Tips and troubleshooting

Common solutions and best practices to help you get the most out of the Showpass WordPress plugin.

Understanding shortcodes

Shortcodes are the backbone of this plugin—small snippets of text in square brackets [] that WordPress transforms into dynamic Showpass content.

Shortcode anatomy

[showpass_events parameter="value" parameter_2="value"]

Components:

  • [ ] (square brackets) – Required to define a shortcode
  • showpass_events (shortcode tag) – Tells WordPress which Showpass feature to load
  • parameter="value" – Options that control behavior and display
  • Multiple parameters – Can be combined in one shortcode

Key points:

  • Use straight quotes (" or '), not curly quotes (" or ")
  • Only one shortcode tag per set of brackets
  • Parameters are optional; defaults are used when omitted
  • Parameter order doesn't matter

Common issues and solutions

Event list is empty or shows wrong events

Likely cause: Incorrect or missing Organization ID

Solution:

  1. Go to WordPress Admin → Showpass API
  2. Verify Organization ID matches your Showpass account
  3. Find your Organization ID in Showpass dashboard under Organization/Venue Settings
  4. Save changes in WordPress

Note: If the Organization ID is wrong or blank, no events (or incorrect events) will display.

Shortcode appears as plain text

Issue A: Curly quotes

Symptoms:

  • Shortcode shows as text on the page
  • Layout is broken or nothing renders

Solution: Use straight quotes, not curly "smart" quotes

✅ Correct:

[showpass_events type="list" tags="concert"]
[showpass_events type='list' tags='concert']

❌ Incorrect (curly quotes):

[showpass_events type="list" tags="concert"]

Tip: Curly quotes often come from copying from Word, Google Docs, or email. Paste as plain text or use the Shortcode block in WordPress.

Issue B: Typos in shortcode

Common mistakes:

  • Incorrect tag: showpas_events instead of showpass_events
  • Wrong parameter: pagesize instead of page_size
  • Mixed quotes: type="list' (mixes double and single quotes)

Solution: Double-check spelling and syntax against documentation examples.

Issue C: Plugin not active

Symptoms: All shortcodes show as plain text

Solution:

  1. Go to Plugins in WordPress admin
  2. Find Showpass WordPress Extension
  3. Click Activate if not already active

Widget shows wrong item or error

Issue: Purchase widget opens but displays incorrect event or shows error

For events

[showpass_widget slug="your-event-slug"]

Finding the correct slug:

  1. Go to your event page on Showpass.com
  2. Check the URL: https://www.showpass.com/my-big-show-2024/
  3. The slug is: my-big-show-2024

Do NOT include:

  • https://www.showpass.com/
  • Trailing slashes
  • Extra spaces

For products/memberships

[showpass_widget type="product" id="12345"]
[showpass_widget type="membership" id="67890"]

Finding the ID:

  1. Log in to Showpass dashboard
  2. Go to Products or Memberships section
  3. Note the numeric ID (not the name)
  4. Ensure type matches (product or membership)

"Connection is blocked" or widget not loading

Likely cause: WordPress site domain not whitelisted in Showpass settings

Solution:

  1. Log in to your Showpass dashboard
  2. Go to Settings → Website Integration
  3. Add your WordPress domain to the Allowed Domains list:
    • Include: https://yourwebsite.com
    • Also add: https://www.yourwebsite.com if applicable
  4. Save changes
  5. Clear browser cache and test again

Note: This is a security feature that prevents unauthorized sites from embedding your content.

Styles conflict with theme

Symptoms:

  • Widget button looks wrong
  • Event list layout is broken
  • Text colors are unreadable

Solution: Add custom CSS to override styles

Method 1: WordPress Customizer

  1. Go to Appearance → Customize → Additional CSS
  2. Add your custom styles:
/* Override button styles */
.showpass-widget-button {
    background-color: #9e2a2b !important;
    color: white !important;
    padding: 12px 24px !important;
    border-radius: 6px !important;
}

/* Fix event list spacing */
.showpass-events-list {
    gap: 2rem !important;
}
  1. Click Publish

Method 2: Child theme

Add styles to your child theme's style.css:

/* Showpass custom overrides */
.showpass-event-item {
    border: 1px solid #ddd;
    border-radius: 8px;
}

Best practice: Use a child theme to prevent loss of customizations when the parent theme updates.

Finding conflicting styles

  1. Right-click the problematic element
  2. Select Inspect or Inspect Element
  3. View the Styles panel in DevTools
  4. Identify which CSS rules are applying
  5. Override with more specific selectors or !important

Changes not appearing

Issue: Updated shortcode parameters or plugin settings but nothing changed

Solutions to try (in order):

1. Clear browser cache

Chrome/Edge:

  • Press Ctrl+Shift+Delete (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+Delete (Mac)
  • Select "Cached images and files"
  • Click "Clear data"

Or use incognito/private mode:

  • Chrome: Ctrl+Shift+N (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+N (Mac)
  • Firefox: Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+P (Mac)

2. Clear WordPress cache plugin

If using a caching plugin (W3 Total Cache, WP Super Cache, WP Rocket):

  1. Find the cache plugin in WordPress admin
  2. Look for "Clear Cache" or "Purge Cache"
  3. Clear all caches

3. Clear server-side cache

Some hosts have server-level caching:

  • Cloudflare: Dashboard → Caching → Purge Everything
  • Host control panel: Look for "Clear Cache" or "Purge CDN Cache"

4. Disable caching temporarily

To test if caching is the issue:

  1. Temporarily deactivate caching plugins
  2. Test your changes
  3. Reactivate if that wasn't the issue

Images not displaying

Issue: Event images are broken or missing

Possible causes:

  1. Images not uploaded in Showpass: Check your event in Showpass dashboard
  2. Incorrect image URLs: View page source and check image src attributes
  3. HTTPS/HTTP mismatch: Ensure images use HTTPS if your site uses HTTPS
  4. Firewall blocking: Some firewalls block external images

Solution:

  1. Verify images exist in Showpass dashboard
  2. Check browser console for 404 errors
  3. Test image URLs directly in a new browser tab
  4. Contact Showpass support if images consistently fail

Event list shows events from wrong organization

Issue: Seeing events that don't belong to you

Solution:

  1. Go to Showpass API settings
  2. Verify the Organization ID is correct
  3. Get the correct ID from Showpass dashboard
  4. Save and clear cache

For multi-venue organizations:

Use the venue_ids parameter to filter by specific venues:

[showpass_events type="list" venue_ids="123,456"]

Calendar widget not displaying correctly

Issue: Calendar appears broken or events don't show

Solutions:

  1. Check calendar slug:

    [showpass_calendar slug="your-calendar-slug"]

  2. Verify events are published in Showpass dashboard

  3. Clear all caches (browser, WordPress, server)

  4. Check for JavaScript errors:

    • Open browser DevTools → Console
    • Look for red error messages
    • Share errors with Showpass support if needed

Cart button doesn't update count

Issue: Cart counter shows "0" even after adding items

Possible causes:

  1. Using custom cart counter without proper integration
  2. Multiple Showpass scripts loading
  3. JavaScript conflicts

Solutions:

  1. Use standard [showpass_cart_button] shortcode first to test
  2. Check browser console for JavaScript errors
  3. Temporarily disable other plugins to identify conflicts
  4. See Advanced: Dynamic cart counter for custom implementations

Pricing table is empty or shows wrong events

Issue: [showpass_pricing_table] shortcode displays no events or incorrect events

Possible causes:

  1. Invalid or missing event IDs
  2. Events not published/visible
  3. Spaces in the ids parameter
  4. Organization ID mismatch

Solutions:

  1. Verify Event IDs: Check that all IDs in the ids parameter exist in your Showpass dashboard
  2. Remove spaces: Ensure no spaces in comma-separated IDs: ids="123,456" not ids="123, 456"
  3. Check event status: Events must be published and visible to appear in the table
  4. Verify Organization ID: Ensure your Organization ID in plugin settings matches the events' organization
  5. Test individual events: Try using [showpass_widget] with each event ID to verify they're accessible

Admin meta box doesn't appear

Issue: "Showpass URL & Shortcode Generator" meta box is not visible in page/post editor

Possible causes:

  1. Access token not configured
  2. Wrong post type
  3. User permissions
  4. Plugin not active

Solutions:

  1. Check access token: Go to Showpass API settings and verify option_showpass_access_token is set
  2. Verify post type: Meta box only appears on Pages and Posts, not custom post types
  3. Check permissions: Your user account must have edit_posts capability
  4. Verify plugin: Ensure Showpass WordPress Extension is activated
  5. Refresh page: After adding access token, refresh the editor page

See Admin meta box documentation for complete details.

Default behaviors not working as expected

Issue: Events or widgets behave differently than documented

Common default behaviors to be aware of:

  1. only_parents defaults to true: Event lists show only parent events by default, not individual occurrences

    • Solution: Add only_parents="false" to show all occurrences

  2. Custom class disables icon: When using class parameter in [showpass_widget], the default ticket icon is not included

    • Solution: Add your own icon via CSS or use the default showpass-button class

  3. Default button label: Widget buttons default to "Get Tickets" (not "Tickets")

    • Solution: Use label="Your Text" to customize

Best practices

Use shortcode blocks

In the WordPress block editor:

  1. Click + to add a new block
  2. Search for "Shortcode"
  3. Paste your shortcode into the Shortcode block

Benefits:

  • Prevents WordPress from auto-formatting quotes
  • Reduces chance of syntax errors
  • Easier to edit later

Test before deploying

Before launching:

  1. Test on staging site if available
  2. View in multiple browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)
  3. Test on mobile devices (phone and tablet)
  4. Complete a test purchase (use test mode if available)
  5. Verify tracking (affiliate links, Google Analytics)

Keep plugin updated

Regularly check for updates:

  1. Go to Dashboard → Updates in WordPress
  2. Install Showpass plugin updates when available
  3. Review release notes for new features and fixes

Use child themes

Always use a child theme for customizations:

Why:

  • Parent theme updates won't overwrite your changes
  • Easier to troubleshoot issues
  • More maintainable long-term

How to create: WordPress Child Themes Guide

Document your customizations

Keep notes about:

  • Custom CSS added
  • Shortcode parameters used
  • Template modifications
  • JavaScript customizations

Where to document:

  • WordPress page/post notes
  • Separate documentation file
  • Comments in code files
  • Team wiki or shared document

Getting help

Check the documentation

  1. Review all WordPress plugin documentation pages
  2. Check Showpass support articles
  3. Search for similar issues in support forums

Contact Showpass support

When contacting support, provide:

  1. WordPress version (Dashboard → Updates)
  2. Plugin version (Plugins → Installed Plugins)
  3. Active theme name
  4. Description of the issue with specific examples
  5. Screenshots if applicable
  6. Browser console errors (copy/paste or screenshot)
  7. Steps to reproduce the issue

WordPress debugging

Enable WordPress debug mode in wp-config.php:

define('WP_DEBUG', true);
define('WP_DEBUG_LOG', true);
define('WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false);

Check the log file at wp-content/debug.log for errors.

Important: Disable debug mode on production sites after troubleshooting.

Additional resources