Automatically Deleting Generated Products in WordPress

When a customer adds a design to the cart, Sign Customiser creates a product for that design. A customiser in Quote Mode does not create a product. Customers use these products to buy their designs. These products can fill your product list.

Sign Customiser creates the products in your WooCommerce store through the connection that you set up. Each product has the SignCustomiser product tag. To set up the connection, read Connecting WooCommerce with Sign Customiser.

This guide shows how to delete these products automatically. Use the WP Bulk Delete Pro plugin.

Important Notes:

1. You need the free version and the Pro version of WP Bulk Delete. The free version alone is not enough.

2. WP Bulk Delete deletes your products. Check your configuration before you run a delete task. We cannot take responsibility for the accidental deletion of important products.

3. Create a backup of your site before you run a bulk delete. A wrong setting can delete other products.

4. In the setup of this guide, WP Bulk Delete deletes the products. It does not delete the product images.

How to Set Up Automatic Deletion

Step 1: Install the Required Plugins

1. Go to the WP Bulk Delete page. Buy the WP Bulk Delete Pro plugin. Choose the licence for the number of sites that you use.

2. Download the free version from the WordPress Plugin Directory. Install it and activate it on your WordPress site. Follow this guide: Free Version Installation Guide

3. Download the Pro version from your WP Bulk Delete account. Install it and activate it on your site. Follow this guide: Pro Version Installation Guide

4. Activate your Pro licence key. Follow this guide: License Activation Guide

Step 2: Configure Your Deletion Settings

1. In your WordPress dashboard, go to WP Bulk Delete in the left-hand menu.

2. Click Delete Posts.

3. Go to the Basic Filter section:

   • In Select post type of items to delete, select only Products. If Posts is selected, remove it.

   • Leave Post Status as Publish. This is the default.

4. Go to the Advanced Category Filter section:

   • Choose Product tags.

   • In the field that appears, select SignCustomiser. The plugin then deletes the products that have the SignCustomiser tag and match the other filters. Sign Customiser adds this tag to the products that it creates.

   • (Optional) You can put a custom product in other tags. To keep these products, tick the Delete Posts From Selected Category Only checkbox. This checkbox appears after you select a tag.

5. Skip the Author Filter section.

6. Go to the Advanced Date Filter section:

   • In the date row of the section, next to Delete Posts which are, choose older than. Then enter a number of days, for example 20. The plugin then deletes only the products that are older than this number of days. It keeps newer products. Enter a number of days that is longer than the time that you need to fulfil an order.

   • Learn more: Advanced Date Filter Guide

7. Skip these sections. This setup does not use them:

   • Delete Post Feature Image Filter (leave the Delete Post Featured image option unticked, so the plugin keeps the product images)

   • Custom Field Filter

   • Post IDs Filter

   • Duplicate Posts Filter

   • Advanced Filter

   • Quick Delete Filter

8. Go to the Action section:

   • Limit: Enter the number of products to delete in one run. A high number can cause a script timeout.

   • Post Delete Type: Choose Move to Trash or Delete permanently. You cannot recover permanently deleted items.

   • Delete Time: Choose Schedule delete at. The plugin then runs at the time that you set.

     • Before you save, check the Timezone line under Delete Time. It shows the timezone from your WordPress settings.

     • Choose a start date and time.

     • Under repeat, choose how often the task runs, for example Once a Month.

   • (Optional) Enter a name in the Save it as field. This helps when you set up more than one schedule. Learn more: Scheduled Delete Guide

9. Save your configuration and start the process. Click Delete Posts.

How to View Scheduled Deletes

1. In the WP Bulk Delete submenu, go to Scheduled Delete.

2. View your scheduled tasks.

FAQ

Why Aren’t the Product Images Being Deleted?

WordPress and WooCommerce do not delete product images when they delete a product. This is standard behaviour. In the setup of this guide, the WP Bulk Delete plugin does not remove the images. You must delete them yourself.

To remove the images:

1. Go to the Media Library in your WordPress dashboard.

2. Search for the image of the deleted product.

3. If you do not use the image anywhere else, delete it.

If you delete many products, use a plugin that finds unused images. It helps you clean your media library.