The short answer: HPOS is a newer way for WooCommerce to store orders, in tables of their own rather than mixed with the pages and posts of WordPress. In recent WooCommerce versions new shops start with it switched on. On an older shop, you switch only when you choose to, after taking a backup and checking your plugins.
Before, each order was stored as if it were a page, in the same table as all the other content of the site. With HPOS orders live in tables of their own. It is a change of storage: the shop looks the same to buyers, and orders still appear in the same place in the dashboard. What the WooCommerce documentation presents as the benefit is the shop coping better with many orders; that is the project’s claim, and the gain on your shop depends on the shop.
Where to see it and where to change it
In the WordPress dashboard go to WooCommerce, Settings, Advanced, Features. In the order data storage section there are two options: the old storage, in WordPress “posts”, and the high-performance one. The same page has a box that keeps the two in sync (compatibility mode), and a list of plugins that declare themselves incompatible.
How to switch without surprises
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Read the incompatible list on the Features page. A plugin that reads orders straight from the old tables stops seeing them after the switch. If a plugin you depend on is listed, wait for its update.
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Switch the sync on (compatibility mode) and choose the high-performance storage. Moving the old orders happens in the background and takes longer on a shop with many orders.
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Place a test order and check: status, customer e-mails, the shop e-mail and the reports. See order statuses.
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Only when everything is stable switch the sync off. With it on, WooCommerce writes every order twice.
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Do not switch in the middle of a campaign or without a backup. If something goes wrong, the way back is returning to the old storage, but that only protects your orders if sync was on while you worked.
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| Your situation |
What to do |
| A new shop, installed now |
It normally starts with HPOS on. Confirm on the Features page and carry on. |
| An older shop with third-party plugins |
Read the incompatible list, test on a test site and only then switch. |
| An older shop, no time right now |
It can stay as it is. Switch at a quiet moment, with a backup. |
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Want to confirm what your hosting allows before switching? Open a ticket and tell us what the Features page shows.
Open a support ticket
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