FAQ
Short answers to the questions store owners ask most, each with a link to the full story.
Getting started
Do I need ShapedRecover Pro?
No. The free plugin runs the whole recovery loop: capture, campaigns, coupons, the recovery link, the Dashboard and Recovered Sales. Pro adds six extras, such as a Never Track list and the Product Report. See Free vs Pro.
I installed it. Why isn't anything happening?
Tracking and the three starter campaigns all ship switched off, so nothing is captured or sent until you choose. The four-step checklist on the Dashboard walks you through switching them on. See Quick Start.
Do I need an SMTP plugin?
Not strictly, but it's the biggest single factor in whether recovery works. ShapedRecover sends through WordPress's normal mail, and on many hosts that lands in spam or never arrives. If your WooCommerce order emails already arrive reliably, you're probably fine. See Set Up SMTP.
Does it work with the block checkout?
Yes, and with the classic [woocommerce_checkout] checkout too. Capture and the consent checkbox work the same on both, with nothing to set up. See Block and classic checkouts.
How do I test it without a real shopper?
Abandon a cart yourself in a private window, logged out, with a test email address. Your admin account isn't tracked, on purpose. Test the Recovery Flow takes you through it in about 30 minutes.
Tracking & privacy
When is a cart saved?
About a second after the shopper types a valid email at checkout, as long as the consent box is ticked. They don't need to click Place order. Logged-in customers who gave consent before are tracked from the moment they add an item. See Email Capture.
Can it recover carts from shoppers who never typed an email?
No. Without an email address there's nobody to remind. A guest who browses and leaves before typing an email at checkout isn't saved. See When nothing is captured.
Is the consent checkbox required?
Shoppers don't have to tick it to buy. It starts ticked; a shopper who unticks it checks out normally, and nothing about them is saved. If you sell into the EU or UK, ask your legal adviser whether a pre-ticked box suits your store. See Consent Checkbox.
Is ShapedRecover GDPR compliant?
Compliance depends on how you run your store, so no plugin can promise it. ShapedRecover gives you the tools: a consent checkbox with a record of every consent, an unsubscribe link in every email, WordPress's export and erase tools, and automatic data retention. See Unsubscribe & Privacy.
How do I keep my own and my staff's carts out?
Administrators and shop managers are never tracked by default. Add other roles in Settings → General, or block specific addresses with Never Track (Pro). See Exclusions.
How long is shopper data kept?
Finished carts are kept 90 days and their email history 180 days by default, then removed by a daily clear-out. Recovered carts are anonymised instead, so your sales figures stay complete. See How long data is kept.
Emails
When do the emails go out?
Each campaign sends a set time after the cart becomes abandoned, which happens after 15 minutes of no activity by default. The starters send at 1 hour, 1 day and 2 days. See Triggers & Timing.
Will a shopper who already bought get a reminder?
No. Any order from the shopper, by the same email address or account, stops their remaining emails, whether or not they used the link. Every email is also checked again right before it sends. See Orders stop the emails.
How many emails can I send?
As many campaigns as you like, each sending once per cart. Two or three usually works best. See Best Practices.
Can I remove the unsubscribe link?
No. Every recovery email needs one, and Gmail and Yahoo expect it. You can reword it or move it in the email. See The unsubscribe link.
Coupons
Does every shopper get a different code?
Yes, with Generate a new code. Each code is made when the email sends, works only with that shopper's email address, and works once. See What a generated coupon looks like.
Will my coupon list fill up with old codes?
No. Coupon cleanup deletes expired codes, and used ones 7 days after use, every week by default. Coupons you made yourself are never touched. See Coupon Cleanup.
Reports
When does a sale count as recovered?
When the order was placed through the recovery link, within 14 days of that email, and paid. Never by email address alone. See Attribution & Audit.
What's the difference between Recovered and Ordered?
Both mean the shopper bought. Recovered means they came back through your email's link, so the sale is credited. Ordered means they came back some other way: their emails stop, but there's no credit. See Recovered vs Ordered.
Why is my Recovery Rate different from my recovered orders?
Recovery Rate counts carts by when they were abandoned; Recovered Orders counts sales by when they were paid. A cart abandoned last month and recovered this week lands in different ranges for each. See Two clocks.
What happens to credit when an order is refunded?
A full refund or cancellation takes the credit back, for good. A partial refund lowers the credited amount. See Refunds and cancellations.
Free & Pro
What happens when my license expires?
Pro's features keep working. Only updates and support stop until you renew. See The three states.
Will I lose anything if I deactivate Pro?
No. Recovery keeps running on the free features, and your Pro settings are kept for when you reactivate. See Going back to Free.
Do I have to migrate anything to upgrade?
No. Keep the free plugin active, install Pro beside it and activate your license. Everything stays where it is. See Upgrading from Free to Pro.
Can I move my license to another site?
Yes. Click Deactivate License on the old site, then activate it on the new one. Deactivate before you delete Pro, or the old site keeps its activation. See Moving to another site.
Technical
What does it need to run?
WordPress 6.6, PHP 7.4 and WooCommerce 8.3 or newer, plus working email and background jobs. See Requirements.
Does it work with High-Performance Order Storage?
Yes. It works the same with HPOS and with the older posts-based order storage. See Requirements.
Does it work on multisite?
Yes, activated on each site that runs a store. Network activation isn't supported: if you used Network Activate, click Network Deactivate and activate it per site instead. See Multisite.
Does it work with page caching?
Yes, with standard WordPress page caching. A CDN or server cache that strips query strings can break the recovery link; Page Caching shows how to check.
What happens to my data if I delete the plugin?
Nothing, unless you switch on Delete Everything on Uninstall first. Your orders are never deleted either way. See Uninstalling & Data.
Where to go next
- Troubleshooting: when something isn't working.
- Glossary: every term in plain English.