Installation & Requirements

Installation Guide

This guide walks you through installing WP Sell Services and setting up the required components for your marketplace.

System Requirements

Before installing, verify your server meets these minimum requirements:

RequirementMinimum Version
WordPress6.4 or higher
PHP8.1 or higher
MySQL5.7 or higher (or MariaDB 10.2+)
WooCommerce8.0+ (optional – see notes)

Recommended Server Settings:

  • PHP Memory Limit: 256MB or higher
  • Max Upload Size: 64MB or higher (for service galleries and deliverables)
  • Max Execution Time: 300 seconds
  • PHP Extensions: mysqli, mbstring, json, curl

Note on WooCommerce: WooCommerce is optional. WP Sell Services works independently — your marketplace is fully functional for service listings, vendor management, order workflow, messaging, reviews, and dispute resolution. When WooCommerce is active, the plugin automatically enables checkout and payment processing. [PRO] version adds additional e-commerce platform options and standalone payment gateways.

Installing WP Sell Services

Method 1: WordPress Dashboard (Recommended)

  1. Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Navigate to Plugins → Add New
  3. Click Upload Plugin at the top
  4. Click Choose File and select wp-sell-services.zip
  5. Click Install Now
  6. After installation, click Activate Plugin

Method 2: FTP Upload

  1. Extract the wp-sell-services.zip file
  2. Upload the wp-sell-services folder to /wp-content/plugins/ via FTP
  3. Navigate to Plugins in your WordPress dashboard
  4. Find WP Sell Services and click Activate

Method 3: WP-CLI

wp plugin install wp-sell-services.zip --activate

First-Time Activation

When you activate WP Sell Services, the plugin automatically:

Database Setup

Creates dedicated database tables:

  • {prefix}wpss_orders – Service orders
  • {prefix}wpss_conversations – Order messages
  • {prefix}wpss_deliveries – Work deliverables
  • {prefix}wpss_reviews – Ratings and reviews
  • {prefix}wpss_disputes – Dispute cases
  • {prefix}wpssservicepackages – Service pricing tiers
  • {prefix}wpssvendorprofiles – Vendor information
  • {prefix}wpssbuyerrequests – Job postings
  • {prefix}wpss_proposals – Vendor proposals
  • {prefix}wpss_earnings – Commission records
  • {prefix}wpss_withdrawals – Payout requests
  • {prefix}wpss_notifications – In-app notifications
  • {prefix}wpssportfolioitems – Portfolio entries
  • {prefix}wpssextensionrequests – Deadline extensions
  • {prefix}wpss_milestones [PRO] – Payment milestones
  • {prefix}wpss_tips – Tip records

Content Types

Registers custom post types:

  • wpss_service: Service listings
  • wpss_request: Buyer requests

Registers taxonomies:

  • wpssservicecategory: Hierarchical service categories
  • wpssservicetag: Service tags

User Roles

Creates the wpss_vendor role with these capabilities:

  • wpss_vendor – Vendor status marker
  • wpssmanageservices – Create and manage services
  • wpssmanageorders – Handle vendor orders
  • wpssviewanalytics – Access vendor analytics
  • wpssrespondto_requests – Respond to buyer requests
  • read – WordPress basic capability
  • upload_files – Upload media
  • edit_posts – Edit content

Administrators automatically gain all vendor capabilities plus:

  • wpssmanagesettings – Manage marketplace settings
  • wpssmanagedisputes – Handle dispute resolution
  • wpssmanagevendors – Manage vendor accounts

Default Options

Sets default configuration:

General Settings:

  • Platform name: Your site name
  • Currency: USD
  • E-commerce platform: Auto-detect

Commission Settings:

  • Commission rate: 10%
  • Enable per-vendor rates: Yes

Payout Settings:

  • Minimum withdrawal: $50
  • Clearance days: 14
  • Auto-withdrawal: Disabled

Tax Settings:

  • Tax enabled: No
  • Tax label: “Tax”
  • Tax rate: 0%

Vendor Settings:

  • Vendor registration: Open
  • Max services per vendor: 20
  • Verification required: No
  • Service moderation: No

Order Settings:

  • Auto-complete days: 3
  • Revision limit: 2
  • Disputes allowed: Yes
  • Dispute window: 14 days

Notification Settings:

  • All email notifications enabled by default

Cron Events

Schedules automated tasks:

  • wpssautocomplete_orders: Hourly – Auto-complete delivered orders
  • wpsscleanupexpired_requests: Daily – Clean up expired buyer requests
  • wpssupdatevendor_stats: Twice daily – Update vendor statistics
  • wpssprocessauto_withdrawals: Dynamic – Process automatic payouts

Installing WooCommerce (Optional)

WooCommerce is optional but recommended for checkout and payment processing. When active, all WooCommerce payment gateways work automatically.

Install WooCommerce

  1. Go to Plugins → Add New
  2. Search for “WooCommerce”
  3. Click Install Now on WooCommerce by Automattic
  4. Click Activate
  5. Follow WooCommerce setup wizard or skip to configure later

Configure WooCommerce for Services

WP Sell Services creates a virtual WooCommerce product for each service order automatically. Optimize WooCommerce for digital services:

  1. Navigate to WooCommerce → Settings → Products
  2. Uncheck Enable product reviews (WP Sell Services has its own review system)
  3. Navigate to WooCommerce → Settings → Shipping
  4. Disable all shipping methods (services are digital)
  5. Navigate to WooCommerce → Settings → Tax
  6. Configure tax settings for your jurisdiction (optional)

Note: Vendors don’t create WooCommerce products manually. WP Sell Services creates a carrier product automatically during checkout.

Installing Pro Version [PRO]

The Pro version extends the free version with premium features.

Important: Install and activate the free version first before installing Pro.

Installation Steps

  1. Install and activate WP Sell Services (free version)
  2. Navigate to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin
  3. Upload wp-sell-services-pro.zip
  4. Click Install Now, then Activate Plugin
  5. Navigate to WP Sell Services → Settings → License
  6. Enter your license key
  7. Click Activate License

Pro Features Activation

After activating Pro, you gain access to:

E-commerce Platforms:

  • Easy Digital Downloads (EDD) integration
  • FluentCart integration
  • SureCart integration
  • Standalone mode (no e-commerce plugin required)

Payment Gateways:

  • Stripe Direct integration
  • PayPal Commerce Platform
  • Razorpay
  • Offline payments with proof upload

Wallet System:

  • 4 wallet provider integrations
  • Automated payout scheduling

Cloud Storage:

  • Amazon S3
  • Google Cloud Storage
  • DigitalOcean Spaces
  • Custom S3-compatible storage

Analytics:

  • Vendor analytics dashboard
  • Admin analytics dashboard
  • CSV/PDF export

Extended Limits:

  • Unlimited packages per service
  • Unlimited gallery images
  • Unlimited videos
  • Unlimited FAQs
  • Unlimited add-ons

Configure Pro features at WP Sell Services → Settings → Pro Features.

Troubleshooting Installation

Plugin Won’t Activate

Error: “This plugin requires PHP 8.1 or higher”

Solution: Contact your hosting provider to upgrade PHP. Most hosts allow PHP version changes in cPanel or the hosting dashboard.

Error: “This plugin requires WordPress 6.4 or higher”

Solution: Update WordPress via Dashboard → Updates.

Error: “The plugin does not have a valid header”

Solution: Ensure you’re uploading the complete .zip file, not an extracted folder.

Database Tables Not Created

If activation succeeds but tables aren’t created:

  1. Deactivate WP Sell Services
  2. Reactivate the plugin
  3. Navigate to WP Sell Services → Settings → Advanced → Database
  4. Click Verify Database Tables
  5. If issues persist, click Recreate Tables (this won’t delete existing data)

WooCommerce Integration Issues

If WooCommerce errors occur after activation:

  1. Update WooCommerce to the latest version
  2. Clear all caches (WordPress object cache, page cache, CDN cache)
  3. Navigate to WooCommerce → Status → Tools
  4. Click Clear template cache
  5. Click Verify base database tables

404 Errors on Service Pages

After activation, if service pages show 404 errors:

  1. Navigate to Settings → Permalinks
  2. Click Save Changes (no need to change anything)
  3. This flushes WordPress rewrite rules
  4. Refresh the service page

Upload Size Limit Issues

If you can’t upload the plugin (file too large):

Solution 1: Use FTP upload method instead

Solution 2: Increase upload limits in .htaccess:

php_value upload_max_filesize 64M
php_value post_max_size 64M

Solution 3: Increase limits in php.ini:

upload_max_filesize = 64M
post_max_size = 64M

Solution 4: Contact your hosting provider

WooCommerce Carrier Product Issues

If WooCommerce carrier product wasn’t created:

  1. Navigate to WP Sell Services → Settings → Advanced
  2. Scroll to WooCommerce Integration
  3. Click Create Carrier Product
  4. Verify product creation at Products → All Products

Vendor Role Not Created

If the vendor role wasn’t created:

The plugin automatically recreates missing roles on activation. If issues persist:

  1. Deactivate WP Sell Services
  2. Reactivate the plugin
  3. Check Users → All Users – filter by “Vendor” role

Administrators are automatically made vendors on activation.

Post-Installation Checks

After successful installation, verify these items:

Database Verification

Navigate to WP Sell Services → Settings → Advanced → Database:

  • All tables should show “✓ Exists”
  • Schema version should match plugin version

Rewrite Rules

Test these URLs work (replace yoursite.com):

  • https://yoursite.com/service/ (service archive)
  • https://yoursite.com/buyer-request/ (buyer request archive)
  • https://yoursite.com/vendor/ (vendor archive)

If they show 404, flush permalinks at Settings → Permalinks.

API Endpoints

Test the REST API:

curl https://yoursite.com/wp-json/wpss/v1/settings

Should return JSON with marketplace settings.

Cron Events

Navigate to Tools → Site Health → Info → Scheduled Events:

  • Look for wpssautocomplete_orders
  • Look for wpsscleanupexpired_requests
  • Look for wpssupdatevendor_stats

Next Steps

Now that WP Sell Services is installed:

  1. Complete Initial Setup – Configure pages, commission, and settings
  2. Compare Free vs Pro – Understand version differences
  3. Create Your First Service – Test the vendor experience

Your marketplace is ready to configure!

Last updated: February 14, 2026