FAQ

Does it require WooCommerce?

Yes. Followup reads WooCommerce orders. With WooCommerce inactive it shows an admin error notice and registers nothing. It declares compatibility with HPOS (custom order tables) and the Cart/Checkout blocks.

How many email types are there?

Two: Thank-you and Review request, both enabled by default. There are no other built-in types in the free edition. Each has its own enable switch, trigger status, delay, subject and body.

When are emails actually sent?

On the daily wp-cron event followup_daily_event. Each run finds orders in the trigger status that are at least the configured number of days old and have not had that follow-up yet, and sends them. Nothing is sent the instant an order changes status, it goes out on the next daily run after the delay has passed. To send immediately while testing, set the delay to 0 and run wp cron event run followup_daily_event.

How is the delay measured exactly?

From the order’s last-modified date, compared against now − delay days. Followup does not record the precise moment an order entered the trigger status, so editing an order after it reaches that status resets the clock and pushes the follow-up later. The rule is deliberately conservative: an email never sends earlier than the delay.

Will a customer ever get the same email twice?

No. Before sending, Followup marks the order with a per-type meta flag (_followup_sent_<type>); only orders without that flag are picked up. If wp_mail fails, the flag is removed so the order retries on the next run. This makes overlapping or repeated cron runs safe.

What if cron stopped running?

The event re-schedules itself on the next wp-admin page load if it goes missing, so an update without re-activation does not silently stop the emails. On low-traffic sites where WordPress’s pseudo-cron rarely fires, point a real system cron at wp-cron.php (or run wp cron event run --due-now) so the daily event actually executes.

Which tokens can I use?

{customer} (billing first name, or “there” when empty), {order} (order number prefixed with #) and {site} (your site name), in both the subject and the body. There are no other tokens.

How does Followup send email, and how do I improve deliverability?

Through WordPress’s wp_mail, as plain text. Any SMTP or transactional-email plugin you run handles delivery automatically. Set a From email on your own domain so messages pass SPF/DKIM. If test emails do not arrive, the issue is almost always mail delivery, not Followup, verify with your mail plugin first.

Can I send HTML or change the email before it goes out?

Yes, with the followup/mail filter. It receives the email arguments, the order and the type key just before wp_mail, so you can switch the Content-Type header to HTML, rewrite the body, change the recipient or add headers. See Building a sequence for a working example.

Can I change which order status triggers an email?

Yes, per type. The dropdown lists every order status registered on your store, so custom statuses appear too. Completed is the default. The delay is counted from when the order last changed (see above).

Does it need an external service or account?

No. Followup runs entirely on your site with wp-cron and wp_mail. There is no external service, account or tracking, and no storefront output.

What gets removed if I delete the plugin?

Deleting it removes the followup_settings and followup_db_version options. The per-order _followup_sent_<type> meta is left in place, it is harmless order metadata and removing it could let already-sent follow-ups send again if you reinstall.

Related

• Configuration, every setting and its option key.
• Building a sequence, timing, copy and the followup/mail filter.