Follow this step-by-step guide to install, activate, and set up the Jewelry Builder for WooCommerce plugin on your WordPress store. This chapter walks a brand-new user through everything – from downloading the plugin file to having your first ring products and sample diamonds live on your store.
Before you begin: You need a working WordPress website with the WooCommerce plugin already installed and active. If WooCommerce is not installed yet, go to Plugins → Add New in your WordPress admin, search for “WooCommerce,” install it, and activate it first.
Complete Setup Guide – 9 Steps
1. Download the Latest Copy of the Plugin
Go to the location where you purchased or received the Jewelry Builder for WooCommerce plugin. Download the plugin as a ZIP file(it will be named something like jewelry-builder-for-woocommerce.zip). Do not unzip this file – WordPress needs the ZIP file as-is for installation. Save it somewhere easy to find on your computer, such as your Desktop or Downloads folder.
What you get: A single .zip archive that contains all the plugin files.
2. Upload and Install the Plugin in WordPress
Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard (your website address followed by /wp-admin). In the left-hand menu, click Plugins, then click Add New Plugin. At the top of that page, click the “Upload Plugin” button. A file-chooser area will appear – click “Choose File” and select the ZIP file you just downloaded. After selecting the file, click “Install Now”.
WordPress will upload and unpack the plugin files automatically. You will see a progress screen and then a success message that says “Plugin installed successfully.”
3. Activate the Plugin
After the installation finishes, you will see an “Activate Plugin” link on the same screen – click it. Alternatively, go to Plugins → Installed Plugins, find “Jewelry Builder for WooCommerce” in the list, and click Activate below its name.
As soon as the plugin activates, it will automatically redirect you to the Setup Wizard. This wizard is a friendly guided screen that helps you prepare your store’s demo content and sample data. Do not skip this – it only takes a few minutes and saves you a lot of manual work.
4. Run the Setup Wizard – Step by Step
The Setup Wizard has 6 steps. You move through them by clicking the action button on each step. Here is what each step does:
| Step | What It Does | Action Button |
|---|---|---|
1 – Welcome |
Introduces the wizard. No changes are made yet – this is just an overview screen to get you oriented. |
Get Started |
2 – Placeholder & Shapes Images |
Automatically installs a set of default SVG images for every diamond and gemstone shape (Round, Pear, Princess, Oval, etc.). These images appear in the builder when a product has no product photo uploaded. |
Install Images |
3 – Attribute Images |
Fills in missing preview images for the Style, Metal, and Shape product attributes. These small images help customers visually pick their preferred option in the ring builder. |
Set Attribute Images |
4 – Create Ring Products |
Creates 30 sample variable ring products in your WooCommerce catalog. These are real products that customers can select as the “setting” when building a ring. You can edit or replace them later. |
Create Products |
5 – Import Demo Diamonds & Gemstones |
Imports 300 demo natural/lab diamonds and 300 demo gemstones into the database. This gives you something to browse and test immediately. You can delete or replace these with your real inventory later. |
Import Demo Data |
6 – Complete |
Setup is finished. Click “Go to Settings” to open the main plugin settings page and start customizing. |
Go to Settings |
Wait for each step to fully finish before clicking the next one. Steps 4 and 5 may take 15–60 seconds because they are creating or importing data. You will see a progress indicator – do not close the browser tab until it completes.
5. Verify the Plugin Menu Appears in WordPress Admin
After completing the setup wizard, look at the left-hand navigation menu inside your WordPress admin. You should now see a new menu item called “Jewelry Builder” with a small gem icon. Click it to expand the menu. You will see the following sub-menu items:
| Menu Item | What It Is |
|---|---|
Jewelry Builder (main) |
Opens the main Plugin Settings page – where you configure templates, colors, commission, and more. |
Natural Diamonds |
Lists all your natural mined diamond records. You can add, edit, delete, search, and export here. |
Lab Diamonds |
Same as Natural Diamonds but for lab-grown diamonds – stored in a separate catalog. |
Diamond Attributes |
Manage the filter options (shapes, cuts, colors, clarity grades) used in the diamond builder. |
Import Hub |
The recommended way to bulk-import diamonds and gemstones from CSV files. |
Natural Gemstones |
Lists all your natural colored gemstone records. |
Lab Gemstones |
Lists lab-created gemstone records separately. |
Gemstone Attributes |
Manage the filter options used in the gemstone builder. |
Documentation |
Opens the built-in documentation page inside your admin panel. |
Settings |
Returns to the main settings page (same as the main Jewelry Builder menu item). |
6. Check the Demo Data Was Imported Successfully
If you clicked “Import Demo Data” in the wizard (Step 5), the plugin automatically imported 300 sample diamonds and 300 sample gemstones into your store’s database. To verify this worked correctly:
- Click Natural Diamonds in the Jewelry Builder menu. You should see a table of diamond records with columns for shape, carat, color, clarity, cut, and price.
- Click Natural Gemstones. You should similarly see a table of gemstone records.
- If the tables are empty, the demo import may not have run. Go back to the Plugin Settings page, look for the “Import Demo” tab, and trigger the import manually.
The demo data is there just for testing. Once you are ready to go live, you can delete the demo records and import your real diamond and gemstone inventory using the Import Hub.
7. Check User Permissions (Who Can Access the Plugin)
By default, only users with the Administrator role in WordPress can see and use the Jewelry Builder admin menu. If you have staff members – such as a store manager or a product editor – who need to manage diamonds, gemstones, or ring products, you need to make sure they have the right role.
To check or change a user’s role:
- Go to Users → All Users in the WordPress admin left menu.
- Find the user you want to check. Their current role is shown in the “Role” column.
- Click Edit under their name to open their profile.
- Scroll down to the Role dropdown and change it to Administrator or Shop Manager as needed.
- Click Update User to save.
8. Refresh the Admin and Confirm You Can See Everything
After any permission change, the affected user must log out and log back in to see the updated menu. As a best practice, you should also refresh your own browser after completing the setup wizard. Here is a quick checklist to confirm the plugin is working correctly:
- Jewelry Builder menu is visible in the WordPress left sidebar.
- Natural Diamonds page shows diamond records in the table.
- Natural Gemstones page shows gemstone records in the table.
- The Plugin Settings page opens without any error messages.
- Ring Builder products are visible under Products → All Products in WooCommerce.
If you see an empty page or an error, go to Settings → Permalinks in WordPress and click Save Changes(without changing anything). This refreshes WordPress’s URL routing rules, which is sometimes needed after a new plugin is activated.
9. Visit the Ring Builder on the Front End of Your Store
The Jewelry Builder plugin creates a live interactive builder that your customers use on your website’s front end (the part visitors see). To open it, type your store’s web address in a browser followed by /ring-builder/. For example:
https://yourstore.com/ring-builder/
You should see a 3-step interface where customers can:
- Step 1: Choose a Ring Setting (browse the ring products you set up)
- Step 2: Choose a Diamond or Gemstone (filter by shape, cut, color, carat, price)
- Step 3: Review the complete custom ring and add it to their shopping cart
Customers can also browse just diamonds at /ring-builder/diamond-builder/ or just gemstones at /ring-builder/gemstone-builder/ – these are standalone browsing pages that don’t require selecting a ring first.
Common Installation Problems & Fixes
| Problem | Likely Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
Plugin fails to install – “The package could not be installed” |
The ZIP file is corrupted or the wrong file was selected |
Re-download the plugin ZIP from the original source and try again |
“WooCommerce is not active” warning on activation |
WooCommerce is not installed or not activated |
Install and activate WooCommerce first, then activate Jewelry Builder |
Jewelry Builder menu does not appear in admin sidebar |
The user’s role does not have permission, or the browser cache is stale |
Hard refresh the page (Ctrl+Shift+R). If still missing, check the user role is Administrator or Shop Manager |
Ring Builder page shows a 404 error |
WordPress permalinks need to be refreshed |
Go to Settings → Permalinks → click Save Changes (no changes needed – just save) |
Diamond or gemstone table is empty after setup wizard |
Demo import may have timed out |
Go to Plugin Settings → Import Demo tab and re-run the import manually |
Setup wizard keeps showing even after completion |
Browser cache is showing the old redirect |
Clear browser cookies and cache, then visit your admin again |
What to Do Next
Recommended next steps after installation
- Go to Plugin Settings and set your brand’s Primary Color and Secondary Color so the builder matches your store’s look.
- Choose a Steps Layout (5 options available) that suits your store style – see the live layout previews in settings.
- Set your Commission(percentage or fixed amount) so the displayed price includes your markup over the purchase cost.
- Use the Import Hub to upload your real diamond or gemstone inventory from a CSV file and replace the demo data.
- Edit the demo ring products under Products → All Products in WooCommerce to add your real ring images, descriptions, and prices.
- Upload a Ring Size Chart PDF in settings so customers can check their ring size before completing a purchase.