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How to manage WooCommerce settings

Edit native WooCommerce store settings directly from the WooDonkey dashboard. This hub writes changes to your store’s WooCommerce configuration through the WooCommerce REST API. Shoppers continue to check out and interact with your store on WooCommerce.

What it is

Access WooCommerce Settings by navigating to the sidebar, selecting Site Settings, then WooCommerce Settings. The page title is WooCommerce Settings, with the subtitle ‘Manage your store’s WooCommerce settings here – no need to open WordPress.’ On desktop, settings are organized into tabs. On mobile, use a Select menu to navigate between the same tabs. A ‘Loading…’ message appears while settings groups load. If settings cannot load, an empty dashed card displays ‘Could not load WooCommerce settings from the store.’

The available tabs, in order, are: General, Products, Tax, Payments, Accounts & Privacy, and Advanced. The Payments tab is injected by WooDonkey after Tax. This hub does not include Shipping, Emails, POS, Integrations, Webhooks manager, or WooCommerce Admin reporting. Shipping rules are managed under Advanced Tools, then Shipping Rules. Emails are managed under Site Settings, then Emails & Automations. Checkout field layout is managed under Advanced Tools, then Checkout Fields. Each settings card has its own Save button at the bottom.

How it helps you

This hub lets you change native WooCommerce store settings without opening WordPress. You set currency, tax, product display, payment gateways, and account options in the WooDonkey dashboard. After you click Save on a card, or toggle a payment gateway, shoppers see those WooCommerce settings on the store.

What is included

  • Tabs: The hub organizes WooCommerce settings into these tabs: General, Products, Tax, Payments, Accounts & Privacy, and Advanced.
  • Per-Card Save: Each settings card has its own Save button. This button is disabled until you change a field on that specific card. A spinner appears during saving, followed by a ‘Settings saved’ toast message. Switching tabs discards any unsaved edits on the previous card without confirmation.
  • Field Labels and Descriptions: All field labels, descriptions, and dropdown choices are pulled directly from your connected WooCommerce store and follow its language settings. Plugins can add extra fields within existing groups, and child groups under Products or Advanced may appear as additional cards. New top-level WooCommerce groups are not supported.
  • Field Widgets: WooDonkey renders various field types:
    • Title headings
    • Checkbox fields as a Switch (yes/no)
    • Select and radio fields as a dropdown
    • Multiselect fields as a Switch list
    • Color fields as a color picker
    • Textarea fields
    • Number fields
    • Email fields
    • Password fields
    • All other field types that this hub does not have a picker for appear as a text box. Layout-only WooCommerce types that are not skipped can also show as a text box. Ignore those.

    Types such as sectionend, info, and hidden are skipped. If a select field’s default choice uses an empty key, that choice is dropped, potentially leading to ‘No options available.’ if no other choices remain.

  • Settings Group Errors: If a card encounters an error during display, it shows ‘Could not display this settings group.’ The rest of the page remains functional.
  • General Tab: This tab typically includes cards for Store Address (Address line 1, Address line 2, City, Country / State, Postcode / ZIP), General options (Selling location(s) with matching country multiselects, Shipping location(s), Default customer location, Address autocomplete), Taxes and coupons (Enable taxes, Enable coupons, Calculate coupon discounts sequentially), and Currency options (Currency, Currency position, Thousand separator, Decimal separator, Number of decimals).
  • Products Tab: This tab contains one or more savable cards. The default Products card typically includes Shop page, Add to cart behaviour (Redirect to the cart page after successful addition), Enable ajax add to cart (Enable AJAX add to cart buttons on archives), Placeholder image, Weight unit, Dimensions unit, and Enable reviews (Enable product reviews, with optional verified owner and ratings checkboxes).
  • Products Child Groups: Additional cards may appear for child groups like Inventory (Manage stock, Hold stock (minutes), low/out-of-stock notifications, Notification recipient(s), Low stock threshold, Out of stock threshold, Out of stock visibility, Stock display format) and Downloadable products (File download method, Access restriction, Open in browser, Filename, Count partial downloads).
  • Tax Tab: This tab includes a Tax options card and a Tax rates card.
    • Tax options card: Includes fields like Prices entered with tax, Calculate tax based on, Shipping tax class, Rounding, Additional tax classes (textarea, one per line), Display prices in the shop, Display prices during cart and checkout, Price display suffix, and Display tax totals.
    • Tax rates card: Titled ‘Tax rates’ with helper text ‘Define the tax rates charged per country, state, postcode or city.’ It features a Tax class select, Add class button, and Delete class button (disabled for the ‘Standard’ class). If no rates exist, it shows ‘No tax rates yet.’ The table columns are Country code, State code, Postcode, City, Rate %, Tax name, Priority, Compound, Shipping, and a delete row icon (aria label ‘Delete row’, no confirmation). You can Add rate to insert a new row. New rows default to priority 1, compound off, and shipping on. Country code and State code are uppercased as you type. The Save button on this card saves only tax rates, showing a ‘Tax rates saved’ toast.
    • Add Tax Class Dialog: Clicking Add class opens a dialog with a ‘Class name’ field, Cancel, and Add class buttons. A ‘Tax class added’ toast appears on success.
    • Delete Tax Class Dialog: Clicking Delete class opens a dialog ‘Delete this tax class?’ with body text ‘This deletes the class and all of its tax rates. This cannot be undone.’ It has Cancel and Delete buttons. A ‘Tax class deleted’ toast appears on success, and the class selector reverts to ‘Standard’.
    • Tax Rate Limit: The list loads at most 100 rates per class. Any extra rates on the store will not display.
    • Shipping Column: The ‘Shipping’ column in tax rates indicates if the rate applies to the shipping cost, not to Shipping Rules.
  • Payments Tab: This tab displays one card per payment gateway found on your WooCommerce store. If no methods are found, it shows ‘No payment methods found on this store.’ Each card’s title and description come from WooCommerce. A Switch on the right enables or disables the gateway immediately, showing an ‘Enabled’ or ‘Disabled’ toast without confirmation. Clicking the title area expands the card. The label changes from ‘Edit settings’ (collapsed) to ‘Hide settings’ (open). When expanded, gateway-specific fields load, followed by a Save button (disabled until dirty). A ‘Settings saved’ toast appears on success. If a gateway has no configurable fields, an expanded card shows ‘Nothing to configure here.’
  • Accounts & Privacy Tab: This tab typically includes fields for Checkout (Enable guest checkout, Login / Enable log-in during checkout), Account creation (After checkout, During checkout, On My account page), Account creation options (Send password setup link, Generate account login), Account erasure requests, Personal data removal, Privacy policy textareas, and Personal data retention fields.
  • Advanced Tab: This tab typically includes Page setup (Cart page, Checkout page, My account page, Terms and conditions page selects), Secure checkout (if the store is not already HTTPS), Checkout endpoints (Pay, Order received, Add payment method, Delete payment method, Set default payment method), and Account endpoints (Orders, View order, Downloads, Edit account, Addresses, Payment methods, Lost password, Logout). Child groups returned by WooCommerce under Advanced can appear as extra cards, using the generic field renderer.
  • Not Included: This hub does not include Shipping Rules, Emails & Automations, Checkout Fields, Plans & Billing, the WooDonkey app Settings item, Webhooks as a product, or POS.

How to turn on and manage each capability

Open WooCommerce Settings

  1. In the sidebar, open Site Settings, then WooCommerce Settings.

Save currency and store address

  1. Open the General tab.
  2. Edit Currency or the address fields on that card.
  3. Click Save at the bottom of that card. Wait for the toast Settings saved.

Turn on taxes

  1. Stay on General.
  2. Turn on Enable taxes.
  3. Click Save on that card. Enable taxes is on General, not on the Tax tab.

Add a tax rate

  1. Open the Tax tab.
  2. On Tax rates, pick a Tax class.
  3. Click Add rate. Enter Country code, Rate %, and Tax name.
  4. Click Save on the Tax rates card. Wait for the toast Tax rates saved.

Add a tax class

  1. On Tax rates, click Add class.
  2. Enter Class name.
  3. Click Add class. Do not rely on the Additional tax classes textarea if it appears.

Choose a shop page

  1. Open the Products tab.
  2. Set Shop page.
  3. Click Save on that card.

Turn a payment gateway on or off

  1. Open the Payments tab.
  2. Use the switch on the gateway card. The toast is Enabled or Disabled. There is no confirmation. This does not wait for Save.
  3. To edit fields, click the title so the label reads Hide settings, change fields, then click Save.

Point cart, checkout, and My account pages

  1. Open the Advanced tab.
  2. Set Cart page, Checkout page, and My account page.
  3. Click Save on that card.

Shipping and emails

  1. Shipping is not on this page. Open Advanced Tools, then Shipping Rules.
  2. Emails are not on this page. Open Site Settings, then Emails & Automations.

What to know before you start

  • Per-Card Saving: Remember that each settings card has its own Save button. Changes are only saved for that specific card.
  • Unsaved Edits: Switching tabs will discard any unsaved edits on the card you are currently viewing. There is no confirmation dialog for this.
  • Store-Provided Labels: All field labels, descriptions, and dropdown choices come directly from your connected WooCommerce store and follow its language settings.
  • Empty Select Keys: If a dropdown’s default option uses an empty key, that option will not appear in the WooDonkey dropdown.
  • Companion Not Required: The WooDonkey Companion plugin is not required for this page to function.
  • No Shortcodes: This hub does not use or render shortcodes.
  • Standard Tax Class: The Delete class button is disabled for the ‘Standard’ tax class.
  • Immediate Gateway Toggle: Toggling a payment gateway’s enable/disable switch takes effect immediately without requiring a card-level Save.

Problems you may hit, and how to fix them

  • Symptom: ‘Could not load WooCommerce settings from the store.’ appears on the page.
    Fix: This indicates a connection issue with your WooCommerce store. Verify your store’s connection status in WooDonkey.
  • Symptom: A specific settings card shows ‘Could not display this settings group.’
    Fix: There was an issue loading the fields for that particular settings group. The rest of the page should remain functional.
  • Symptom: The Save button on a settings card remains disabled.
    Fix: The Save button activates only after you have made a change to at least one field on that specific card.
  • Symptom: Edits made to a card were lost after switching to another tab.
    Fix: Each card has its own Save button. You must click Save on a card before navigating away or switching tabs to preserve your changes.
  • Symptom: Cannot find Shipping settings.
    Fix: Shipping settings are not managed in this hub. Navigate to Advanced Tools > Shipping Rules to configure shipping.
  • Symptom: Cannot find Email settings.
    Fix: Email settings are not managed in this hub. Navigate to Site Settings > Emails & Automations to configure emails.
  • Symptom: Some tax rates are missing from the ‘Tax rates’ table.
    Fix: The hub displays a maximum of 100 tax rates per class. If your store has more than 100 rates for a single class, the additional rates will not appear here.
  • Symptom: The Delete class button is greyed out for a tax class.
    Fix: The ‘Standard’ tax class cannot be deleted.
  • Symptom: Enabling or disabling a payment gateway took effect immediately, but other settings on the same card required a separate Save.
    Fix: The toggle switch for enabling/disabling a payment gateway is live and saves immediately. Any other configuration fields for that gateway require you to expand the card and click its Save button.
  • Symptom: A default option for ‘Stock display format’ or ‘Shipping location(s)’ is missing from the dropdown.
    Fix: If the WooCommerce default choice for a select field uses an empty key, that choice is dropped and will not appear in the WooDonkey dropdown.
  • Symptom: Personal data retention fields in ‘Accounts & Privacy’ appear as simple text boxes and do not function like a date picker.
    Fix: WooDonkey renders unknown field types, including relative date pickers, as standard text inputs. If you need to use the full functionality of these fields, set them directly in your WordPress admin panel.
  • Symptom: Unsure whether to use the ‘Additional tax classes’ textarea or the Add class button.
    Fix: The ‘Additional tax classes’ textarea is for manually listing extra tax classes. The Add class button provides a dedicated dialog to create new tax classes, which is generally preferred for better management.
  • Symptom: The ‘Shipping’ column in ‘Tax rates’ is confusing, as I expected Shipping Rules.
    Fix: The ‘Shipping’ column in the ‘Tax rates’ table indicates whether that specific tax rate applies to the shipping cost. It is unrelated to the broader Shipping Rules configuration found under Advanced Tools > Shipping Rules.

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