Spending Limits for WooCommerce

We have released new plugin Spending Limits for WooCommerce which allows users to set their own spending limits for competitions and Self-Exclusion. It can be used on any WooCommerce powered website.

Key Features – How it can be used?

  • Custom Spending Caps: Allow users to set their own spending limits for competitions.
  • Transparency Tools: Provide clear tracking of entries and spending history.
  • Self-Exclusion Options: Enable participants to temporarily pause their competition activities.

Why Choose Spending Limits for WooCommerce?

  • Foster a responsible and safe environment for your customers.
  • Build trust and credibility with ethical practices.
  • Stay compliant while offering an engaging competition experience.
  • Encourage fun, responsible participation while supporting customer well-being.

Black Friday / Cyber Monday 2024 discounts

We are running Black Friday / Cyber Monday promo till 15th December 2024 – all items in our store are 20% off. You can use coupon code “black2024” to get the discount applied during checkout.

Our current versions for plugins: WooCommerce Lottery v2.2.4, Woo Lottery Pick Number Mod addon v2.4.6.2, Woo Simple Auctions v3.0.3, WooCommerce Group Buy & Deals v1.2.3, WooCommerce Simple Storewide Sale v1.1.8.

If you don’t have those versions installed we recommend you to update.

Really Simple Security, formerly known as Really Simple SSL serious vulnerability

If you use this plugin please update as soon as possible!

Wordfence team reported that on November 6th, 2024, Wordfence team identified and began the responsible disclosure process for an Authentication Bypass vulnerability in the Really Simple Security plugin, and in the Really Simple Security Pro and Pro Multisite plugins, which are actively installed on more than 4,000,000 WordPress websites.

This vulnerability affects Really Simple Security, formerly known as Really Simple SSL, installed on over 4 million websites, and allows an attacker to remotely gain full administrative access to a site running the plugin. The blog post contains additional context and background including suggested actions.

Plugin updates – October 2024

Current versions of plugins in October 2024: WooCommerce Simple Auctions v3.0.3, WooCommerce Lottery v2.2.5, Lottery Pick Number v2.6.4.2, WooCommerce Group Buy Deals v1.2.2, WooCommerce Simple Bulk Discounts v1.0.12, WooCommerce Simple Storewide Sale v1.1.8.

Before updating make backup (just in case) and read changelog to see what’s updated in new plugin release and decide if you need to update.

ClassicPress – Get Simple Auctions, Lottery and Group Buy running on lightweight WordPress fork

ClassicPress Get Simple Auctions, Lottery and Group Buy running on lightweight WordPress fork

ClassicPress is WordPress long awaited fork of WordPress 4.9 (from version 2.0 fork of WP 6.2.x) without Gutenberg block editor, basically a lighter fork of WordPress with a few tweaks and improvements. It is under active development, has less bloat and has latest security patches. You will love overall simplicity and speed.

Most popular themes and plugins that work with WordPress 6.x are compatible with ClassicPress and there are forks of WooCommerce called ClassicCommerce and RankMath called Classic SEO (for more infos see link here).

Update: ClassicPress v2.0+ is a re-fork based on WordPress 6.2.x so brings ClassicPress a host of new features. Release notes are here. There is also https://directory.classicpress.net/ for native plugins and themes.

WooCommerce Simple Auctions running on ClassicPress v2.2.0 – https://wpgenie.org/classicpress-wsa/ – here is how we have setup it https://wpgenie.org/classicpress-wsa/setup/

Setting up prerequisites in ClassicPress

First thing to do when installing one of our plugins on ClassicPress is to decide what version of WooCommerce you will use. ClassicCommerce is fork based on WooCommerce v3.5.3 and usually needs tiny compatibility plugin (get it here) which allows WooCommerce addons to work with ClassicCommerce. We used StoreFront theme.

classicpress-plugins-list
Plugin list in ClassicPress

Another option is regular WooCommerce installation but version that does not include (register) blocks for Gutenberg like WooCommerce v4.8.3 – scroll to the bottom and download version you want from wordpress.net/plugins repository. Once WooCommerce is ready you can install our plugins like you would on normal WordPress website.

Payment gateways tested in ClassicPress

Payment gateway we tested beside those that are preinstalled with WooCommerce is WooCommerce Stripe Gateway version 5.3.0 since that is the latest one that works fine with WooCommerce v4.8.2. Here is sample order done using test card with Stripe GW:

classicpress stripe order using test card plugin woocommerce stripe payment

Using our plugins on ClassicPress

There is no difference in how you use and work with plugins. Everything from documentation applies here. Install it, setup couple of products, make couple of orders and that’s it. Once deal, auction or lottery ends you and users will get notifications (if that is set), normal workflow is not affected in any way.

WooCommerce Lottery with Pick Number Mod addon
WooCommerce Lottery with Pick Number Mod addon

Here is screenshot of how auction product looks like:

ClassicPress with WooCommerce Simple Auction auction single product page

And screenshot with WooCommerce Group Buy / Deals product:

classicpress group buy deal product
Group Buy / Deal single product page

In this simple guide we have shown how you can use our plugin on ClassicPress setup and enjoy its superb performance. Easy on hosting and great for your visitor’s user experience.

Privilege Escalation Vulnerability in WCFM

Wordfence team reported a Privilege Escalation via Account Takeover vulnerability in WCFM – WooCommerce Frontend Manager, a WordPress plugin with more than 20k installations. Some of those sites are also our clients using our Auction, Group Buy and Lottery plugins so we urge them (and all other using the plugin) to update WCFM to the latest version.

This vulnerability makes it possible for an authenticated attacker to change the email of any user, including an administrator, which allows them to reset the password and take over the account and website. Full article is here and tech details are here.

Coming Soon / Site visibility available as part of WooCommerce from v9.1

WooCommerce now includes a feature that allows you to easily set your website to “Coming Soon” mode, negating the need for a separate plugin.

Site visibility – Coming soon general settings
Coming soon mode – only for store pages and site access only with private link

WooCommerce introduced option to set store “Coming Soon” mode so no need to have additional “manintenance mode” or “coming soon” plugins. You can switch that option from WooCommerce Settings. From version 9.3.1 there is also small icon in wp-admin upper left corner showing whether site is live or in coming soon.

New shortcode in WooCommerce Simple Auctions for any WordPress visual builder

We listened to our clients and introduced this handy feature. From WooCommerce Simple Auctions version 3.0 we have introduced special shortcode which display template parts for single auction page.

Shortcode example is below:

[wsa_templates template="countdown"]

This is useful for any visual builder like Avada Builder, WP Bakery Visual Composer, Beaver Builder, Divi Builder, Oxygen Builder, Themify Builder, SeedProd, Gutenberg, etc. You can do usual styling using your visual builder and just place shortcode with part you need (bid input, countdown timer, auction details, etc).

Available shortcode attributes (template parts) are:

add-to-cart
countdown
pay
bid-form
condition
dates
max-bid
reserve
auction-sealed
ajax-conteiner-start
ajax-conteiner-end

Keep on your mind that most builders require WooCommerce addon / integration in order to build WooCommerce pages like shop or single product page. As always we recommend you to check documentation for visual builder of your choice and see how it works and integrates with WooCommerce.

We have also FAQ entry covering this shortcode, see FAQ item no 68.