Documentation / Silver admin guide
Raffle Ticket Generator Silver
Silver Admin Guide
Everything you can do in the WPRaffle admin, screen by screen. New here? Start with Getting started and Create a raffle, then see how your customers order.
Getting Started
Raffle Ticket Generator turns WooCommerce products into raffle entries. Each raffle is a WooCommerce product category; the products inside it are your ticket packages (for example 1 ticket, 5 tickets, 20 tickets). When an order is paid, the plugin issues unique ticket numbers, shows them on the order confirmation page and in the customer’s email, and lets you draw winners later.
Before you start you need:
- WordPress with WooCommerce installed and active.
- PHP 8.0 or newer (your host can tell you which version you have).
- Your license key from your wpraffle.com account.
- At least one payment method enabled in WooCommerce.
Install the plugin
- In WordPress go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.
- Choose the plugin zip file and click Install Now. If an older version is installed, choose Replace current with uploaded.
- Click Activate Plugin.
- Open WPRaffle → License, paste your key and save (see License).
Ticket numbers are issued when an order reaches Processing or Completed. Pending or unpaid orders do not receive tickets until they are paid.
Upgrading from Version 6
Version 7 stores tickets on the WooCommerce orders themselves and settings on each raffle, instead of in the plugin’s own tables. Your existing raffles move across in one step after you update.
- Take a backup of your site (most hosts and backup plugins do this in one click).
- Update the plugin: Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin, choose the 7.0 zip and click Replace current with uploaded.
- A notice appears: “Your raffle data needs to be upgraded to the new format”. Click Run upgrade.
- On the Upgrade page click Run upgrade now. It works in small batches, so it is safe on a large store. Wait for Upgrade complete.
- Open a few orders and a raffle or two and check the ticket numbers and settings look right.
- When you are happy, click Remove backup tables on the Upgrade page. Until then your old tables are kept as a backup.
What moves across
- Every ticket number, on the order it was sold with.
- Each raffle’s settings: dates, ticket numbering, prefixes, display options, limits and caps.
- Recorded winners.
- New tickets continue after the highest number already used in each raffle, so no number is ever issued twice.
Version 6 counted the ticket cap down with every sale and copied it into each product’s WooCommerce stock. The upgrade turns it back into a total (tickets left plus tickets sold) and switches off WooCommerce stock on raffle products, because version 7 enforces the cap itself.
Until you click Run upgrade, raffles from version 6 show no tickets sold in the new screens. Your data is safe; it simply has not been moved yet.
The WPRaffle Menu
Everything lives under the WPRaffle menu in your WordPress admin. The sidebar is grouped into the main raffle pages, configuration pages and tools.
Items with a padlock (Postal Entries, Display Settings, Quiz Settings, Subscription Tickets, Manual Orders, Instant Wins and Draw Audit) are Gold or Platinum features. Clicking one shows what it does and how to upgrade.
Dashboard
The Dashboard is your overview: active raffles, tickets sold today, revenue for the last 7 days, winners drawn, unique buyers and pending orders. Below that you see the latest ticket orders, raffles ending soon and the most recent winners.
Checkout ticket delay. At the bottom of the Dashboard you can set a short pause (in seconds, maximum 30) during ticket generation. Leave it at 0. Only raise it if your host shows duplicate tickets under very heavy, simultaneous checkouts.
Create a Raffle (New Raffle Wizard)
The quickest way to start is WPRaffle → New Raffle. The wizard creates the raffle and its ticket packages in two steps.
Step 1 – Raffle details
- Enter the raffle name, for example Win a 2026 Jeep Wrangler.
- Set the starting ticket number (for example 1 or 1000).
- Choose whether tickets include the order ID, a custom prefix (up to 6 characters, for example JEEP) and a promo word.
- Optionally set the start and end date and time.
- Click Create raffle.
Step 2 – Products (ticket packages)
- Add one row per package: name, price and number of tickets in that package.
- Click Create products. You will see “Raffle Made”.
A ticket number is built from the parts you switch on, in this order: order ID, prefix, promo word, number. Examples: 1162-JEEP-1000, MAL-SUN-1, LAMBO-00001.
You can change every option later in the raffle’s settings, add a product image in Products, and add more packages by creating products in the raffle category.
My Raffles
My Raffles lists every raffle with its status (running, scheduled, ended), tickets sold and dates. Click a raffle to open its settings.
Raffle Settings
Each raffle has its own settings, split into tabs. Change what you need and click Save raffle settings; you will see “Settings saved”. Settings are kept per raffle.
Once a raffle has started and tickets are sold, changing the numbering options affects only tickets issued after the change. Set numbering before you start selling.
Schedule
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Raffle start date | When the raffle opens. Leave blank to start immediately. Before this time the product shows “Coming soon” and cannot be bought. |
| Raffle end date | When the raffle closes. Leave blank to close it manually. After this time the product shows “Raffle ended”. |
Ticket numbers
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Starting ticket number | The first number this raffle issues. No leading zeros here. |
| Include order ID | Puts the order number in front of each ticket, e.g. 1162-JEEP-1000. |
| Custom prefix | Up to 6 characters, e.g. JEEP. |
| Promo word | Up to 6 characters, e.g. SUN. |
Email (ticket display and ticket images)
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Number display style | Individual (every number on its own line), Range (100 to 120) or Auto (range when more than 4). |
| Send ticket images | Show each ticket as an image instead of plain text, on the confirmation page and in emails. Needs the GD image library on your server. Most hosts include it; your host can confirm. |
| On the ticket, show | Choose what prints on the ticket image: raffle name, customer name, phone number and (Gold/Platinum) email address. |
| Ticket image | Pick one of the ready-made templates or upload your own. Uploaded images must be exactly 300 × 147 px (PNG or JPG). |
Ticket Packages (Products)
Every product in a raffle category is a ticket package. You can edit them in Products like any WooCommerce product: title, price, image and description.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Raffle | Marks the product as a raffle ticket package. It must be in a raffle category. |
| Number of tickets | How many tickets one purchase of this product gives. Quantity multiplies it: 2 × a 5-ticket pack = 10 tickets. |
Give packages clear names that include the ticket count, for example “Jeep Wrangler – 5 Tickets” or “Porsche 911 – 15 Tickets (Best Value)”.
Raffle Extras (Store-Wide Options)
WPRaffle → Raffle Extras holds the options that apply to every raffle in your shop. Each box starts with a short explanation of what it does. Change what you need and click Save settings.
My Tickets page for customers
Switch on Show “My Tickets” to add a My Tickets tab to your customers’ My Account area. It lists every raffle they have entered, the ticket numbers from each order, the draw date and a Winner badge on any winning ticket. Customers stop emailing to ask “where are my tickets?”, because they can always look them up. Buyers who checked out as guests still find their numbers in their order email.
Checkout confirmations
Tick boxes the buyer must check before they can pay. They only appear when the cart contains raffle tickets, and they work on both the classic checkout and the block checkout.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Age confirmation | Shows a box such as “I confirm I am 18 or over.” Change the wording to suit your rules. |
| Raffle terms | Shows a box such as “I have read and accept the raffle terms and conditions.” Add the address of your terms page and buyers see a “Read the terms” link next to the box. |
The time each box was ticked is saved on the order, so you have a record if anyone asks. Use these boxes when your raffle is for adults only or has terms buyers must accept.
Ticket limits per customer, a public entry list, free postal entry and bundle offers are part of Gold and Platinum. Instant wins and minimum sales are part of Platinum.
View Tickets and Export
View Tickets shows every raffle with tickets sold and, per raffle, each ticket with its buyer and order. Use the date filters to narrow it down.
Export CSV downloads a spreadsheet with one row per ticket: order number, order date, order status, payment method, entry method (online or postal), customer name, address, email, phone, product and ticket number.
The export is built in batches, so it stays quick and does not run out of memory even for a raffle with tens of thousands of orders. The date filters apply to the export.
Print tickets as a PDF
Next to Export CSV, choose the Paper and Print style and click Download PDF. The date filters apply here too, so you can print just one day’s sales.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Paper | A4 or US Letter. Shops in the US, Canada, Mexico and the Philippines start on US Letter, everyone else on A4. |
| Tickets | The raffle’s own ticket design with the ticket number, raffle name and buyer, as many as fit on each page. Raffles without ticket images get a clean printed design instead. |
| Tickets with tear-off stub | Each ticket has a stub on the left with the buyer’s name, phone, email and order number. Tear it off and keep it, or put the stubs in a drum for a live draw. |
| Draw slips (40 per page) | Small slips with just the ticket number and the buyer’s name, for cutting up and drawing by hand. |
Reports
WPRaffle → Reports shows what each raffle has taken. Use From and To to look at a date range, and Export CSV to download any table.
Sales by raffle
The boxes at the top show revenue (after refunds, excluding tax), tickets sold, orders and the average order. The table shows each raffle with its end date, orders, tickets, number of different buyers and revenue. Raffles with free postal entries show how many there were.
The Customers report and Ticket lookup are part of Gold and Platinum.
Select Winners (Draw in the Admin)
Draw winners privately from the admin.
- Open Select Winners. Each card shows the raffle, eligible tickets and tickets sold.
- Click Draw → on the raffle.
- Click Draw random winner. The numbers roll and the winner’s name, ticket and order appear.
- Or click Enter winner manually if you drew offline.
“Eligible” is tickets sold minus tickets that have already won, so the same ticket cannot win twice.
One prize per person. When a raffle has more than one winner, each person can win only once, however many tickets or orders they have. Buyers are matched by the email address on their order, so a second order with the same email counts as the same person. This applies to admin draws, the live draw page and date-range draws. To let one person win more than once, switch off One prize per person in the Winners section of the raffle’s Extras tab.
Raffle Winners
Raffle Winners lists every winner. From each winner card you can email the winner, copy a shortcode that displays that winner on a page, or delete the record.
Email a winner: click Email, write the subject and message (optionally a BCC address) and click Send email. The message goes to the email address on the winning order.
Show a live draw on your website. Copy the [winnerpage] shortcode from the bottom of this page into any page. Visitors see a countdown, then rolling numbers, then the winners. Once drawn, the page keeps showing the same winners. Set the draw time in the Automatic Winner Setting box of the page editor (Start Time); without one, the draw runs once the end date of the raffle has passed (or straight away if the raffle has no end date or is sold out).
Shortcodes
Paste these into any page or post. Replace the numbers with your own: the raffle (category) ID is shown in the address bar when you open a raffle’s settings (cat_id=…); the product ID is shown when you edit a product.
| Shortcode | What it shows |
|---|---|
[winnerpage catid="12" numberofwinners="1"] |
Live winner draw for a raffle: countdown, rolling ticket numbers, then the winners. Options: catid (required), numberofwinners, winnertype1 … winnertype10 (labels such as “Grand Prize”), time (seconds the numbers roll), textstart, textend. Once drawn, the page keeps showing the same winners. |
[winnerpagedaterange catid="12" numberofwinners="1" winnerdatefrom="2026-01-01" winnerdateto="2026-12-31"] |
The same live draw, using only tickets from orders placed between the two dates. |
[winner winner_name="Jane Smith" order_id="1234" ticket_number="JEEP-1042" winner_type="Winner 1"] |
Displays one past winner as a sentence. Copy it ready-made from the winner’s Shortcode button on Raffle Winners. |
[raffle_countdown catid="12"] |
A countdown box for a raffle (“Raffle starts in…”, “Raffle ends in…”, “This raffle has ended.”). Without catid it uses the raffle of the product being viewed. |
Activity Log
A timeline of what the plugin did: tickets issued per order, emails sent, winners drawn, settings changes and data clears. Useful when a customer asks “did my tickets get issued?”.
Duplicate Checker
Checks a raffle for any ticket number held by more than one order, and fixes it.
- Choose the raffle and click Check for duplicates.
- If duplicates are listed, click Generate new ticket next to the order that should get a new number. It receives the next unused number, the button shows it (for example Fixed: 1042), and the change is recorded in the Generation log below.
Under normal use there are no duplicates. This tool is a safety net after imports or manual edits.
Clear Data
Removes all issued ticket numbers and recorded winners for every raffle, and resets each raffle’s counter so numbering starts again from its starting number. Your raffle settings, products and orders are kept.
- Type DELETE in the box.
- Click Delete all raffle data. A green “All raffle data has been cleared” message appears.
This cannot be undone. Use it to reset a test site or before starting a fresh season, not on a live raffle. To remove one buyer’s tickets, refund or delete that order instead.
License
Enter your license key to activate the plugin. Without a valid key the raffle features are switched off and raffle products cannot be bought, so no customer pays without receiving tickets. Manage your keys and site URLs in your wpraffle.com account.
The plugin checks your key with the WPRaffle license server regularly. If your site cannot reach the server, for example because of a firewall, the License page shows Not confirmed yet. Everything keeps working for 3 days while the plugin tries again every hour. Once the connection is fixed, click Check again now.
Questions
A customer paid but has no tickets.
Tickets are issued when the order is Processing or Completed. Check the order status in WooCommerce → Orders, and look for the order in the Activity Log.
Ticket emails are not arriving.
Ticket numbers are added to WooCommerce’s own Processing and Completed order emails. If those emails do not arrive, the problem is mail delivery on your site; check your SMTP plugin settings or your host’s mail log.
Ticket images do not show.
Make sure “Send ticket images” is Yes and a ticket template is chosen. Ticket images also need the GD image library on your server; ask your host if you are not sure it is installed.
Can the same ticket win twice?
No. Tickets that have won are excluded from later draws in the admin.
Can the same person win two prizes?
Not by default. With One prize per person on (the default), a raffle with several winners skips anyone who has already won it, matched by the email address on their orders. Switch it off in the raffle’s Extras tab if one person may win more than once.
I am upgrading from version 6. What do I need to do?
Update the plugin as usual, then click Run upgrade in the notice that appears (or open WPRaffle → Upgrade). It moves your tickets and settings into the new format and keeps your old tables as a backup. See Upgrading from version 6.
What happens if I cancel or refund an order?
Its ticket numbers are released and can be issued to the next buyer. If you set the order back to Processing or Completed, it receives new numbers, so no number is ever held by two people.
Can I change the numbering after selling?
Yes, but only new tickets use the new format. Set numbering before you start selling.
Where can customers see their ticket numbers?
On the order confirmation page, in their order email and, with Show “My Tickets” switched on in Raffle Extras, in the My Tickets tab of their account.
Can I print tickets?
Yes. In View Tickets, choose the paper (A4 or US Letter) and the print style (tickets, tickets with a tear-off stub, or draw slips) and click Download PDF.