WooCommerce terms, explained simply

A plain-English glossary of common WooCommerce and e-commerce terms, from A to Z.

New to WooCommerce? This glossary explains the most common terms you'll encounter — in plain English, no jargon.

Quick summary

Use this page as a reference whenever you come across an unfamiliar term. Terms are in alphabetical order. Click the related guides links at the bottom for deeper explanations of specific topics.

A

Abandoned cart A shopping cart that a customer filled but left without completing their purchase. Most e-commerce stores lose 70%+ of carts this way. Recovery plugins can email customers to bring them back. → See: Understanding abandoned carts

Add to cart The button customers click to place a product in their shopping cart. This doesn't complete a purchase — it just starts one.

Admin email The email address that receives WooCommerce notifications (new orders, cancellations, etc.). Set under WooCommerce → Settings → General.

API key A private code used to connect two systems — for example, your store to Stripe or PayPal. API keys must be kept secret. Never share them publicly.

Attribute A characteristic of a product — like size, color, or material. Attributes are used to create product variations. Example: a T-shirt might have attributes "Size" (S, M, L, XL) and "Color" (Red, Blue).

B

BACS (Bank Account Clearing System) The payment method for direct bank transfers. Customers pay you directly via bank transfer; you confirm receipt and manually update the order.

Backorder When a product is out of stock but customers can still order it. The order is fulfilled when stock is replenished. WooCommerce can be configured to allow or prevent backorders per product.

Badge (shipping) See: Shipping class.

Billing address The address associated with the customer's payment method — usually their home or registered card address. May differ from the shipping address.

Bookings Time-based products that customers reserve — appointments, classes, rentals. Requires the WooCommerce Bookings extension. → See: Selling bookings & appointments (overview)

C

Cart The temporary list of products a customer has selected to buy. Contents are not purchased until the customer completes checkout. → See: Cart & checkout pages

Cart abandonment When a customer adds items to their cart but leaves the site without purchasing. → See: Understanding abandoned carts

Category (product) A way to group related products. Example: "Women's Clothing," "Books," or "Accessories." Customers can browse by category on your shop page.

Checkout The multi-step process where a customer enters their details, chooses shipping, and pays. Completed on the Checkout page. → See: Understanding the checkout experience

Coupon A discount code a customer enters at checkout to reduce their order total. Can be a percentage off, fixed amount, or free shipping. → See: Creating coupons & discounts

CSV Comma-Separated Values — a simple spreadsheet file format. WooCommerce can import and export products, orders, and customers as CSV files for use in Excel or Google Sheets.

Currency The monetary unit your store charges in (USD, GBP, EUR, etc.). Set once under WooCommerce → Settings → General.

D

Dashboard (WooCommerce) The main WooCommerce overview screen, accessible via WooCommerce → Home. Shows recent orders, revenue, and quick stats.

Digital product A product that is delivered electronically — a PDF, audio file, software, course, etc. No physical shipping required. WooCommerce calls these "downloadable" products. → See: Selling digital & downloadable products

Discount A price reduction applied to a product or order. Can be automatic (sale price on a product) or code-based (coupon).

Downloadable product A product that includes a file for the customer to download after purchase. The customer receives a download link in their confirmation email.

E

Extension An add-on plugin that adds new features to WooCommerce — subscriptions, bookings, new payment methods, etc. → See: WooCommerce extensions explained

F

Failed order An order where the payment was declined or not completed. The customer was not charged. The order stays in "Failed" status unless the customer retries.

Flat rate shipping A fixed shipping price regardless of cart size or weight. Example: always charge $6 for shipping.

Free shipping A shipping method that charges $0. Can be always-on, triggered by a minimum order amount, or activated by a coupon code. → See: Setting up free shipping

Fulfillment The process of preparing and shipping an order after payment is received.

G

Gateway Short for "payment gateway" — the service that processes card payments. Examples: Stripe, PayPal, Square.

Guest checkout Allows customers to place an order without creating an account. Strongly recommended to reduce abandoned carts.

H

HTTPS / SSL Secure protocol that encrypts the connection between your website and the customer's browser. Required for accepting payments. Your URL should start with https://.

I

Inventory Your stock of physical products. WooCommerce can track inventory per product and alert you when stock is low.

Invoice A record of what was purchased. WooCommerce doesn't generate invoices by default — you need a plugin like "WooCommerce PDF Invoices & Packing Slips."

L

License key A code provided with paid WooCommerce extensions to activate the plugin and enable updates.

Line item A single product row on an order. An order with three different products has three line items.

Local pickup A shipping method where the customer collects their order in person. No shipping fee.

M

Meta data Extra information stored on an order, product, or customer beyond the standard fields. Often added by plugins.

My Account The customer-facing portal on your store where registered customers can view orders, update details, and manage subscriptions.

N

Nexus A legal term for a business connection to a location (like a state or country) that creates a sales tax obligation. Important for US sellers — South Dakota v. Wayfair expanded nexus rules significantly.

Note to customer A message you can add to an order that triggers an email to the customer. Used to send tracking numbers or updates.

O

On hold An order status meaning payment has been submitted but not yet confirmed. Common with bank transfers.

Order A completed purchase record. Contains items, amounts, customer details, and order notes. → See: Understanding orders

Order note A log entry on an order. Can be private (only you see it) or visible to the customer (triggers an email).

Order number A unique identifier for each order (e.g., #1042). WooCommerce auto-assigns these in sequence.

Order status Where an order is in its lifecycle: Pending, Processing, On hold, Completed, Cancelled, Refunded, or Failed. → See: Order statuses explained

P

Payment gateway The service that processes card and online payments. Examples: Stripe, PayPal, Square. Connects your store to card networks. → See: Payment methods explained

PCI DSS The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. A set of security requirements for businesses that handle card payments. → See: PCI compliance, in plain English

Pending payment An order status for orders awaiting payment confirmation.

Product An item (physical, digital, or service) that you sell. Products have names, descriptions, prices, and images.

Product gallery Multiple images shown on a product page for different angles, colors, or views.

Product variation A specific version of a variable product — for example, "Blue T-shirt, Size L." Each variation can have its own price and stock level.

R

Refund Returning money to a customer. WooCommerce supports automatic refunds via most payment gateways. → See: How to refund an order

Rest of the world zone WooCommerce's catch-all shipping zone for addresses that don't match any named zone.

S

Sale price A reduced price you set on a product, displayed alongside the regular price. WooCommerce can schedule sale prices to start and end automatically.

Sandbox mode A test environment where payments are simulated — no real money changes hands. Used to test your checkout before going live. Also called "test mode."

Shipping class A label applied to products (e.g., "Heavy" or "Fragile") that lets you charge different shipping rates for different product types.

Shipping method How you charge for shipping within a zone: flat rate, free shipping, or local pickup.

Shipping zone A geographic area with its own shipping methods and rates. Example: "United States," "Europe," "Rest of World." → See: Setting up shipping zones & rates

SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) A unique identifier code you assign to a product or variation to track it. Example: "TSHIRT-BLUE-L."

Slug The URL-friendly version of a name. For a product called "Blue T-Shirt," the slug might be blue-t-shirt. Appears in the product's URL.

Stock The number of units of a product you have available. WooCommerce can manage stock and prevent overselling.

Stripe A popular payment gateway used by millions of online businesses. Supports cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and more. → See: Accepting credit cards (Stripe & more)

Subscription A recurring payment arrangement. Customers pay weekly, monthly, or annually for ongoing access to a product or service. Requires the WooCommerce Subscriptions extension. → See: Selling subscriptions (overview)

T

Tag (product) A keyword label on a product. Helps customers find related items. Less structured than categories.

Tax class A label applied to products to determine which tax rate applies — Standard, Reduced, or Zero rate.

Transaction fee The percentage + flat fee a payment gateway charges per successful payment. Example: Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction in the US.

U

Upsell A suggestion to buy a higher-priced or related product. WooCommerce lets you set upsell products on each product page.

V

Variable product A product that comes in multiple versions (variations), like a shirt available in different sizes or colors.

VAT (Value Added Tax) A consumption tax applied in the UK, EU, and many other countries. Different from US sales tax.

Virtual product A product that is not physically shipped — like a service, consultation, or access pass. WooCommerce skips shipping for virtual products.

W

Webhook An automated message sent from one system to another when an event occurs. Payment gateways use webhooks to tell WooCommerce "a payment just succeeded." If webhooks aren't working, orders may not be created even when payment goes through.

WooCommerce The free, open-source e-commerce plugin for WordPress. Powers millions of online stores worldwide.

WooCommerce Payments The official WooCommerce payment solution, powered by Stripe. Managed directly from your WordPress dashboard.

Z

Zone (shipping) See: Shipping zone.

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