoppers to filter. See The Shop page.

Tags

A tag is a word that groups products, such as gifts. Each tag has its own shop page, at /shop/tag/ and its short web name. A block on any page can show just one tag.

Add a tag on the product itself. In Tags, pick one from the list, or type a new one and press Enter. New tags join the list when you save the product.

To see every tag, go to the Settings tab, then Tags. Each tag shows how many products carry it.

• Add tag adds a new one.
• Rename changes its name. Its page keeps its address.
• Delete takes it off the shop. The products are not changed.

Inventory

Inventory is where you count stock for products with sizes and colors. Click the Inventory tab, under Products.

An item is the thing you count, such as one shirt model. Give it Characteristics, such as Color and Size. Each mix gets its own count.

Making an item

1. Click New item.
2. Type a Name, such as Tee 1234.
3. Type the Brand and Model, if you like.
4. Type a number in Low-stock alert at, if you want a warning when stock runs low.
5. Click Add characteristic. Name it, such as Color, and add its values. Up to 3 characteristics.
6. Click Create item.

Changing the counts

The Stock grid on the item shows a box for every mix.

1. Type the new count into each box that changed. Tab moves to the next box.
2. Pick a reason: Received, Damaged or lost or Count correction.
3. Add a note, if you like.
4. Click Save.

Each change is saved as the difference from the number you started with. So a sale made while you typed still counts.

Under a box, “held” means items in a checkout right now. “Available” is what the shop can still sell.

History lists every change, newest first: sales, refunds and your own.

When a sale drops a mix to your alert level, you get a Low stock alert. See Notifications.

What Google shows

Click Description, SEO and history at the top of a product. It opens the full editor for that product. The SEO panel there sets the title and the line of text Google shows.

What Google shows explains it in full.

Changing a price later

Prices are typed in dollars. A new price counts for the next sale.

The example entries

Your website came with three entries whose names start with EXAMPLE. A plan, a product, and a credit bundle.

They are drafts, so no visitor has ever seen them. They are there to show you the shape of a real one.

Before you launch, rename each one into something real, or move it to trash.

Taking something off sale

There are a few ways, from gentle to final.

• Out of stock or Coming soon, in Availability, keeps the page up and stops sales.
• Unpublish takes it out of the shop and keeps the product. Click Description, SEO and history, then use Unpublish there.
• Move to trash takes it out of the shop and out of your list.