In the fast-evolving world of Woocommerce, staying ahead of the curve is crucial for both online businesses and the platforms that support them. WooCommerce is taking a leap forward by introducing High-Performance Order Storage (HPOS). This revolutionary upgrade is set to redefine the way order storage functions within WooCommerce, promising a host of benefits for store owners and shoppers alike.

What is High-Performance Order Storage? 

HPOS is poised to unleash substantial enhancements for your e-commerce venture, delivering a potential boost of up to 5 times in order creation speed and expediting checkout times by up to 1.5 times. On the operational front, notable performance gains are also in store, with order retrieval speed potentially accelerated by up to an impressive 40 times.

High-Performance Order Storage, formerly referred to as “Custom Order Tables,” offers a solution tailored to ecommerce requirements, delivering a robust and comprehensible database framework. This solution utilizes the WooCommerce CRUD architecture to efficiently store order information within customized tables. These tables are meticulously optimized for WooCommerce queries, ensuring minimal disruption to the store’s overall performance.

In January, WooCommerce published the initial plan for the Custom Order Tables feature to bring High-Performance Order Storage (HPOS) to WooCommerce Core. Whoever has WooCommerce 7.1 upgrade will get direct access to High-Performance Order Storage as an opt-in feature. 

This upcoming WooCommerce update is set to enhance the speed of your online store significantly. This standout improvement promises a swifter and more seamless checkout process for your customers while also expediting order processing on your end.

Starting in August 2023, all new WooCommerce stores will be equipped with HPOS upon launch. For existing stores, the flexibility to activate or deactivate HPOS will be available until it transitions to a mandatory feature for all users.

Advantages of HPOS

Introducing High-Performance Order Storage (HPOS) brings a fresh wave of enhancements to WooCommerce, elevating the core aspects crucial for eCommerce success.

• Scalability: As your customer base and order volume surge, database load can strain your store’s performance. HPOS revolutionizes scalability by allocating dedicated tables and indexes for order-related data. This translates to reduced read/write operations and less table congestion, enabling seamless scaling for ecommerce businesses of all sizes and eliminating the need for expert intervention.
• Reliability: HPOS simplifies targeted data backup and restoration. With custom order tables, you gain a dependable backup solution, ensuring the safety of orders, inventory data, and client details. Additionally, the integration of read/write locks bolsters reliability and prevents race conditions from impacting your operations.
• Simplicity: Bid farewell to navigating a monolithic database for WooCommerce data. HPOS introduces a user-friendly approach with separate tables, simplifying data exploration. By sidestepping the wp_posts table, you can effortlessly access structured entries. This newfound simplicity extends to plugin development, shop and product design, and WooCommerce customization, offering enhanced flexibility and ease of modification.

Why is Woo Incorporating HPOS?

The introduction of High-Performance Order Storage (HPOS) is a direct response to the fervent demand expressed by the developer community. Beyond merely fostering the growth of your store and enhancing its technological capabilities, this pivotal change holds immense advantages for every developer associated with Woo. From creators of extensions to those managing stores, the benefits of HPOS span across the developer spectrum.

Evolution of Order Storage through the Upgrade

Previously, your store’s orders were housed within the same database technology employed for WordPress posts. However, High-Performance Order Storage orchestrates a transformation by migrating order data to a novel database storage system meticulously designed for commerce. This refined approach is poised to usher in heightened scalability tailored to your store’s unique demands.

The outcome is twofold: your website will expedite order processing, facilitating swifter transactions, while the backend will facilitate quicker access to crucial order details.

Embracing this innovation will seamlessly integrate your online shop with state-of-the-art database technology that seamlessly grows in tandem with your business’s expansion, regardless of scale.

Steps to enable HPOS

Step #1: Activation 

To activate the High-Performance Order Storage feature, navigate to WooCommerce > Settings > Advanced > Features.

Once enabled, a new section titled “Custom Data Stores” will emerge under WooCommerce > Settings > Advanced.

Step #2: Configuring Custom Data Stores

Before proceeding, ensure you have activated HPOS via WooCommerce > Settings > Advanced > Features. Only then will the Custom Data Stores option become accessible within WooCommerce > Settings > Advanced.

Step #3: Configuring Custom Tables

Upon your initial visit to this screen, you will be prompted to establish custom tables by navigating to WooCommerce > Status > Tools and initiating the creation of the custom order tables.

After the tables are successfully generated, you gain the ability to adjust HPOS table usage settings.

Switching between data stores is seamless, allowing you to synchronize data between tables at your discretion. Opting for “Use WooCommerce order tables” and selecting “Keep the post tables and the order tables synchronized” prompts the system to harmonize order data between the original posts/postmeta tables and the new custom order tables (WooCommerce tables).

It’s important to note that switching between tables is restricted during ongoing order synchronization. Patience is required until the initial synchronization concludes to enable switching:

Other Features of HPOS

1. Transitioning with Ease

If your plugins interact with order data through WooCommerce’s provided WC_Order class, the shift should be effortless, with the data source operating transparently. Plugins interacting directly with posts and postmeta will remain functional, as synchronization will refresh the data. However, keep in mind that these plugins will necessitate updates to cease synchronization with posts/postmeta tables in the coming year.

2. Support and Extension Compatibility

Should you encounter compatibility issues with third-party extensions while using High-Performance Order Storage, kindly notify the extension developers. Encourage them to integrate HPOS support into their extensions. The responsibility of adding HPOS compatibility lies with the extension developers.

The option to deactivate synchronization is at your fingertips, empowering store administrators to fully harness the performance advantages of HPOS tables once they’re confident that all plugins are functioning seamlessly.

3. Synchronization Mechanics

Upon enabling the HPOS feature and synchronization, WooCommerce systematically populates the HPOS tables with data sourced from the posts and postmeta tables. For a comprehensive breakdown of this synchronization process, refer to the accompanying documentation.

4. Real-time Verification

To streamline troubleshooting during the synchronization process, WooCommerce has introduced an enhancement that enables the code responsible for reading orders to compare data from both sources. Discrepancies are meticulously logged, simplifying error identification. This ensures that orders remain synchronized (provided no discrepancies are flagged) and facilitates efficient debugging when reported issues arise.

5. Bulk Consistency Check

In tandem with real-time verification, WooCommerce has developed a CLI tool catering to site owners seeking to validate sync consistency en masse. This tool meticulously contrasts data between the posts/postmeta and HPOS tables, generating a comprehensive report of discrepancies in the standard output. To utilize this tool, execute “wp wc cot verify_cot_data” within the wp-cli environment.

6. Enhanced Data Integrity During Transactions

To bolster data integrity during synchronization, WooCommerce has incorporated support for transactional processing. Each synchronization batch with the HPOS tables is executed within a transaction, ensuring data remains consistent throughout the process. These features, including transaction support, are adjustable within the HPOS feature settings. 

Here, you can configure not only the inclusion of transactions but also select the desired transaction isolation level to align with your specific requirements.

7. Extensions Compatibility

It’s important to be aware that certain extensions may not yet align with the new database architecture. To ensure a harmonious transition, WooCommerce is collaborating closely with third-party developers to ensure compatibility with HPOS for the extensions they create and support.

During this interim period, if you opt to explore HPOS, you can conveniently identify which extensions are HPOS-compatible via your extension screen once the feature is enabled. It’s noteworthy that HPOS will not disrupt your store’s functionality if the extensions prove incompatible.

Given that a significant portion of marketplace extensions are crafted by third-party developers, WooCommerce’s reliance on them is crucial for updating extension code to achieve compatibility. Should you venture into HPOS and discover that a beloved extension is not yet aligned, you have the option to communicate with the developer, urging them to undertake updates promptly. As a proactive measure, WooCommerce has thoughtfully furnished comprehensive instructions and resources to aid all developers in adapting their products to this new landscape.

Conclusion 

The introduction of High-Performance Order Storage is a testament to WooCommerce’s commitment to delivering cutting-edge solutions for e-commerce businesses. This upgrade promises improved performance, scalability, and an overall enhanced shopping experience for customers. While the exact release date and enablement process are yet to be revealed, one thing is clear: HPOS is set to empower WooCommerce store owners with the tools they need to thrive in the dynamic world of online retail. Stay tuned for this exciting update and get ready to elevate your WooCommerce store to new heights with HPOS.

FAQs

What if I get stuck while activating HPOS? 

Encountering HPOS Activation Challenges?

If you find yourself encountering obstacles while attempting to enable HPOS, don’t fret. We’re here to guide you through the process:

• Developer Assistance: If you collaborate with a developer to manage your online store, it’s advisable to seek their expertise in migrating your store to HPOS. Their insights can prove invaluable.
• Independent Endeavors: Should you embark on enabling HPOS before its official release and are not associated with a developer, note that additional steps may be necessary to synchronize your store. Thoroughly review their documentation for precise guidance.
• Ongoing Challenges: If challenges persist, rest assured there are solutions. You have the option to temporarily disable HPOS or seek assistance from our dedicated support team. Moreover, their proficient WooExperts are at your disposal, offering in-depth assistance tailored to your online store’s needs.

Can small businesses use HPOS, or is it only meant for larger businesses?

Businesses of all sizes will benefit from High-Performance Order Storage. 

I have a high-volume store on WooCommerce. How does this impact my store?

Existing stores will not be migrated over to HPOS at this time. You are still welcome to try it, especially if you work with a developer who maintains your store. Eventually, all Woo stores will migrate to HPOS. When we’re ready to migrate existing stores over, we will reach out again to notify our existing stores not currently on HPOS.

Are there any specific hosting requirements or limitations for using HPOS in WooCommerce?

There are no hosting restrictions. Any host that is able to run WordPress should have no trouble running HPOS, and it should even increase performance in a number of ways after it is enabled.