V5 BETA - Frequently Asked Questions

What stage V5 is at right now

V5 is in the beta phase. It has not been published for general distribution, so it is not yet a version everyone can download and install. Access is granted to a limited number of users within the beta program. We expect general distribution to begin within the coming weeks, but as this is an estimate we are not naming a date. An announcement will follow once the release begins.

V5 does not appear in the update section of your admin area, because a version that has not been published for general distribution is not listed there. Your system continues to show the latest published version, and this does not mean there is anything wrong with your license or your installation. The release will appear on that same screen on the day it is published.

Joining the beta, and using it properly

Beta access is evaluated through an application. You can submit your application at releases.wisecp.com/wisecp/5.0-beta.1; a Developer license is not required. Because we are opening access gradually, applications are reviewed in turn and no approval or timeframe is guaranteed for any individual application. If your application is approved, we will let you know separately.

Once access is granted, we recommend trying the beta in a test environment rather than on your live installation. The beta is an evaluation release; if you prefer to run it on your live system, take a complete backup of your files and database first.

The real value of the beta comes from your feedback. If you run into an issue, opening a support ticket is enough. Including a screenshot taken with the URL bar visible, your device and browser details and the steps you followed to reproduce the issue lets us pass the case straight to the development side.

Does your license cover V5

You do not need to purchase a separate license for V5. On monthly and annual licenses, updates are included for the duration of the license period; as long as your license is active, you will be able to upgrade to V5 and use it.

Lifetime licenses work slightly differently. On a lifetime license the license fee is a one-time payment, while the support and update service is provided annually and is free of charge for the first year. Access to new versions depends on the Support and Updates service registered to the license being current. When that service is not renewed, your license continues to work without any time limit, but new versions, including V5, are not offered to your installation. If your service has expired, you can view the current price and renew it at store.wisecp.com/support-and-update.

One more note on lifetime licenses: lifetime license sales are closing. Lifetime licenses purchased so far remain valid for life and are not affected by this change. Once sales close, only recurring licenses will be offered. If you are considering the lifetime option, it is worth making that decision with this timing in mind.

Plans and Enterprise users

Our current line-up has three tiers: Starter, Pro and Business. Starter is the entry plan, where you run WISECP as it comes. Pro is the plan for putting your own brand forward: it removes WISECP branding and opens up the REST API and hook infrastructure. Business is designed for large-scale use; full white-labelling, priority support and access rights to every app, module, integration and theme published on WStore come with this plan.

For customers holding an Enterprise license, the position is this: Enterprise is not part of the current line-up, meaning it is no longer offered for sale. The Enterprise license you hold remains valid and is subject to the same rules as the other plans on the V5 side; as long as your license is active, you will be able to move to V5. Enterprise and Business are not the same thing. Business is the top tier of the current line-up, and what sets it apart is WStore access together with priority support. If you want access rights to everything published on WStore, the plan that covers it is Business.

Your existing modules and integrations

One of the most common concerns is what happens to existing modules under V5. The existing modules and integrations provided by the WISECP team stay in place and work with V5; local payment, accounting and SMS integrations are included in that.

Custom-developed modules and integrations, however, need to be reviewed for V5 compatibility and brought into compliance. We recommend contacting your developer for information and support on this. Otherwise you may run into functionality issues and errors.

Your theme and customizations

Your storefront and client area files live in your theme folder. If you work with the standard themes, the update covers the theme files as well and there is nothing extra for you to do. If you have built your own theme, or customized an existing one by overwriting it, its compatibility with the new version needs to be verified before you update. Skipping that step commonly results in display and functionality issues on the front end, and the fix is to bring the theme into compliance with V5.

When update day arrives

Once the general release is published, the update is carried out from Help > Updates in your admin area. A few preparations make that day easier:

• Take a complete backup of your files and database, and keep it outside the installation.
• If your installation is several versions behind, apply the intermediate versions in order without skipping any.
• If you use a custom theme, make sure the compatibility check is completed before updating.

With these steps in place, the update completes without further intervention on most installations.

For developers

With V5 we republished the developer documentation at dev.wisecp.com. Every page is directly available as markdown, and you can feed the entire documentation to your AI development environments as context through a single file: llms.txt holds the index and llms-full.txt the full text. You can switch the documentation language from the switcher at the bottom left of the page.

If your question is not answered here

Opening a support ticket from your client area is all it takes. We will keep this page updated as the process moves forward, and we will announce the update steps here as well once general distribution begins.