How to connect your WooCommerce store to CartBoss
To recover WooCommerce abandoned carts by text, add your store in CartBoss, install the free CartBoss plugin in WordPress and connect it with your API key. The API key is a long code that tells CartBoss which store is talking to it.
Before you begin
- WordPress 6.0 or newer, WooCommerce 8.0 or newer, and PHP 7.4 or newer on your server. Your hosting company can tell you the PHP version.
- Log in to WordPress as an administrator.
1. Add your store in CartBoss
- In your CartBoss dashboard, click Sites in the left menu.
- Type your store's address and click Add site.
CartBoss opens the store's settings. Click Install CartBoss at the top, next to the General, Advanced and API Log tabs.
Not you who installs plugins? On the install page, use Send to Developer: type your developer's email and click Send email. They get these steps with your store's key.
2. Install the plugin in WordPress
- In your WordPress admin, go to Plugins → Add New Plugin.
- Search for CartBoss. The plugin is called SMS Abandoned Cart Recovery - CartBoss.
- Click Install Now, then Activate.
A red message "CartBoss is disconnected. Add a valid API key…" now shows at the top of your WordPress admin. That is expected until you finish step 3.
3. Connect the plugin with your API key
- In CartBoss, on the Install CartBoss page under Install with WooCommerce, click Copy API key.
- In WordPress, click CartBoss in the left menu.
- Under Connection (Connect your store), paste the key into the field Paste your API key and click Connect.
The status at the top of the CartBoss page changes. Live — recovering carts means you're done. Connected — add funds to start sending means the store is connected, and you only need to add funds in CartBoss (see How to add funds, turn on auto reload and download invoices in CartBoss).
The card now says Store connected, and the button changes to Check again, which checks the connection again. In CartBoss, your store now shows Active on the Sites page.
4. Choose your plugin settings
On the same CartBoss page in WordPress you can move the phone field up, ask for consent at checkout and skip some signed-in users. Click Save changes after a change. See How to set up the CartBoss plugin in WooCommerce (phone field and consent checkbox).
Questions
What does "API key was rejected" mean?
The key belongs to a different store, or it was copied only in part. Copy it again from the Install CartBoss page of this store and click Connect.
What does "Key saved — this store cannot reach CartBoss" mean?
Your server can't contact CartBoss, often because of a firewall or security plugin. Ask your hosting company to allow outgoing connections to api.cartboss.io.
Where do I find my API key again?
In CartBoss, open Sites, click the pencil button (Edit website) next to your store and click Install CartBoss. The plugin's Find your API key link opens your CartBoss Sites page.
I have several stores. Do they share one key?
No. Each store has its own key. Add each one on the Sites page.
Do I need to update the plugin?
Yes, keep it up to date. Updates also protect you from fake SMS traffic. See How to update the CartBoss plugin in WordPress.