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Support and documentation

Everything you need to install, configure and troubleshoot the plugin.

A complete guide for installing Linked Product Swatches, choosing the right mode, styling the output and solving theme compatibility issues.

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Start here

Install, choose a mode, test a product page.

Most stores only need the core setup steps: activate the plugin, choose Automatic Category Products or Linked Products, then check the storefront output.

Documentation

Practical settings, not generic help text.

The guide below focuses on real WooCommerce setup decisions: product families, shortcode placement, styling and theme compatibility.

Email support

Need help with your setup?

Email support with your site URL, theme name and a short description of what you are trying to configure.

support@sweetplugins.com

Support by email

If you need help installing the plugin, choosing the right swatch mode, or fixing a theme compatibility issue, contact Sweet Plugins support directly.

support@sweetplugins.com Send an email

For faster support, include the product URL, your WooCommerce theme, the plugin version and a short description of the expected behavior.

Installation

  1. Upload and activate Linked Product Swatches for WooCommerce.
  2. Open Linked Product Swatches from the WordPress admin menu.
  3. Choose either Automatic Category Products or Linked Products.
  4. Save settings and open a WooCommerce product to test the storefront output.
Admin overview screenshot

Main settings page with behaviour, placement, style, compatibility and license sections.

Choose a swatch mode

Automatic Category Products

Use this when every product in a category should be shown as a related swatch. It is the fastest setup for product families such as colors, materials or finishes.

  • Swatches are pulled from the current product category.
  • Category settings can disable swatches for a whole category.
  • Product settings can exclude individual products.

Linked Products

Use this when the exact relationship must be controlled manually from the product editor.

  • Editors choose the linked products per product.
  • Category controls are ignored.
  • Best for curated collections or cross-category options.

Global settings

The settings page controls storefront output for every product using the plugin.

Display MethodChoose automatic WooCommerce hook placement or manual shortcode placement.
Automatic PositionPick the WooCommerce hook used when automatic placement is enabled.
Preview EffectsEnable hover previews for image, title and price on desktop.
Out of Stock SwatchesChoose whether out-of-stock products should still appear as options.
Icon OrderSort products by date, title, menu order or random order.

Product settings

Each product has a swatch panel in the product editor.

Product swatch panel screenshot

Choose product image, custom icon or color. Add tooltip, title attribute and alt text.

  • Product Image: use the product featured image as the swatch.
  • Custom Icon: upload a dedicated square icon.
  • Color: generate a simple color swatch.
  • Tooltip Text: controls the desktop tooltip.
  • Disable Swatch: hides a product from automatic swatch groups.
  • Linked Products: appears in Linked mode to choose exact related products.

Category settings

In Automatic mode, product categories can enable or disable swatches for the whole category. This keeps unrelated categories clean without editing every product.

Shortcode placement

Use the shortcode when a builder or custom template needs full control over where swatches appear.

[lpswc]

Set Display Method to Manual Shortcode Placement when the shortcode is responsible for output.

Swatch style

The plugin exposes visual controls so most stores do not need custom CSS.

Swatch SizeWidth and height in pixels.
Icon SpacingRight spacing between swatches. Leave empty to use the default CSS value.
Border Width and ColorInactive swatch border styling.
Selected BorderActive swatch outline. Leave empty to disable the default selected outline.
Border RadiusSquare, rounded or circular swatches.
ShadowPreset shadows from none to strong.

Gallery compatibility

The Compatibility Assistant controls how the plugin finds the main product image, title and price for hover previews.

  • Auto-detect: tries common WooCommerce, Elementor and theme selectors.
  • Manual advanced selectors: set exact CSS selectors for custom templates.
  • Mobile: hover previews are skipped on touch devices so taps navigate directly.

Licenses and private updates

The license key is stored on the client site in the WordPress option wcpvs_license_key. During update checks, the plugin sends the key, site URL and installed version to the Sweet Plugins update endpoint.

The update server validates the license before returning a package URL. The ZIP should be served through download.php, not as a public direct file.

Troubleshooting

Updates do not appear

Make sure the remote version is higher than the installed version, the license is valid, and WordPress update transients have been refreshed.

Mobile requires a double tap

Purge page/cache optimization first. The plugin injects a no-optimize touch bootstrap, but cached HTML may still serve an older version.

Hover preview updates the wrong image

Switch the Compatibility Assistant to manual mode and set a more precise image selector.

The active swatch outline conflicts with custom CSS

Leave the Selected Border field empty to disable the default selected outline.