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Launch Checklist

Everything between installing the plugin and taking real money, in order. Work top to bottom – each stage assumes the one above it is done.

Defaults in brackets are what the plugin ships with, so you only need to change what does not suit you.

1. Install

Section titled “1. Install”
  • WordPress 6.4+, PHP 8.1+ – Installation
  • Free plugin installed and activated
  • Pro installed and license activated at Sell Services > License (if you bought Pro). Pro features do not load without it – License Activation
  • Run wp wpss preflight if you have WP-CLI. Every check should print PASS

2. Core setup

Section titled “2. Core setup”
  • Sell Services > Settings > General – platform name, currency, and how checkout runs (standalone or an e-commerce platform)
  • Settings > Pages – create and assign all 4 pages: Services, Dashboard, Become a Vendor, Checkout
  • Add Services and Become a Vendor to your site menu (Appearance > Menus)
  • Add service categories at Sell Services > Categories

Currency is worth deciding now. Everything is stored and settled in your base currency, and changing it later does not convert existing records.

3. Money

Section titled “3. Money”

Get this right before a single real order.

  • Settings > Payment Gateways – enable at least one gateway and complete its credentials
  • Add the gateway’s webhook endpoint. Without it, payments can succeed at the gateway and never mark the order paid
  • Test in the gateway’s sandbox mode, end to end, before switching to live keys
  • Settings > Commission & Tax – commission rate [10%], per-vendor overrides [on], tax [off]
  • Decide the tip commission rate. Empty means tips are commissioned at your normal rate; 0 means vendors keep tips in full
  • Settings > Payouts – minimum withdrawal [$25], clearance period [0 days], wallet provider
  • Decide how you will actually pay vendors – Paying Your Vendors

The clearance period ships at 0, meaning earnings are withdrawable as soon as an order completes. If you want a buffer against refunds and chargebacks, raise it now rather than after money is already owed.

4. Vendors

Section titled “4. Vendors”
  • Settings > Vendors – registration mode: open, requires approval, or closed
  • Max services per vendor [20], identity verification [off]
  • Service moderation [off]. Left off, new listings publish immediately. Turn it on if you want to review every service first – Service Moderation
  • [PRO] Vendor subscription plans, if vendors will pay to sell

5. Orders and policy

Section titled “5. Orders and policy”
  • Settings > Orders & Disputes – auto-complete [3 days], requirements timeout [7 days], dispute window [14 days], auto-flag late orders [3 days]
  • Confirm disputes are enabled [on] and you know who will mediate them

Revision limits are not here – vendors set those per package.

6. Emails

Section titled “6. Emails”
  • Settings > Emails – send the deliverability test first. If it does not arrive, no notification will
  • Install an SMTP plugin if the test fails. WordPress’s default mail is unreliable on most hosts
  • Review the 23 notification types [all on] and switch off any you do not want

7. Branding and display

Section titled “7. Branding and display”
  • Place your marketplace elements – Shortcodes or Blocks
  • Check the catalog, a service page, and the dashboard on a phone
  • [PRO] White label – do this last, since renaming the admin menu makes the rest of these docs stop matching your screen

8. Rehearse before launch

Section titled “8. Rehearse before launch”

Do not let a customer find the first bug.

  • Create a test vendor and publish a test service
  • Order it as a different user, and pay with a real (small) live transaction
  • Submit requirements, send a message with an attachment, deliver, request a revision, then complete
  • Confirm every email arrived, for both parties
  • Check the vendor’s earnings and request a withdrawal
  • Open and resolve a dispute on a second test order
  • Refund a test order and confirm the ledger reversed

wp wpss demo marketplace seeds a full marketplace for rehearsal, and wp wpss demo delete removes it without touching real content – WP-CLI Commands.

9. Go live

Section titled “9. Go live”
  • Swap every gateway from sandbox to live keys, and re-point webhooks at the live endpoints
  • Delete demo content
  • Turn off debug mode in Settings > Advanced
  • Place one real order yourself, then refund it
  • Confirm your backups run and include the database – orders, earnings, and the wallet ledger all live there

After launch

Section titled “After launch”
  • Withdrawals need a human. Approve and pay them on a schedule your vendors can predict.
  • Disputes need answering quickly. A slow mediator loses both buyers and vendors.
  • Moderation queue, if enabled, blocks vendors from selling until you clear it.
  • Renew Pro before it expires. An expired license switches Pro features off.
Section titled “Related”