Getting Started FAQ

This FAQ article covers common questions and issues you may encounter when setting up PriceFetchWP for the first time.

PriceFetchWP works on both WooCommerce and non-WooCommerce WordPress sites.

For the best results, we recommend reviewing the PriceFetchWP documentation as you configure your first external price source.

– Why is a price not fetching or showing?

The first thing to do is run: Test Entry using the exact external product URL.

Test Entry can help determine whether:

• The external source can be reached
• The correct price selector is matching
• A proxy is being used
• An Affiliate API is being used
• The source returned an HTTP or connection error
• The expected price exists in the HTML PriceFetchWP received

See: Testing a URL Entry for more information.

Non-WooCommerce site:

If the price is not appearing on a page or post, check:

• The domain is configured under URL Entries
• Your Sale Price and/or Regular Price selector is correct
• The selector type is correct: XPath, ID, Class, or Script
• The PriceFetchWP shortcode is correct on your page/post
• The URL used in the shortcode matches the configured URL Entry
• The URL Entry is not paused
• Test Entry can successfully retrieve the expected price

If Test Entry indicates the source is blocking the request or not returning the expected page content, you may need to configure a proxy.

WooCommerce Site:

If the WooCommerce product price is not appearing or updating, check:

• The domain is configured under URL Entries
• The WooCommerce product type is set to External/Affiliate
• The PriceFetchWP custom field exists on the product
• The custom field name matches the global WooCommerce setting
• The custom field value contains the full original external product URL
• The URL domain matches your configured URL Entry
• The URL Entry is not paused
• Test Entry can successfully retrieve the expected price

The default PriceFetchWP WooCommerce custom field name is:

external_price_fetch

If you changed this setting, the custom field attached to your WooCommerce products must use the new name.

If you are using Affiliate Integration, also confirm:

• The Affiliate provider is configured
• Use affiliate is enabled for the URL Entry
• The correct Affiliate provider is selected
• Test Entry can successfully retrieve a price through the API

If Test Entry indicates the external website is blocking a normal website fetch, you may need to configure a proxy.

✔ Double-check each step in the setup process.

– Do I need to add a custom field to every WooCommerce product?

Yes.

Each WooCommerce product using PriceFetchWP must include the PriceFetchWP global custom field.

Using the default custom field name in this example:

Custom Field Name

external_price_fetch

Custom Field Value

https://fontanacandlecompany.com/collections/all-candles/products/fresh-arrivals-jar-candle-bundle

The custom field value needs to be the URL to that exact price target page, and must contain the domain already set in a URL Entry.

If you have hundreds or thousands of products, or plan to add many products to your site, you may want to bulk import this custom field data.

Plugins such as WP All Import/Export can be used to attach the custom field name and value to products during an import.

Even if the WooCommerce products already exist, the custom field data can be imported later and attached to the appropriate products.

– Can I use different custom field names for different products?

No.

PriceFetchWP uses a single global Custom Field Name across all WooCommerce products.

By default:

external_price_fetch

All products using PriceFetchWP must use the exact same custom field name.

Only the custom field value changes from product to product.

For example:

Product 1

Name: external_price_fetch

Value: https://example.com/product-1

Product 2

Name: external_price_fetch

Value: https://example.com/product-2

If you change the global Custom Field Name in PriceFetchWP settings, the existing custom fields on your WooCommerce products must also be updated to match.

– Why is my URL selector not working?

There are several possible reasons:

• The selector value is incorrect
• The selector type is incorrect
• The website changed its HTML structure
• The website uses multiple product-page layouts
• The price is stored inside script data
• The price is added later using JavaScript
• The external website is blocking or modifying the request

PriceFetchWP supports:

• XPath
• ID
• Class
• Script

First, Run Test Entry

Use Test Entry with the exact product URL.

If the page fetch succeeds but no price is found, check which selectors were tested.

The test entry also allows you to view the raw HTML.

Search the raw HTML for:

• The expected price
• The expected ID
• The expected class
• Script data containing the price
• Nearby HTML from the product page

If the price does not exist in the HTML PriceFetchWP received, changing the selector alone may not solve the problem.

Try Another Selector Type

If the expected element exists but the current selector is unreliable, you can try another selector type.

For example:

• XPath
• ID
• Class
• Script

If the price exists inside supported script data, a Script selector may be more reliable than targeting the visible HTML.

If the source is returning blocked or incomplete content, consider configuring a proxy instead of repeatedly changing selectors.

See:

• Blocked Requests
• Finding Price Selectors
• Testing a URL Entry

– The price works on some products but not others (from one domain)

This usually means the external website uses more than one product-page layout.

For example, one product page may use:

Class: product-price

while another product page from the same website may use:

Class: current-price

Your original selector may only match one of those layouts.

✔ Solution:

Use Also check fallback selectors.

Also check selectors allow PriceFetchWP to try additional Sale Price and Regular Price selectors when the first selector does not return a usable price.

PriceFetchWP processes the configured selector rows in order until a usable match is found.

This is especially useful when the same external website uses:

• Different product templates
• Different themes or storefront layouts
• Different price markup for certain product types
• Different HTML for sale and regular-priced products

Use Test Entry on several products from the same domain to verify which selector row matches each layout.

A selector that works on one product is useful.

A selector configuration that works consistently across the website is what you are looking for.

– Why do I see a warning icon beside a price?

PriceFetchWP can optionally show an admin-only warning icon when the latest price fetch fails.

If enabled, administrators may see a warning icon (⚠) beside the PriceFetchWP price on the front-end.

Hovering over the icon displays:

Price fetch failed. Check logs

This can be useful when an existing or previously stored price is still visible but the latest attempt to refresh it was unsuccessful.

The warning icon:

• Is only shown to administrators when logged in
• Is never shown to normal site visitors
• Appears only when a price fetch actually fails
• Does not show during a successful fetch

You can enable or disable this option separately under:

• Page/Post Settings
• WooCommerce Settings

Look for: Show fetch error icon to admins

If you see the warning icon, check:

PriceFetchWP → Logging

and run:

Test Entry

to determine why the latest fetch failed.

Next Steps ───

For additional setup and troubleshooting information, see:

• Basic Setup Overview
• URL Entries
• Finding Price Selectors
• Testing a URL Entry
• WooCommerce Settings
• Affiliate Integration
• Proxy Integration
• Logging & Debugging