WooCommerce 4.0: Better, More Efficient Store Management

TL;DR: A major update is available for WooCommerce! When you’re ready, update via your WordPress Dashboard. To make the process as smooth as possible, view our documentation on how to update, make a backup, update your extensions, and then update WooCommerce.

After a lot of hard work behind the scenes, we’re excited to announce that WooCommerce 4.0 is here! The primary focus of this update is to transition towards a more React-driven experience so that store owners can better leverage the power of WordPress.

What does this mean for you? You’ll enjoy a more efficient workflow as the result of an improved management panel and new reporting features.

This release integrates WooCommerce Admin into WooCommerce Core, which includes:

• Enhanced reporting tools and analytics
• Simplified notifications
• Improved store management tools

Let’s dive a little further into the benefits that WooCommerce 4.0 brings to your store.

Learn how your site is performing with analytics and reporting tools built into the WooCommerce dashboard 

The biggest new feature included in WooCommerce 4.0 is WooCommerce Admin, a modern, Javascript-driven way to manage your online store. While you may already be familiar with our feature plugin, it is now available to everyone and built directly into WooCommerce core.

Here are a few key elements that will save you you time and increase transparency:

A streamlined dashboard

WooCommerce Admin was built around a new, central dashboard, designed to simplify your workflow. Customize reports to fit the needs of your store — set specific date ranges, choose how charts are displayed, categorize information, and show only the data that’s important to you. 

Do you have multiple users? Settings are stored on a per-user basis, so each member of your team can quickly find the information they’re looking for.

Improved reporting with 14 different data points

Collecting and interpreting data helps you reduce costs, optimize supply management, and increase sales. WooCommerce 4.0 offers a reporting feature with a quick overview of how your store is performing. 

View 14 different data points, including total sales, net sales, orders, average order value, returns, shipping, and downloads.

You can also access 12 new reports, quickly filter data, compare date periods, and download CSV files. Reports include:

• Revenue
• Orders
• Stock
• Coupons
• Customers

Make the most of your data with advanced filters and adjust reports based on specific customers, numeric values, emails, and countries.

Time-saving store management tools and notifications

The new Activity Panel helps you quickly access the management tools you use most often. It includes an inbox system that simplifies notifications — no more weeding through information you don’t need!

With just one click, you can view:

• Orders: view recent order data (status, total, customer name, time completed, etc.) and navigate to fulfillment with the click of a button
• Stock: see which products and variations are out of stock or running low
• Reviews: keep an eye on reviews and respond if needed  
• Notices: get reminders for additional tasks that should be addressed

With notifications, get an overview of tasks that need your attention without leaving the dashboard. 

WooCommerce 4.0 upgrades the Action Scheduler library to Action Scheduler 3.0. This brings a new database structure, includes custom tables for scheduled actions, and reduces the load on database tables.

How does this affect your website? Expect your store to run smoother and faster, even when scaling.

While Action Scheduler 3.0 remains compatible with previous releases, we do recommend performing a full backup of your website before updating.

What better way to celebrate a faster, more streamlined store than with the upgrades you’ve been wanting to make? Get 40% off any WooCommerce Marketplace purchase from March 17-20 (ends midnight PST). 

Here are just a few of the ways you can use your discount:

• Integrate with email marketing tools to increase sales and recover abandoned carts.
• Encourage repeat purchases with reward programs, smart coupons, and store credit. 
• Enhance your cart or checkout pages with checkout field editors and social logins. 
• Customize product pages with variation swatches, upsells, and add-ons.
• Reach international markets with multi-currency and translation features.
• Expand shipping functionality with live rates and conditional shipping.
• Offer new product types like subscriptions, memberships, or bookings.

With our marketplace, the sky’s the limit! See all the ways you can expand your store.

If you’re ready to benefit from our new, streamlined dashboard and time-saving store management tools, start by reviewing our documentation about updating WooCommerce. For a seamless experience, take the time to make a full backup and update your extensions before starting the update process.

Ways to connect with us:

• Think you’ve found a bug with 4.0 or a conflict with another plugin? Report it to us via our GitHub issue tracker.
• Having trouble with the upgrade? Visit our support page to open a ticket.
• Just want to chat about the release, or have a great idea for the next version? Start the discussion on the public WooCommerce forums at WordPress.org.

Please note that we’re not able to diagnose or solve potential issues via blog comments. The fastest way to get in touch with us is through one of the methods listed above. 

What are you most excited about with WooCommerce 4.0? Let us know in the comments!

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Brent MacKinnon