Shop Manager Troubleshooting: Fix Common Issues
This Shop Manager troubleshooting page covers the problems that are not about one feature: the dashboard not loading, someone being locked out, a menu item gone, mail not arriving, the licence. Problems inside a single feature are answered in that feature’s own guide, linked at the bottom of this page.
The Dashboard Will Not Load
Page not found at /sm-dashboard/.
WordPress has not picked up the dashboard address yet. Go to Settings, then Permalinks, and click Save Changes without changing anything. That rebuilds the site’s addresses.
The page is blank, or half loads.
Clear your caching plugin and your browser cache, plus your CDN if you use one. If it is still blank, switch to a default theme, then turn other plugins off one at a time until the dashboard appears; the last one switched off is the conflict.
A message says no route was found.
Shop Manager and Shop Manager Pro are on different versions, or Pro was turned off while the dashboard was open. Update both to the latest version, then reload.
Someone Cannot Get In
Being shut out is the most common Shop Manager troubleshooting question, and the message on the screen tells you which case it is.
“Please log in to access the dashboard”.
They are signed out. The form on that page is the dashboard’s own login, and Forgot your password? beneath it sends a reset link without going near wp-login.php.
“You don’t have the permission to access this page”.
They are signed in with a role the dashboard does not accept. It lets in WordPress administrators, editors and shop managers, and anyone holding one of the Shop Manager employee roles. Give the person an employee role; see Add Employees & Assign Roles.
“Access Restricted”.
Their role is a custom one and the Pro licence is no longer active. Renew it, or move them to a built-in role in the meantime.
An employee can still open wp-admin.
They are on an ordinary WordPress role, not a Shop Manager one. Only Shop Manager roles are sent back to the dashboard.
Something Is Missing From the Dashboard
A whole section is gone from the sidebar.
Either its module is switched off, which hides it for everyone, or the person’s role does not include it. Check the Modules tab first, then the role’s permissions.
The section is there but a button is not.
That one action is not ticked on the role. Delete, Export, Status Change and the like are each separate permissions.
A button has a PRO tag or a padlock.
That feature needs an active Pro licence. See Install & Activate Shop Manager Pro.
I changed a setting and nothing happened.
Settings are saved only by Save Changes at the top of the settings page, and the dashboard reads them when it loads. Save, then reload the dashboard.
Email, Files and Pop-ups
Welcome, password or order emails never arrive.
This is how WordPress sends mail on the server, not Shop Manager. Most hosts need an SMTP service configured before mail is delivered reliably. Once it is set up, resend from the employee’s profile or the order.
An invoice, print or label does not open.
These open in a new browser tab. Allow pop-ups for your site and try again.
A very large batch of invoices or labels fails.
The server ran out of time building one big file. Select fewer orders at a time.
Product images will not upload.
The media library needs upload rights, which Shop Manager gives any employee whose role includes Products or one of the product taxonomies. If a role has none of those, add one. If the role is right, the file may be larger than your host allows; try a smaller image.
Licence
“Shop Manager Pro needs Shop Manager”.
Pro adds to the free plugin rather than replacing it. Install and activate the free plugin; the notice’s own button does it in one click.
The licence key will not activate.
Check it was pasted whole, that it has not reached its limit of sites, and that your server can reach the internet. The steps are in Install & Activate Shop Manager Pro.
Problems in One Feature
Each of these guides ends with its own Shop Manager troubleshooting section for that feature:
- Orders: Order Management, PDF Invoices, Custom Order Status
- Products: Add a Product and Bulk Upload
- Customers: Customer Management, Customer Tags
- Staff: Activity Log, Custom Roles
- AI: AI Settings, AI Assistant, AI Descriptions
Still Stuck?
Note what you did, what you expected and the exact wording of any message, then contact Oxilab support with it. The FAQ may already answer it, and if this Shop Manager troubleshooting page did not, tell us which problem was missing so it can be added.