Premium Feature Not Appearing After Upgrade #
You upgraded your license but the feature you paid for still looks locked, or the option you expected to see in the admin isn’t there. This guide walks through the most common causes and fixes.
How License Gating Works #
PetMatchPro stores your license tier as a numeric ID (lower number = higher tier):
| Tier | Numeric ID |
|---|---|
| Preferred | 1 |
| Junior | 2 |
| Basic (Free) | 3 |
Each admin field, tab, accordion, and template has a level requirement. If your stored tier ID is greater than the requirement, the feature is hidden, grayed out, or shown with an “UPGRADE REQUIRED” notice.
Step 1: Confirm Your Active Tier #
- Go to PetMatchPro > License Information.
- Look for the active license name and tier displayed on the page.
- If it still shows your old tier (e.g., “Basic” when you paid for Junior), the new license has not been activated yet — continue to Step 2.
Step 2: Re-Activate Your License #
Upgrading on the petmatchpro.com store does not automatically push the new tier to your WordPress site. You must re-activate.
- On the License Information page, click Deactivate License if currently active.
- Enter your license key (the same key, or a new one if you received one with the upgrade).
- Click Activate License.
- Refresh the PetMatchPro admin pages. The new tier should now be reflected.
Step 3: Clear Server and Browser Caches #
Even after a successful re-activation, OPcache, page caches, or your browser may still be serving stale admin HTML.
- Hard refresh the admin (Ctrl+Shift+R on Windows, Cmd+Shift+R on Mac).
- If you have a caching plugin, clear it.
- If your host uses LiteSpeed or NGINX FastCGI cache, purge it.
- Ask your host to clear OPcache or restart PHP-FPM if changes still don’t appear.
See Stale Content / Cache Issues for the full cache-clearing checklist.
Step 4: Check Where the Feature Actually Lives #
Some upgraded features are not where users expect them. A quick map:
| Feature | Required Tier | Where to Find It |
|---|---|---|
| Non-default search/detail templates | Junior | General Options > Search Template / Detail Template (per method) |
| Lost / Found / List method types | Junior | General Options > Method Type, plus Partner tab filters |
| API Caching | Junior | General Options > API Cache Enabled / Cache TTL |
| Theme template overrides | Junior | Templates with ” (theme)” suffix in the template dropdown |
| Shortcode Builder | Junior | Top-level Shortcode Builder tab in PetMatchPro admin |
| Filter Values customization | Preferred | Top-level Filter Values tab |
| Lost/Found Combination Search | Preferred | Partner tab > Lost/Found Combination |
| Lost/Found Per-Animal Labels (AnimalsFirst) | Preferred | Partner tab > Lost/Found Per-Animal Labels |
| Preferred method type (AnimalsFirst) | Preferred | General Options > Method Type, plus Partner tab |
| Analytics tab and dashboard | Preferred | Top-level Analytics tab |
| Analytics Queue / Cron Self-Test / Rebuild Summaries | Preferred | Tools tab |
Step 5: Still Locked? #
If a feature still appears locked after re-activation and cache clearing:
- Check the field’s help text. Many disabled fields show an “UPGRADE REQUIRED:” prefix and may indicate a higher tier than you currently have.
- Verify on petmatchpro.com that your subscription is active and paid through the current period.
- Take a screenshot of the License Information page and the locked feature, then contact support.
How to Recognize a Locked Field #
- The field is grayed out and not editable
- The cursor changes to a “not allowed” icon when you hover
- The help text below the field starts with “UPGRADE REQUIRED:“
- Selecting a paid value reverts to the default after save
Next Steps #
- Understanding License Tiers — What each tier includes
- Parameters by License Tier — Shortcode params per tier
- Stale Content / Cache Issues — Fix cache problems
- How to Contact Support — Get help if upgrade isn’t taking effect
