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Understanding the plugin

How the Propeller WordPress Plugin works under the hood and what it provides. This page gives you the mental model before you start configuring.

The plugin is a frontend layer​

The WordPress Plugin is not a standalone commerce engine. It does not store products, prices or orders in the WordPress database. Instead it calls Propeller's GraphQL API on every page load and renders the response using PHP templates.

The data flow looks like this:

  1. A visitor opens a page on your WordPress site
  2. The plugin's shortcode on that page triggers one or more GraphQL queries to the Propeller API
  3. The API returns product data, pricing, stock levels or account information
  4. The plugin renders the response through a PHP template and outputs HTML

This means your product catalog, pricing rules, order processing and account management all live in Propeller. WordPress handles the CMS layer (pages, menus, blog posts) while the plugin handles the commerce layer.

One package, everything included​

The plugin ships as a single package with all features included. There are no paid add-ons, premium tiers or feature unlocks. When you install the plugin you get the full set of B2B capabilities: catalog browsing, customer-specific pricing, ordering, quoting, favorites, budget management and account features.

This is different from ecosystems like WooCommerce where functionality is split across dozens of separate plugins. With the Propeller plugin everything works together out of the box.

Portal access modes​

The plugin supports three access modes that control what anonymous visitors can see and do:

  • Open portal — Anonymous visitors can browse the catalog, see prices and place orders. This is the default.
  • Semi-closed portal — Anonymous visitors can browse the catalog but cannot see prices, stock levels or add products to the cart. They must log in to access pricing and ordering.
  • Closed portal — Anonymous visitors land on the login page and cannot access any storefront content until they log in.

These modes are configured in the Behavior tab.

Predefined pages and shortcodes​

The plugin creates a set of predefined WordPress pages during activation. Each page contains a shortcode that renders a specific part of the commerce experience:

PagePurpose
CatalogProduct listing with filtering and sorting
Product detailSingle product or cluster page
Shopping cartCart contents and order summary
CheckoutAddress, payment and order placement
Account / DashboardCustomer portal with orders, quotes and settings
Login / RegisterAuthentication pages

You can also use shortcodes on custom WordPress pages to embed Propeller commerce content alongside regular CMS content. See Pages and shortcodes for the full list.

Admin configuration tabs​

The plugin settings are organized into six tabs in the WordPress admin under the Propeller menu:

TabWhat it controls
GeneralAPI connection (two API keys), channel and currency
PagesPage slugs, shortcode assignments and language-specific URL overrides
BehaviorFeature toggles and display options
TranslationsUI labels and their translations per language
ValuesetsPredefined value lists for dropdowns and filters
SitemapXML sitemap generation from Propeller data

Each tab has a dedicated guide page in this section.

How it relates to other frontend options​

The plugin uses the same GraphQL API that the Storefront SDK and custom frontends use. The difference is in who controls the rendering:

  • WordPress Plugin — Propeller controls the templates. You configure through admin settings and can override templates in your theme.
  • Storefront SDK — You build the frontend in Next.js using Propeller's React components and hooks.
  • Custom frontend — You build everything from scratch using the GraphQL API directly.

The plugin is the fastest way to get a working B2B portal. For full control over the user experience, partners typically move to the Storefront SDK or a custom frontend.

Next steps​