How to manage your WooCommerce store from your phone

Plan
Free
For
Store owners who are not always at a computer
Free download

The short answer

Shop Manager's dashboard is a page on your own site, and it fits a phone screen. Open it in your phone browser, log in, and you can see your numbers, open orders, change a status and answer the bell. You do not install an app, and it is free.

Kofi's story

Sells leather bags, online and at markets. Kofi is a made-up example.

Kofi sells leather bags online. On Saturdays he also has a stall at the market.

This Saturday a customer writes while he is setting up. "Can you change my address? The courier comes today."

Kofi opens WordPress admin on his phone. He zooms in. He scrolls sideways, taps the wrong thing and goes back. A person at the stall asks about a bag. He puts the phone away and forgets.

The bag goes to the old address.

Sound familiar?

  • You try to use WordPress admin on your phone and give up.
  • Orders wait until you get back to your desk.
  • You run your store around another job or your family.

Here is how to do it

  1. Open the dashboard in your phone browser

    Go to your dashboard page and log in. By default that address is your site followed by /sm-dashboard/. There is nothing to install.

    Kofi saves the page in his browser so it is one tap away.

    The Shop Manager login page with username and password fields, and the Log in button marked
    The login page, on your own site. Click Log in when you have filled it in.

  2. See how the store is doing

    The dashboard shows your warning cards and your totals, one under the other. The menu folds away behind the icon at the top left. The bell, Ask AI and search stay at the top.

    The dashboard on a phone with the menu icon marked at the top left, a Pending Orders warning and cards for total revenue, orders and average order value
    The marked icon opens the menu. Our test store at phone width.

  3. Find the order

    Open Orders. Search by name or number, or tap a status to see only those orders. The table slides sideways to show more columns.

    The order list on a phone with the All Orders status button marked, above a list of orders
    Tap a status button, such as the marked one. Slide the row sideways for the others.

  4. Do what the order needs

    Open the order. The buttons stack at the top, so they are easy to tap. Edit the address, send an email again, or use More Actions to change the status.

    Kofi fixes the address between two customers at the stall.

    An order on a phone with the Edit, Resend Email and More Actions buttons marked
    The three buttons named above are marked. This is one order at phone width.

  5. Hide what you never use

    On a computer, open the Shop Manager settings in WordPress and go to Modules. Turn off the parts you do not use and click Save Changes, and they leave the dashboard. Your phone screen then has less on it.

    The Modules settings with the Modules menu item, one switch and the Save Changes button marked
    Click Modules, use a switch like the marked one, then click Save Changes.

What Kofi can do from the market

What comes up What he taps
A customer has a new address Orders, the order, Edit
A customer did not get the email Orders, the order, Resend Email
An order has been sent Orders, the order, More Actions
He wants to know how today is going Dashboard, Today

How Kofi's story ends

Next Saturday the same kind of message comes in. Kofi opens the order, fixes the address and puts the phone back in his pocket. It takes less time than wrapping a bag. The courier gets the right address.

Leave the laptop at home

Shop Manager is free on WordPress.org. Install it from your computer once, then open it on your phone.

Free download See all features

What you need

Plan
Free
App
None, it runs in your browser
Devices
Phone, tablet or computer
WordPress admin
Only for settings

Features used on this page

Checked against the plugin in .

Questions people ask

Is there a Shop Manager mobile app?

No. It is a page on your own website that you open in a phone browser. There is nothing to install or update on the phone.

What can I not do on a phone?

Settings such as Modules, Print Order and Shipping are in WordPress admin. Those are easier on a computer.

Can my staff use it on their phones?

Yes. They see the same dashboard, with only the parts their role allows.

Can I use it in my language?

The plugin is ready for translation with the normal WordPress tools, but a few labels are not yet translatable.

Does it work with High-Performance Order Storage?

Yes. Shop Manager declares itself compatible with WooCommerce High-Performance Order Storage, and there is nothing to set up.

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