Customer uploads for WooCommerce: A guide

Do you want to let your customers upload their own files to your WooCommerce store?

WooCommerce, by default, doesn’t allow customers to upload files from the front end. This is a missed opportunity because there are many cases where businesses will need images or other files to complete their customer’s orders.

Instead of having to email customers after the transaction to get the required files, it’s much better and more convenient if customers provide them during the ordering process or before checking out.

Fortunately, many plugins let you enable file uploads on your WooCommerce site. In this article, we’re going to talk about WooCommerce Product Add-Ons Ultimate, and how you can use it to enable customer uploads on your online store.

Why would you need customers to upload files in WooCommerce?

There are many reasons why businesses would want to enable file uploads on their WordPress sites including:

Product personalisations

Product personalisations are one of the most common reasons why a business may want to enable customer file upload functionality on their online store. For instance, print-on-demand companies will have product pages for all the items they stock that can be printed on, such as t-shirts, stickers, mugs, posters, and so on. By letting customers upload their own images to the relevant product page before checking out, it simplifies the experience for both the shoppers as well as the store owner who will easily be able to keep track of orders.

See official documents

There are instances where you may need a customer to provide proof of identification, certification, or any relevant license that they possess before they access the WooCommerce checkout page.

For example, if you run a car rental business, you may want customers to upload a digital copy of their driving license before they can apply for a car booking product. Similarly, if you sell cinema tickets, you may want customers to upload their ID to purchase tickets for films that are rated 18+.

Get files from clients

You might be a service provider that works on projects with clients, rather than one-time transactions with customers. Using WooCommerce will allow you to accept advance payments or deposit payments from your clients for projects.

If this is the case, there are plenty of scenarios where you’ll need clients to send you files when placing their orders from your WooCommerce site. For example, if you’re a graphic designer, you’ll require raw images and briefs from your clients when they book an order with you. Similarly, if you’re an architect who creates floor plans based on the property photos from your clients, you’ll need them to attach the images with their order before they book or make a deposit.

Later in the article, we’ll show you how you can use the WooCommerce Product Add-Ons Ultimate plugin and the WooCommerce Review and Approve plugin together to create a seamless workflow between you and your clients.

Introducing WooCommerce Product Add-Ons Ultimate

WooCommerce Product Add-Ons Ultimate is a plugin that lets you add extra options to WooCommerce products so your customers can personalise their items before adding them to their shopping cart and checking out from your eCommerce store.

Depending on whether you get the Basic or Pro plan, you can get up to 16 add-on fields to add to your WooCommerce products. It’s an incredibly versatile tool for businesses that want to add extra options to WooCommerce products using fields such as text area fields, checkbox fields, radio buttons, select fields, and information fields.

The WooCommerce Product Add-Ons Ultimate plugin also lets you enable customer uploads on your WooCommerce site. This way, shoppers can upload images or PDFs directly to the product page, either by clicking the upload button or by dragging and dropping them into the field.

You have full control over the different file types allowed to be uploaded on your online store as well as the option to allow single file uploads or bulk uploads. In addition to this, you can even set the maximum number of files to be uploaded.

The WooCommerce Product Add-Ons Ultimate plugin comes pre-built with an AJAX uploader that displays an upload progress bar when the files are being uploaded and gives your customers the ability to add or remove their images so making changes is easier.

On top of all of this, you can also assign a cost per file upload or charge a small fee if customers upload their images. For instance, you can set up custom logo printing as an extra option and charge customers a fee if they want to get a logo printed on their order.

For a better understanding of how the upload functionality of WooCommerce Product Add-Ons Ultimate works, you can check out our demo of the customer upload feature.

How to let customers upload files with WooCommerce Product Add-Ons Ultimate

Here, we’ll show you how to let shoppers upload files when shopping from your online store using the WooCommerce Product Add-Ons Ultimate plugin.

Updating the general settings for file uploads

Once you get the WooCommerce Product Add-Ons Ultimate plugin and install it on your WooCommerce site, you can start configuring file upload options based on your preferences. To get started, navigate to WooCommerce → Settings → Product Add-Ons and then click on the Uploads tab from the top.

This page lets you set important features for file uploads on your WooCommerce site. For starters, we recommend enabling the Users must be logged in to upload checkbox to ensure only logged-in or registered users can upload fields to your online store. This is important for security reasons and to prevent any spam file upload submissions on your WooCommerce site.

The Max file size (MB) lets you specify the maximum file size of uploads your customers can submit. This can be set according to the type of products you sell and the file format you want users to upload e.g. png. Similarly, if the products you sell require your customers to upload PDF files on your WooCommerce site, you can enable the Enable PDF uploads checkbox, as well.

It’s also recommended to select the Enable AJAX uploader check field to offer responsive image uploads on your online store.

You can also enable the Attach uploads to emails option so it’s easier to keep track of all customer-uploaded files on your online store.

In addition to this, store owners will also want to keep customer-uploaded files organized and properly sorted so it doesn’t cause clutter in the backend. You can use the Rename uploads fields as well as enable the Organise uploads by order fields to ensure easy management of customer-uploaded files on your WooCommerce site.

Once you’re ready, make sure to click on the Save changes button for the configuration changes to take effect on the frontend of your WooCommerce site.

Enabling a single file upload

Now that the file upload settings are configured according to your online store’s unique needs and the products you sell, it’s time to start enabling single file uploads for products in your catalogue. Simply navigate to the product’s edit page or create a new WooCommerce product by navigating to Products → Add New.

Click on the Product Add-Ons tab under the Product data meta box. Click on the Add Group button and then Add Field button to start adding new fields for your WooCommerce product. Make sure to select Upload using the Field Type dropdown menu. You can also set a custom label for your field using the Field Label text field. In addition to this, it’s also recommended to check the Required Field? checkbox to ensure all users who purchase the print-on-demand product upload an image file.

For instance, if you sell a print-on-demand product such as a custom t-shirt that lets users print their logo or a graphic on their order, you want to make sure customers don’t end up checking out with the print-on-demand product without uploading their logo or design files first.

Once you’re ready, click on the Publish or Update button to continue.

This will let shoppers directly upload their images using an upload field on the single product page of your print-on-demand product. This way, you don’t have to worry about sending emails to customers after they order from your WooCommerce site to collect the files or images.

Enabling bulk file uploads

The WooCommerce Product Add-Ons Ultimate plugin also lets you enable bulk file uploads. This way, you can let shoppers upload multiple files before adding the product to their cart and checking out from your online store.

There are two ways you can do this.

You can enable the Allow multiple uploads? checkbox to let shoppers upload multiple files using the upload field on the single product page.

You can also specify the maximum number of files customers can upload from the product page using the Max Files text field. For instance, you can let customers upload the design for the front and the back using the same upload field.

Another way to let shoppers upload multiple files is by showcasing multiple upload fields on the single product page.

Using the WooCommerce Product Add-Ons Ultimate plugin, you can add as many upload fields to your WooCommerce products as needed. For example, add separate upload fields for uploading the front and back designs and label them accordingly.

Charging for file uploads

While print-on-demand products require customers to upload their own design files when ordering from your online store, you can also charge a fee when customers choose the extra option.

After specifying a price in the Field Price text field, you can disable the Required Field? checkbox so custom logo printing is displayed as an extra option on the single product page. You can also set this up as a conditional field. This way, you can let your customers decide whether they want to print a custom logo on their order in exchange for a small fee.

The price for the file upload service or print-on-demand extra product option will be displayed on the product page. The final price of the product will change dynamically if customers decide to upload and print a custom logo on their order.

Other useful plugins for file uploads 

The WooCommerce Product Add-Ons Ultimate plugin also integrates with many other plugins by Plugin Republic, some of which are official extensions. These plugins can help you optimise file uploads further and enhance the shopping experience on your WooCommerce site.

Let’s go over some of the best integrations for the WooCommerce Product Add-Ons Ultimate that can help you enhance your WooCommerce site’s user experience:

• Advanced Uploads for Add-Ons Ultimate. WooCommerce Product Add-Ons Ultimate plugin doesn’t feature a built-in image editor. Advanced Uploads for Add-Ons Ultimate plugin, an official extension of the plugin, lets shoppers edit their images by cropping and rotating them, resizing them to a set height or width, and by setting the aspect ratio and orientation.

• Image Preview for Add-Ons Ultimate. If your customers can’t see what the final product will look like before they’ve checked out, it may deter them from completing their purchase. You can use the Image Preview for Add-Ons Ultimate plugin to show customers what their images will look like on the product when printed.

• WooCommerce Review and Approve. While graphic designers or photographers that work with clients can use the WooCommerce Product Add-Ons Ultimate plugin to let clients upload images, there’s no way to approve or review the final work after the order has been placed. For this, you can use the WooCommerce Review and Approve plugin along with the WooCommerce Product Add-Ons Ultimate plugin. With these plugins, you can upload revisions to their account page for approval. As a result, it helps create a more streamlined customer flow and makes it easier for brands to send files back and forth to clients.

Let your customers upload files to your WooCommerce store!

Letting customers upload files on your WooCommerce site is essential if you offer print-on-demand products such as t-shirts, mugs, or posters that require shoppers to upload their own images to be printed on their order. Instead of going through the hassle of sending emails back and forth to customers after the transactions, it’s much better to ask shoppers to upload their files directly from the product page before checking out with their order.

For this, you will need to use a plugin like WooCommerce Product Add-Ons Ultimate. This plugin lets you enable single-file or bulk-file uploads for your WooCommerce products and showcase an upload field on the single product page. It’s the perfect solution for businesses that want to offer their customers or clients the option to upload files before making payments or bookings.

Ready to start offering customer uploads on your WooCommerce site? Get WooCommerce Product Add-Ons Ultimate today!