Installation and User Guide
Everything you need to install the plugin, build a filter set, integrate it with WooCommerce or Elementor, activate a PRO license, and troubleshoot common issues.
1. Installation
- Go to Plugins → Add New Plugin → Upload Plugin.
- Choose the ZIP file and click Install.
- Activate the plugin.
- Open Smartfish Filters and check the set that was created.
There is no need to extract the ZIP file before uploading it.
2. Free vs. PRO
Free filters WooCommerce products or any other public post type by categories, attributes, price, stock, sale status, rating and search, with unlimited sets and advanced displays (radio, labels, color swatches). PRO adds custom fields, numeric ranges, date and author, Elementor, SEO, duplication and import/export.
3. Building a filter set
- Open Smartfish Filters and choose a set or create a new one.
- Choose a post type — any public post type is supported.
- Set the CSS selector for the results area. The default for WooCommerce is
.woocommerce ul.products. - Choose a vertical or horizontal layout and instant, apply-button or step-by-step mode.
- Add filters. For a taxonomy, enter a slug such as
product_catorpa_color. - Publish and test in a private browsing window.
4. Placing it on the site
| Purpose | Shortcode |
|---|---|
| Filters | [smartfish_filters] |
| Specific set | [smartfish_filters set="123"] |
| Chips | [smartfish_filter_chips] |
| Sort | [smartfish_filter_sort] |
| Result count | [smartfish_filter_results_count] |
5. Elementor — PRO
- Open an archive template in Elementor.
- Search for Smartfish Filters.
- Choose filters, chips, sorting or result count.
- Enter a set ID, or leave it at 0 for automatic selection.
You can also use the standard Shortcode widget.
6. Data sources
- Taxonomy: product_cat, product_tag or pa_*.
- All WooCommerce attributes: created automatically from every global attribute.
- Custom field — PRO: the exact meta key.
- Numeric field — PRO: minimum and maximum with numeric comparison.
- Date and author — PRO: filtering posts and custom content.
7. PRO license
- Copy the key from your account or email.
- Go to Smartfish Filters → PRO License.
- Paste it and click Save and activate.
The license is for one site and includes updates and support for a year. A temporary server issue does not disable existing filters.
8. AJAX
The plugin loads the filtered URL and replaces only the results area. If the swap doesn’t work, copy a stable, unique CSS selector for the results list and update it in the set. Avoid a selector that appears more than once on the page.
9. SEO and performance
- Filtered combinations get noindex by default.
- The canonical stays the archive URL.
- Hide empty options.
- For large catalogs, prefer a dropdown over hundreds of checkboxes.
- Clear the cache after a major catalog change.
10. Troubleshooting
| Issue | What to check |
|---|---|
| Filters are not displayed | The set is published, the shortcode is in the archive template, and the post type is correct. |
| No options available | Check the slug/field key and temporarily disable hiding empty options. |
| AJAX doesn’t replace results | Set a unique CSS selector and check for JavaScript errors. |
| Price is inaccurate | Check the _price field, clear the WooCommerce cache, and check taxes and currency. |
| License doesn’t activate | Confirm the key belongs to this product, that the site can make HTTPS requests, and that the key isn’t already active on another site. |
11. Privacy and removal
The plugin does not send content, customer data, or browsing data. In PRO, only the license key, product ID and site URL are sent to the license server for activation, validation and updates. Deactivating or deleting the plugin does not automatically delete sets, to prevent accidental loss of settings.