Service Creation Wizard

The Service Creation Wizard guides vendors through a 6-step process to create service listings. This wizard ensures you capture all necessary information before publishing your service.

Wizard Overview

The wizard contains 6 steps that must be completed:

Basic Info → Pricing → Gallery → Requirements → Extras & FAQs → Review

All steps can be saved as draft and resumed later. The wizard uses Alpine.js for frontend interactivity and auto-saves progress.

Accessing the Wizard

Shortcode:

[wpss_service_wizard]              - Create new service
[wpss_service_wizard id="123"]     - Edit existing service

Prerequisites:

Must be logged in
Must be an approved vendor
Vendor account status must be “Active” (not pending or suspended)

Step 1: Basic Info

Configure your service title, category, description, and tags.

Service Title

Your service title appears in marketplace listings and search results.

Requirements:

Maximum 80 characters
Minimum 10 characters for publishing
No special validation rules enforced

Best Practices:

Start with “I will…” format
Include primary keywords
Be specific about what you deliver
Avoid all-caps or excessive punctuation

Example Titles:

“I will design a professional WordPress website”
“I will write SEO-optimized blog posts for your business”
“I will create a custom logo with unlimited revisions”

Subcategory

Optional subcategory selection. Appears only after selecting a primary category.

Implementation:

Dynamically populated based on parent category selection
Uses hierarchical taxonomy structure
Not required for publishing

Service Description

Detailed description of what you offer.

Requirements:

Maximum 5,000 characters
Minimum 120 characters for publishing
Supports HTML formatting via wpksespost()

Character Counter:

Real-time counter shows X / 5000 characters
Warning displayed if under 120 characters minimum

What to Include:

What you will deliver
Your process or approach
Requirements from buyers
What’s NOT included
Timeline expectations

Step 2: Pricing

Create up to 3 pricing packages for your service.

Package Tiers

Three package tiers are available:

Tier	Enabled by Default	Can be Disabled
Basic	Yes (always enabled)	No
Standard	No	Yes
Premium	No	Yes

Limits:

Maximum 3 packages (Free and Pro both support 3 packages)
Basic package is always required
Standard and Premium are optional

Package Fields

Each package contains the following fields:

Package Name

Text input
Defaults to tier name (“Basic”, “Standard”, “Premium”)
Required for Basic package
Optional for Standard/Premium if not enabled

Package Description

Textarea input
Describes what’s included in this package
Required for Basic package
Optional for Standard/Premium if not enabled

Price

Number input (float)
Currency symbol shown as prefix
Minimum $5 for Basic package (validation on publish)
Step: 0.01 (allows cents)
Required for Basic package

Delivery Time

Dropdown select
Options: 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 14, 21, 30 days
Required for Basic package
Stored as number of days

Revisions

Dropdown select
Options: 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, Unlimited (-1)
Defaults: Basic (1), Standard (2), Premium (3)
Optional field

Features Included

Dynamic list of text inputs
Add/remove feature items
Each feature is a single line description
No limit on number of features
Stored as array in package data

Enabling Standard/Premium

Standard and Premium packages have an “Enable this package” toggle:

<input type="checkbox" x-model="data.packages.standard.enabled">

When disabled, the package is not offered to buyers.

Package Data Structure

Packages are stored in wpsspackages meta as:

{
  "basic": {
    "enabled": true,
    "name": "Basic",
    "description": "Entry-level package",
    "price": 50.00,
    "delivery_time": 3,
    "revisions": 1,
    "features": ["Feature 1", "Feature 2"]
  },
  "standard": {...},
  "premium": {...}
}

Step 3: Gallery

Upload images and videos to showcase your work.

Main Image (Featured Image)

Required for publishing
Recommended dimensions: 800x600px
Set as WordPress post thumbnail (setpostthumbnail)
Single image only

Additional Images

Maximum 4 images in free version
[PRO] Unlimited images (filter: wpssservicemax_gallery)
Stored in wpssgallery meta as image IDs

Image Upload Limits

Maximum file size: 5MB per image
Allowed formats: JPG, JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP
MIME type validation enforced on upload
Ownership verification (must be uploaded by current user or admin)

Video

Add optional video URL.

Free: 1 video URL
[PRO] 3 video URLs (filter: wpssservicemax_videos)
YouTube and Vimeo embeds only
URL input field (escurlraw sanitization)
No direct video uploads in wizard

Gallery Data Structure

{
  "main": {
    "id": 123,
    "url": "https://..."
  },
  "images": [
    {"id": 124, "url": "https://..."},
    {"id": 125, "url": "https://..."}
  ],
  "video": "https://youtube.com/watch?v=..."
}

Step 4: Requirements

Define what information you need from buyers before starting work.

Requirement Fields

Each requirement has:

Question

Text input
The question buyers will answer
Required field

Answer Type

Dropdown with 4 options:

Note: Only these 4 types are available. Radio and multi-select types do NOT exist.

Required Toggle

Checkbox
Marks requirement as mandatory or optional
Buyers must answer required fields to submit requirements

Options (for Select type)

Text input, comma-separated
Only shown when “Select” type is chosen
Example: Option 1, Option 2, Option 3

Requirement Limits

Free: Maximum 5 requirements
[PRO] Unlimited requirements (filter: wpssservicemax_requirements)

File Upload Settings

When buyers upload files for requirements:

Allowed extensions: 24 types (jpg, jpeg, png, gif, webp, pdf, doc, docx, xls, xlsx, ppt, pptx, txt, rtf, csv, zip, rar, 7z, mp3, wav, mp4, mov, avi, psd, ai, eps, svg)
Maximum file size: 50MB per file
Files are set to post_status = 'private' for security
Multiple files can be uploaded per file requirement

Requirements Data Structure

[
  {
    "question": "What is your business name?",
    "type": "text",
    "required": true,
    "options": ""
  },
  {
    "question": "Choose your preferred style",
    "type": "select",
    "required": false,
    "options": "Modern, Classic, Minimalist"
  }
]

Step 5: Extras & FAQs

Add optional extras (add-ons) and frequently asked questions.

Service Extras (Add-ons)

Add-ons are stored in the custom wpssserviceaddons database table, not post meta.

Add-on Limits

Free: Maximum 3 add-ons
[PRO] Unlimited add-ons (filter: wpssservicemax_extras)

Wizard Add-on Fields

The wizard exposes simplified fields:

Title – Add-on name
Description – What’s included
Price – Additional cost
Extra Days – Additional delivery time

Add-on Field Types

Four field types are supported:

Type	Description	Buyer Interface
`checkbox`	Simple yes/no toggle	Single checkbox
`quantity`	Select multiple units	Quantity input with min/max
`dropdown`	Pick one option	Dropdown select
`text`	Custom text input	Text field

Note: Radio buttons and multi-select checkboxes do NOT exist as field types.

Add-on Pricing Types

Flat – Fixed price added to order
Percentage – Percentage of package price [PRO]
Quantity-based – Price multiplied by quantity [PRO]

FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions section.

FAQ Limits

Free: Maximum 5 FAQs
[PRO] Unlimited FAQs (filter: wpssservicemax_faq)

FAQ Fields

Question – Text input
Answer – Textarea (supports HTML via wpksespost)

FAQ Data Structure

[
  {
    "question": "Do you offer refunds?",
    "answer": "Yes, we offer full refunds within 14 days..."
  }
]

Stored in wpssfaqs post meta.

Step 6: Review

Final review step before publishing. Here is how a completed service looks on the frontend:

Review Display

Shows summary of:

Service preview card with main image and title
Starting price (from Basic package)
Completion checklist with real-time validation

Completion Checklist

The wizard validates:

Service title (10+ characters)
Category selected
Description (120+ characters)
Basic package pricing complete
Main image uploaded

Validation Errors

If validation fails, errors are displayed in an errors list. The “Publish Service” button remains enabled but AJAX handler will reject submission.

Save Draft

At any step, click “Save Draft” to save progress without publishing.

Status: draft
Validation: Not enforced
Visibility: Only visible to author and admins

Publish Service

Submits service for publishing or moderation.

If moderation is enabled (admin setting):

Post status: pending
Moderation status meta: pending
Admin receives notification
Vendor receives “submitted for review” message

If moderation is disabled:

Post status: publish
Service goes live immediately
Syncs to WooCommerce product (if WooCommerce active)

Wizard Limits Summary

Feature	Free	Pro Filter
Packages	3	`wpssservicemax_packages` (still 3)
Gallery Images	4	`wpssservicemax_gallery` (-1 = unlimited)
Videos	1	`wpssservicemax_videos` (3)
Extras/Add-ons	3	`wpssservicemax_extras` (-1 = unlimited)
FAQs	5	`wpssservicemax_faq` (-1 = unlimited)
Requirements	5	`wpssservicemax_requirements` (-1 = unlimited)
Tags	5	Hardcoded (no filter)
Description	5,000 chars	No Pro extension

Wizard Navigation

Navigation Buttons

Previous – Go to previous step (hidden on first step)
Save Draft – Save progress without validation
Continue – Proceed to next step (hidden on last step)
Publish Service – Submit for publishing (only on last step)

Progress Indicator

Top of wizard shows all 6 steps with:

Current step highlighted
Completed steps marked with checkmark
Clickable to jump between steps
Icons for each step (Dashicons)

Technical Details

Shortcode Implementation

PHP Handler:

ServiceWizard::render_wizard( $atts )

Attributes:

id – Service post ID for editing (optional)

JavaScript

Uses Alpine.js for reactive data binding:

Component: wpssServiceWizard()

Data Structure:

{
  currentStep: 'basic',
  data: {
    title: '',
    description: '',
    category: '',
    subcategory: '',
    tags: '',
    packages: {...},
    gallery: {...},
    requirements: [],
    extras: [],
    faqs: []
  },
  saving: false,
  publishing: false
}

AJAX Endpoints

Action	Hook	Purpose
`wpsswizardsave_draft`	`wpajaxwpsswizardsave_draft`	Save draft
`wpsswizardpublish`	`wpajaxwpsswizardpublish`	Publish service
`wpsswizardupload_gallery`	`wpajaxwpsswizardupload_gallery`	Upload image
`wpsswizardremove_gallery`	`wpajaxwpsswizardremove_gallery`	Remove image

Nonce Verification

All AJAX requests verified with:

check_ajax_referer( 'wpss_service_wizard', 'nonce' );

Nonce field: wpsswizardnonce

Pro Features

[PRO] features are enabled via filters and are NOT implemented in the free wizard UI:

Feature	Filter/Hook	Default Free
AI Title Suggestions	`wpssservicewizardfeatures` → `ai``title`	`false`
Templates	`wpssservicewizard_features` → `templates`	`false`
Bulk Upload	`wpssservicewizardfeatures` → `bulk``upload`	`false`
Direct Video Upload	`wpssservicewizardfeatures` → `video``upload`	`false`
Custom Package Fields	`wpssservicewizardfeatures` → `custom``fields`	`false`
Scheduled Publishing	`wpssservicewizardfeatures` → `scheduled``publish`	`false`

These features are not visible in the free wizard and must be implemented by the Pro plugin.

Common Issues

Service Won’t Save

Causes:

Session expired
Nonce verification failed
Missing required meta fields
Permission check failed

Fix:

Check vendor account status (must be “Active”)
Refresh page and try again
Check browser console for JavaScript errors
Verify user has wpss_vendor role or is admin

Images Won’t Upload

Causes:

File size exceeds 5MB
Unsupported image format
Upload directory permissions
Attachment ownership verification failed

Fix:

Compress images to under 5MB
Use JPG, PNG, GIF, or WebP only
Check /wp-content/uploads/ permissions
Try different image

Cannot Publish

Causes:

Validation errors not visible
Required fields incomplete
Vendor account suspended
Moderation queue full

Fix:

Review all validation errors on Step 6
Complete Basic package fully
Check vendor dashboard for account status
Contact admin if issue persists

Service Creation Wizard

Wizard Overview

Accessing the Wizard

Step 1: Basic Info

Service Title

Category

Subcategory

Service Description

Tags

Step 2: Pricing

Package Tiers

Package Fields

Package Name

Package Description

Price

Delivery Time

Revisions

Features Included

Enabling Standard/Premium

Package Data Structure

Step 3: Gallery

Main Image (Featured Image)

Additional Images

Image Upload Limits

Video

Gallery Data Structure

Step 4: Requirements

Requirement Fields

Question

Answer Type

Required Toggle

Options (for Select type)

Requirement Limits

File Upload Settings

Requirements Data Structure

Step 5: Extras & FAQs

Service Extras (Add-ons)

Add-on Limits

Wizard Add-on Fields

Add-on Field Types

Add-on Pricing Types

FAQs

FAQ Limits

FAQ Fields

FAQ Data Structure

Step 6: Review

Review Display

Completion Checklist

Validation Errors

Save Draft

Publish Service

Wizard Limits Summary

Wizard Navigation

Navigation Buttons

Progress Indicator

Technical Details

Shortcode Implementation

JavaScript

AJAX Endpoints

Nonce Verification

Pro Features

Common Issues

Service Won’t Save

Images Won’t Upload

Cannot Publish

Related Documentation