Creator Guide
Why the migration?
Why? Because let’s be honest: the current system has been holding the site back. Pages are slow to load, navigating can feel clunky, and some design elements don’t look or function the way they’re supposed to. This is all due to poorly coded core plugins that keep making the site worse and slower every day. This upgrade will fix those issues and make CartographyAssets faster, smoother, and better for everyone.
Withdrawals
Note: You will notice a difference in total sales in Dokan and WCFM. In WCFM the total sales of Store 1 are showing $3690 and Store 2 is $4277. Whereas in Dokan, those numbers have increased to $3895 and $4501 respectively.
That is because Dokan shows the total sales after adding the Tax and Shipping charges as well. That is why you can see an increase in the number.
What happens to my old balance?
If you made sales before the migration, those orders were processed using a non-adaptive. In that system, the full payment went to the platform (admin), and your share became available as a balance in your account.
Because those orders weren’t split at checkout, your share must be manually sent by me.
To receive funds from those older sales:
- Go to your Creators Hub→ Withdrawals.
- Submit a manual withdrawal request for the amount you want to receive.
- I review and process requests every day in the morning.
- Once approved, the payment will be sent via your selected method (e.g. PayPal).
Please note: These payouts are no longer instant and require manual review on my side.
Why did payouts used to happen automatically before migration?
WCFM (the plugin I used before) used an older PayPal feature called “Payouts” (MassPay), which allowed the system to send payments automatically to a creator’s email after approval.
While it felt convenient, it relied on email only (no secure connection to your PayPal account) and is no longer considered best practice by PayPal.
I’m now working to move to to PayPal Marketplace, which uses secure account linking and pays you instantly after each sale — no requests, no waiting.
Creator store page
Creator store pages will now be easier to explore, with new sections like:
→ Recently Added
→ Most Popular
→ Featured
→ Best Rated
→ Best Selling
→ All Products
You’ll also be able to search within a creator’s store and filter by category to quickly find exactly what you’re looking for. Browsing just got a whole lot smoother!
With more eyes on your store, it’s the perfect time to update your banner and avatar to make the best impression.
Recommended visuals
Banner
- Size: 1200 × 400 px
- Format: .webp (preferred for quality & speed)
- Max file size: 500 KB
- Tip: Keep important visuals/text centered—edges may be cropped on mobile.
Avatar
- Size: 300 × 300 px
- Format: .webp
- Max file size: 100 KB
Bundles
I currently use the WooCommerce Product Bundles plugin to offer advanced product grouping features. While this tool is active on the site, there are a few limitations you should be aware of as a creator since migration to Dokan.
Important Limitations
- Dokan does not officially support Product Bundles in the creator dashboard.
- This means you won’t be able to create or edit bundles yourself through the vendor interface.
- If you try to modify a bundle via the dashboard, it might break the bundle or cause unexpected behavior.
- Existing bundles will continue to work fine, as long as you don’t edit them from your dashboard.
What Still Works
- Bundled products that were created earlier are fully functional for customers.
- You’ll still receive orders and commissions from them like any other product.
- Customers can view and purchase bundles without issues.
Need to Create or Edit a Bundle?
Since you can’t manage bundles through the dashboard, feel free to reach out to me directly if you want to:
- Create a new bundle
- Update the products or pricing in an existing bundle
I’ll make the changes for you in the backend and let you know when it’s ready.
Why This Works This Way
WooCommerce Product Bundles is a powerful tool, but it uses complex options that aren’t yet compatible with Dokan’s frontend editor. Until Dokan adds full support, I’m handling bundle management manually to keep your shop running smoothly.
This is of course not a long term solution, so I am already in contact with Dokan to try and get official support for this and to get them or someone else on board that can write custom code to implement this functionality for CartographyAssets.
File Size Limits & Upload Tips
To make uploading smooth for both you and your customers, I’ve set file size limits that balance performance with flexibility — especially as I fine-tune things during the relaunch phase.
Current File Size Limits
| Phase | Max Upload Size per File |
|---|---|
| Before | 100MB |
| Early Access | 500MB |
| Relaunch (first few days) | 200MB (temporary) |
| Afterwards | 500MB (Permanent) |
Why the Temporary 200MB Limit at Relaunch?
When the platform relaunches, I’ll be monitoring performance closely. A temporary cap of 200MB helps ensure everything runs smoothly. A few days later, the full 500MB limit will be set — no need to change anything on your end.
Tips to Keep File Sizes Optimized
Large files slow down downloads and take up more server resources. Here are a few things you can do to keep your products fast and accessible:
Use Efficient Image Formats
- Convert high-res PNGs and JPEGs to WebP where possible.
- This format offers smaller sizes without losing quality.
- This also improves website performance a ton!
Always Zip Your Files
- Upload your product files as .zip archives — this reduces size and keeps everything organized.
- You can bundle multiple items (e.g. images, assets, text files) in one compressed package.
If you ever need to upload something slightly larger for a special release or complex pack, just reach out and I’ll help make it work.
I want to give you some context about why your earnings or balance may look incorrect — especially if you’re noticing missing income or even a negative balance in your dashboard.
What happened?
During the migration from the old platform to the new one (WCFM → Dokan), I ran into a specific issue related to (partially) refunded orders.
Here’s the deal
If an order had multiple products from different creators — and even one of those products was refunded — that entire order was excluded from the migration.
So even if your portion of the order wasn’t refunded at all, it didn’t get transferred to the new system. That means:
- Your commission from that order is not visible right now.
- The system thinks you earned less than you actually did.
- If you withdrew that income previously, your withdrawn amount might now be higher than your recorded earnings, resulting in a negative balance.
Example
Order #001 had a €100 product from you and a €1 product from someone else. That €1 item got refunded, so the full order wasn’t migrated — and your €100 now looks like it never existed.
What I’m doing
I’m currently working on a fix but am not (yet) sure how to address the issue in a future-proof manner. So I am in contact with the Dokan developers on how to solve this issue.
This may take a bit of time, but your earnings are safe — they just need to be re-linked correctly in the new system.
Export orders & Converter tool
Did you know you can export your orders as a .csv file? Just press the “Export all” or “Export Filtered” button on the Orders page in your Creators Hub and it will generate a list of all your orders for you.
Please note that the exports will contain orders with status: failed, pending payment, cancelled and on-hold. Which are not available for withdrawal.
Located in Europe?
Then you will notice that your spreadsheet software might have issues with the file. This is because .csv files are comma separated, but in Europe use of a comma is also used for amounts such as €210,00. To make everything work for you here’s a handy converter tool: