DK WC Merch builds merch previews and the public Merch page from WooCommerce products. A product is treated as merch only when merch handling is enabled on the product and the product belongs to the configured base merch category.
The WooCommerce product remains the source for the title, price, stock status, product image, description, variations, and add-to-cart behavior.
The Base Merch Category setting identifies the top-level product category used for merch. The default slug is merch.
Create child product categories under the base merch category for merch types such as shirts, hoodies, mugs, or posters. Those child categories are used by Merch Type Defaults and can be used as first-class section filters on the Merch page.
Merch products can use normal WooCommerce attributes for variation selection. The plugin can render supported merch attributes as swatches while leaving WooCommerce's native variation selects in the page markup.
Confirm the product has a merch category, merch handling enabled, a product image or variation images, configured attributes, and any needed template images or size chart settings. For double-sided products, configure the back template and back artwork before testing checkout or printer emails.
The DK WC Merch settings page controls the public Merch page, merch type defaults, swatches, printer email access, and general plugin behavior.
Settings are grouped into tabs so page display controls stay separate from product setup, swatch migration, and printer email configuration.
Merch Title Settings control the visible title on the public Merch page. The title tab includes the title text, background color, text color, text shadow color, and separate desktop, tablet, and mobile font size controls.
Container Settings control the three- or four-column Merch page grid, section heading tag, product title and price visibility, and the optional section for products that do not match another configured section.
Section Data creates configured Merch page sections. Use the section builder to add section labels, choose background or title images, drag merch type or product tag filters into sections, and define sort rules. A filter can be toggled to exclude matches, and each sort rule can be toggled between ascending and descending order. If no sections are configured, the public page falls back to a flat merch grid.
Tabbed Layout Settings apply only when configured Merch page sections are displayed. Enable tabs to show section navigation, then set active, hover, and inactive tab colors. Mobile tabs can be disabled so small screens use stacked sections.
Merch Type Defaults are generated from child product categories under the base merch category. Each merch type can define front and back template images, default front and back artwork placement, and an optional size chart. Placement uses normalized X, Y, width, and height percentages. Generated products inherit the selected merch type's front placement, and product-level settings can override the inherited template, placement, or chart.
Merch Swatches includes the color data migration tool for moving supported legacy color values into DK WC Merch color term meta. Its Color Data Transfer controls let any installation export all merch color terms to JSON or import a JSON export from another installation. Imports create missing terms and update matching term data without deleting destination-only terms. General Plugin Settings includes Delete Data On Uninstall, Base Merch Category, and the optional Variation Data Cache.
Variation Data Cache stores WooCommerce's native variation records by pricing context so size and color selections do not need a separate variation request. Leave it disabled when another plugin supplies customer-specific pricing unless that pricing state is added to the cache context. When enabled, Refresh Variation Cache clears all stored payloads; each product rebuilds on its next storefront visit.
The Preview Storage panel reports the generated file count, disk usage, and Media Library attachment count for the current WordPress installation.
Rebuild and Clean Preview Storage regenerates the visual combinations used by current merch products, shares identical previews, and removes unreferenced legacy files, duplicate attachments, and old WordPress image sizes. Preview files referenced by historical orders are retained. Changes to an effective artwork or template image, color, or artwork placement pre-generate affected shared previews so external catalogs receive stable image URLs; non-visual product saves leave the preview cache untouched.
DK WC Merch displays enabled merch products through the public Merch page and through the plugin's single product merch template. Normal WooCommerce products are not changed unless they are enabled merch products in the configured base merch category.
The public Merch page uses the Page Slug (URL) setting. It lists enabled merch products that pass the plugin's merch eligibility rules.
When Section Data exists, products are grouped by merch type and product tag rules, sorted by the configured rules, and can optionally render as responsive tabs. Unmatched products appear only when the optional uncategorized section is enabled. Without Section Data, products render in the flat grid layout selected in Container Settings.
Merch cards link to the WooCommerce product page. The card can show the product title, price, generated preview image, and Customize Merch action based on the Merch page settings.
Generated preview images use the resolved template image, product or variation artwork, color data, tinting, and saved placement data when those values are available.
Each generated front preview is exposed as the normal WooCommerce product or variation image. Preview attachments keep the same media ID when artwork, placement, template, or color changes; their files and image metadata are regenerated so storefronts, feeds, and catalog integrations receive the current preview. A configured back preview is exposed through WooCommerce gallery image data, and its gallery slide and thumbnail follow the selected variation.
Enabled merch products use the plugin's single product template. WooCommerce still handles the product summary, variations, stock, price, and add-to-cart form.
The merch template adds merch-specific output such as a generated back preview for double-sided products, a print-placement variance notice, and a size chart when a chart is inherited from the merch type or configured directly on the product. The Size variation field links directly to the chart when one is available.
Supported merch attributes can render as text, button, or color swatches on enabled merch product pages. The original WooCommerce variation selects remain in the DOM so WooCommerce stock, price, variation image, and add-to-cart behavior continue to work normally.
When Variation Data Cache is enabled in General Plugin Settings, Merch pages preload a cached copy of WooCommerce's native variation data. Stock, price, SKU, availability, images, and add-to-cart state still use WooCommerce's variation records, but selections no longer require a separate variation lookup.
Open DK Plugins → Merch Generator to create linked variable merch products from other WooCommerce products. The destination merch type determines what kind of product is generated. The form is preview-first: configuring or previewing the form does not create products, and only selected rows are changed when the preview is explicitly applied.
Every checked required category and every selected attribute filter must match the source product. Leave an attribute set to Do not filter when it should not restrict the results.
For a variable source product, the selected attribute filters also identify the artwork-bearing source variation. They must identify exactly one variation. That variation's image is used when available, followed by the parent product image. Simple products use their product image.
-tee.The Enabled Attributes checkboxes control which attribute panels are shown and included on generated products. Within each enabled panel, select the terms to use and one default term. The generator creates every possible combination of the selected terms. Color terms display their configured color swatches and represent the color of the generated merch product.
Select one Price-driving attribute to show per-term price fields only for that attribute. The Fallback regular price is used when a selected term has no price. Select Use fallback price only when every generated variation should use the fallback price.
The selected merch type supplies the initial artwork placement. After matching sources are previewed, the first valid artwork appears in the same draggable and resizable placement editor used by Merch products. Height is calculated from Width and each source artwork's aspect ratio.
The preview lists every matching source and whether it will be created, updated, or skipped. Individual rows can be excluded before applying. New products are drafts. Generated products store their source product and selected source variation. Variations that share the same visual inputs reuse generated previews.
Merch product controls live in the WooCommerce product editor. Enable merch handling first, then configure product-specific template images, size charts, preview placement, and variation bulk edits as needed.
The Merch Preview product data tab appears for enabled variable merch products with color variations. Use it to position the product artwork on the template image. Placement is stored as normalized X, Y, width, and height percentages.
For double-sided products, the same tab also includes Back Placement after the back artwork is configured.
Changing an enabled merch product's effective template image, artwork image, placement, or color pre-generates its affected shared preview combinations before external catalog integrations synchronize the product. Status, price, stock, title, and other non-visual saves leave the preview cache untouched. A variation-only visual change refreshes that variation, while parent visual changes refresh every affected combination. Display and cart requests can still generate a missing preview as a fallback.
Variations reuse a generated preview whenever their template, artwork, color, placement, side, and preview layout produce the same visual result. Size-only variations therefore do not create separate preview files.
The Bulk Edit Merch Variations product data tab appears for enabled variable merch products. It can preview and apply SKU, regular price, variation image, and double-sided back artwork changes to selected variations.
Use Preview Bulk Edit before applying changes. The preview table shows selected variations, current values, proposed values, and whether each row is expected to change. Filter by size or color, or uncheck individual rows before applying.
DK WC Merch stores generated preview data on cart and order items so the order, WooCommerce emails, and printer emails can show the merch preview that matched the customer's selection at checkout.
When a merch product has preview data, the plugin replaces cart and order thumbnails with the generated preview image. Double-sided products can store both front and back preview metadata.
Stored order preview metadata is used for historical orders. The selected color name and color value are also saved on each new order item so later term renames or deletion do not change the recorded selection. A one-time background migration adds these snapshots to existing color order items when the current color term can still be resolved.
If current product settings change later, existing order items continue to use their stored preview and color data where available.
The Printer Emails settings tab links to the WooCommerce email settings for the DK WC Merch printer email. Configure its enabled status, one or more recipients, subject, heading, and email format from WooCommerce's email settings screen. The subject and heading support the {site_title} and {order_number} placeholders.
Printer emails include merch order items, quantity, selected attributes such as color and size, options, and available preview images. Generated preview files can be attached when they exist.
If a generated preview is not available, the plugin falls back to the product, variation, or side artwork image so the printer email still has a useful image for enabled merch items.
The printer email sends after a paid order contains merch items. The order is marked after a successful send so the same printer email is not sent repeatedly for the same order.