Install Help4 Personalizer and protect customer uploads

1. Check the hosting requirements

Use WordPress 6.7 or newer and PHP 8.2 or newer. Ask the host to confirm working PHP GD, EXIF, mbstring and ZIP support, a WordPress image editor, and enough memory for the images and proof sizes you intend to offer. An installed extension alone does not prove that the server can process your largest product.

The effective upload limit is the smaller limit imposed by the plugin and your host. The customer editor displays the effective image limit. Large proofs can use much more memory than their compressed uploads, so test a realistic photograph at your intended product dimensions and DPI before choosing a public upload policy.

2. Check private storage requirements

Customer originals, proofs and sliced files need a persistent private directory outside public web locations. Activation attempts to create an owner-only directory beside WordPress when the host permits it. If the host restricts that location, the plugin shows a setup notice. Do not use public media uploads, a web-accessible subdirectory, temporary system storage or broad 777 permissions.

After activation, open Personalizer > Private storage and confirm that it says Private storage is ready. If setup is required, ask the host for a persistent absolute path outside every served domain and alias, then use Create private storage. The parent directory must exist and be writable by PHP. The following wp-config.php setting is an optional host-managed alternative; an existing setting takes priority and is preserved.

define('H4PE_PRIVATE_DIR', '/home/your-account/private/help4-personalizer');

The plugin checks WordPress, the document root, content and uploads locations, rejects symbolic links and requires owner-only directory permissions (0700). Your host must also confirm that another domain, alias or web-server mapping does not expose it. Existing locations are preserved; this screen does not migrate or delete customer files. Back up the database and private directory together. Merchant catalog images and stock models use the WordPress media library and may be public.

3. Install and run guided setup

In WordPress, open Plugins, choose Add New Plugin, then Upload Plugin. Select the Help4 Personalizer ZIP, install it and activate it. Open Personalizer in the admin menu and choose Start guided setup. Resolve any private-storage error before continuing.

Choose a sample template and inspect its physical dimensions, production type, safe margin and customer limits. Sample settings illustrate the editor; they are not calibration data for your machine. Leave ordering unavailable while you prepare the product and machine mapping.

Download the free plugin (0.1.0) and verify its SHA-256 checksum before uploading the ZIP.

4. Create a test page and exclude cached sessions

Create an ordinary WordPress page and insert a Shortcode block containing the following shortcode. Publish it to your staging site and open the customer-facing page in a new tab.

[help4_personalizer]

Exclude pages containing an editor and the plugin private/session routes from external full-page caches. Purge any old cached copy after adding the editor. The plugin sends no-cache headers, but those headers cannot fix a response already served by a cache in front of WordPress. Keep normal caching for unrelated public tutorial pages.

5. Complete a first saved-proof test

Use an image you own, select a sample photo product, upload it and move it in Flat layout. Save the design, reload the same page in the same browser, and confirm that the saved design returns. Review the proof and inspect the full saved 2D reference where available. Confirm the crop and lettering before approving.

Repeat on a narrow mobile screen. If you will sell products, continue through machine assignment, product mapping and your payment gateway test mode on staging. A saved design or an approved proof is not a paid order. Resolve errors before opening sales, and keep a copy of the exact plugin build used for the test.

Continue the walkthrough

Register production machines · Choose a page builder

All Personalizer tutorials · Contact Help4 support