FAQ

Does it require WooCommerce?

Yes. Shortlist requires an active WooCommerce installation and does nothing without it.

Can guests use the wishlist?

Yes, if you allow it in settings. A guest’s list lives in an HttpOnly cookie and is merged into their account automatically the next time they log in, no manual import.

Where can shoppers view their list?

In the My Account → Wishlist tab, on a dedicated wishlist page, or anywhere you place the [shortlist] shortcode or the Shortlist Wishlist block.

How does it handle variable products?

The button stays disabled with a configurable hint until the shopper picks options, then saves the selected variation ID, so the saved item is the specific variation, not the generic product.

Does it use jQuery?

The add/remove toggle script is vanilla JavaScript with no jQuery dependency, deferred and loaded in the footer. The one exception is variable products: to follow the selected variation Shortlist hooks WooCommerce’s own wc-add-to-cart-variation script through its jQuery found_variation / reset_data events. Stores without variable products never load that path.

Does the wishlist need JavaScript?

Yes. The button toggles over AJAX (to admin-ajax.php) and has no page-reload fallback, so the wishlist button does nothing with JavaScript disabled.

Will it cause layout shift?

No. The toggle button reserves its space, so switching between the add and remove states never reflows the page.

Is it accessible?

Yes. The toggle is a real <button> with aria-pressed, wishlist changes are announced to screen readers, and the My Account item count updates live without a page reload. All buttons for the same product stay in sync after a toggle.

How do I create a dedicated wishlist page?

In settings, pick an existing page from the dropdown or click Create wishlist page to publish one with the [shortlist] shortcode. Enable Show list on page to auto-output the grid when the page body has no shortcode yet; leave it off if the page already contains [shortlist] to avoid a duplicate.

What can the list show?

A heading, intro and empty-list text, a configurable column count, and which product details appear, image, name, price, add-to-cart and the remove button, each toggled independently.

Where are wishlists stored?

Each saved item is a row in a custom {prefix}shortlist_items table, keyed to one owner: a logged-in customer’s user ID, or a guest’s session ID. The guest session ID lives in the HttpOnly shortlist_session cookie (six-month lifetime) until the guest logs in, when the rows transfer to the account. Nothing is sent to any third party.

How do I remove all plugin data?

Deleting the plugin from the Plugins screen runs the uninstall routine, which drops the {prefix}shortlist_items table and removes the shortlist_settings and shortlist_db_version options. Deactivating alone leaves your data in place.

Can I move the button or change its markup?

The placement is on/off per context (loop, single product, My Account), but the button’s position within each context is fixed and the template markup is not overridable from your theme. You can restyle it from your theme’s CSS, the output uses low-specificity classes such as .shortlist-wishlist-button and .shortlist-wishlist-grid.

Who can change the settings?

Anyone with the manage_woocommerce capability, shop managers as well as administrators. The settings screen and the Create wishlist page action both check that capability.

Free vs PRO?

The free edition is the full single wishlist, guests, variations, My Account, dedicated page, shortcode/block and AJAX sync. Shortlist PRO (planned) adds multiple named lists, share links, price-drop and back-in-stock alerts and analytics, not basic wishlist access.