Support Ticket Plus — Product Documentation

1. Installation

Requirements

Step-by-step install

1. Upload the plugin folder to:

   wp-content/plugins/lucrativeit-support-ticket-plus/

   Or install the ZIP from Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.
2. Go to Plugins in WordPress admin and click Activate on LucrativeIt Support Ticket Plus.
3. On activation, the plugin creates a Support Portal page with the shortcode:

   [lucrativeit_support_portal]

4. Open Pages → All Pages, find Support Portal, and click View. Add that page to your menu under Appearance → Menus so customers can find it.
5. Configure the basics under Support Ticket Plus → Settings:

Settings → General

6. Create departments under Support Ticket Plus → Departments so tickets can be routed correctly:

Departments with auto-assign (round-robin)

Enable Auto-assign for round-robin distribution among agents in that department.

7. (Optional) Grant staff permissions under Support Ticket Plus → Roles. Every logged-in user is a customer by default. Grant the Tickets permission to a WordPress role (for example Editor) to make those users support agents.

Manual portal page (if needed)

If the Support Portal page was deleted:

1. Pages → Add New
2. Add the shortcode [lucrativeit_support_portal]
3. Publish and link it from your menu

Knowledge base only (optional):

[lucrativeit_knowledge_base]

2. Enable registration

Customers can open tickets with a registered account, or as a guest without logging in (see section 2.1). For registered users, sign-up is controlled in two places — both must allow registrations.

A. WordPress membership (required)

1. Go to Settings → General (WordPress core settings, not the plugin).
2. Enable Membership → Anyone can register.
3. Save changes.

Without this, WordPress rejects new accounts even if the plugin Register button is visible.

B. Plugin Auth setting

1. Go to Support Ticket Plus → Settings → Auth.
2. Set Allow Registration to Yes.
3. Click Save Changes.

Settings → Auth → Allow Registration

What customers see

Visitors who open the support portal while logged out see a login prompt. With registration enabled, they also get a Register option (modal on the portal).

• New accounts receive the Subscriber role.
• They can create and view their own tickets only.
• Login details are emailed after registration (SMTP must be configured for reliable delivery).

To promote a user to support staff, grant their WordPress role the Tickets permission under Support Ticket Plus → Roles.

2.1 Guest tickets (no login required)

When Allow Guest Tickets is enabled under Settings → General → Portal Access (on by default), visitors can submit a support request without creating an account or logging in.

What the visitor sees

On the portal login screen, a Submit a Ticket as Guest link appears below the Register option:

Portal login — guest ticket entry point

Guest create-ticket flow

1. Click Submit a Ticket as Guest.
2. Enter Your Name and Email (required).
3. Complete the standard ticket fields: subject, order number (optional), department, priority, description, and attachments.
4. Complete the Turnstile CAPTCHA if enabled (see section 2.2).
5. Click Submit Ticket.

The footer note reads: We will email you a confirmation and a secure link to track this ticket.

What happens after submit

• A customer account is created automatically when needed.
• The guest is redirected to the ticket page via a signed magic link (see section 5.1).
• A confirmation email with the same link is sent (requires SMTP).

Disable guest tickets

Set Allow Guest Tickets to No under Settings → General. Visitors must then log in or register to submit tickets.

2.2 Cloudflare Turnstile CAPTCHA

Protect the guest create-ticket form from spam with Cloudflare Turnstile — a free CAPTCHA alternative. Turnstile applies to guest submissions only; logged-in users do not see it.

Configure Turnstile

1. Create a Turnstile widget in the Cloudflare dashboard and copy the Site Key and Secret Key.
2. Go to Support Ticket Plus → Settings → General.
3. Under Cloudflare Turnstile, set Enable Turnstile for Guest Tickets to Yes.
4. Paste the Site Key and Secret Key.
5. Click Save Changes.

Settings → General — Cloudflare Turnstile

Guest create-ticket form with Turnstile verification

If verification fails, the form redisplays with: Please complete the captcha verification and try again.

3. Why SMTP and how to configure it

Why SMTP matters

WordPress’s default mail() function often fails on shared hosting or lands in spam. Support Ticket Plus sends email for:

• Registration confirmation and login details
• New ticket alerts to admins and agents
• Reply notifications to customers and staff
• Status and assignment updates

SMTP uses your mail provider’s authenticated server so messages are delivered reliably and appear from your brand address.

How to configure SMTP

1. Go to Support Ticket Plus → Settings → SMTP.
2. Fill in the fields from your mail provider (Gmail, Microsoft 365, cPanel, SendGrid, etc.).
3. Click Save Changes.

Settings → SMTP

Recommended checklist

• Use a real mailbox or transactional email service on your domain.
• For Gmail, create a Google App Password (not your normal password).
• Set Admin Notification Email under Settings → General so staff receive alerts.
• Customize message content under Settings → Email Templates.

4. Create a ticket

Customer portal (logged in)

1. Open the Support Portal page and log in.
2. Click Create Ticket in the sidebar, or New Ticket on the dashboard.

Customer portal dashboard

Complete the form:

Create New Ticket form

Submit the ticket. It receives an ID such as #TKT-1001 and appears under My Tickets.

My Tickets list

Guest (no login)

Guests use the same create-ticket form with additional Your Name and Email fields. See section 2.1 for the full guest workflow, Turnstile CAPTCHA, and magic link access after submit.

Staff / admin

Agents can create tickets from:

• The portal Create Ticket page (same form), or
• Support Ticket Plus → Tickets → + Create Ticket in WordPress admin (if Enable Create Ticket in Admin is on under General settings)

Staff create-ticket view

5. Reply to a ticket

Customer

1. Go to Tickets (or My Tickets) in the portal.
2. Click the eye icon on a ticket row to open the conversation.
3. Type a reply, attach files if needed, and send.

Customers only see public messages (not internal staff notes).

Agent / admin

1. Open Tickets in the portal or Support Ticket Plus → Tickets in WordPress admin.

Staff ticket list with filters

2. Open a ticket with the eye icon.
3. Use the reply composer:
   • Public Reply — visible to the customer; triggers notifications.
   • Internal Note — staff-only; not shown to the customer.
4. Click Send Reply.

Ensure Enable Reply in Admin is set to Yes under Settings → General if agents reply from WordPress admin.

Filters on the ticket list (status, priority, department, agent) help agents find work quickly. The admin dashboard shows volume, open queue, and SLA breaches:

Admin Support Overview dashboard

5.1 Magic link access (guests)

Guest customers access their ticket through a signed URL sent by email after submission. They can view the conversation and post public replies without a WordPress login.

1. After submitting a guest ticket, the browser opens the ticket via a URL containing lit_view=ticket, lit_ticket, and lit_token.
2. A green banner explains: You are viewing this ticket via a secure email link. You can reply here without logging in.
3. Use Copy Link to save the private URL and return anytime within the link validity period (30 days by default).
4. Public replies work the same as for logged-in customers; internal notes are staff-only.

Guest ticket view — secure magic link with Copy Link button

6. Notifications

Support Ticket Plus uses in-app notifications and email (via SMTP).

In-app notifications (portal)

1. Open Notifications in the portal sidebar.
2. Unread items show a red badge on the menu and an UNREAD count on the page.
3. Example: Agent replied on ticket TKT-1000.
4. Click the eye icon to open the related ticket, or Mark All Read to clear the list.

Portal notifications center

Email notifications

When SMTP is configured, the plugin can email customers and staff for events such as:

• Ticket created
• New public reply
• Assignment and status changes

Configure:

6.1 Email templates & branding PRO

With Lucrative Support Ticket Pro active, Support Ticket Plus → Settings → Email Templates opens the full email template manager. Without Pro, the same tab shows a notice and only basic subject/body fields per template.

The manager has two layers:

1. Email header & branding — a shared HTML wrapper applied to every notification email.
2. Per-event templates — subject lines and body copy for each notification type.

Configure SMTP first (section 3) so preview and test emails can be delivered.

Email header & branding

Settings → Email Templates — header logo, colors, and footer

This section controls the look of the outer email shell (header bar, colors, and footer). Changes apply to all notification emails, not just one template.

Click Save branding to store these settings. They are independent of individual template saves.

Notification templates

Per-event templates with sidebar navigation and merge tags

Use the left sidebar to pick a template. Templates are grouped by audience:

Each template editor includes:

Placeholders (merge tags)

Use double curly braces in the subject or body. They are replaced when the email is sent.

Example — Ticket Created subject:

[{{ticket_number}}] Your ticket has been created

Example — Ticket Created body:

Hello {{recipient_name}},

Your support ticket {{ticket_number}} has been created.

Subject: {{subject}}
Priority: {{priority}}
Department: {{department_name}}

View your ticket: {{ticket_url}}

Recommended workflow

1. Set Email header & branding to match your site (logo, colors, footer).
2. Click Preview on a template to confirm the wrapper looks correct.
3. Customize subject and body per notification type.
4. Use Send test email to verify delivery and formatting in a real inbox.
5. Disable any template you do not want sent using Enable this template.

7. Pro features PRO

Install the optional add-on Lucrative Support Ticket Pro (lucrativeit-support-ticket-pro) after Support Ticket Plus is active. Pro adds email-to-ticket, Gmail inbound, AI reply suggestions, and Google login. Purchase Pro.

7.2 Email Ticketing PRO

Turn inbound email into tickets and thread replies into existing conversations.

Settings → Email Ticketing

1. Go to Support Ticket Plus → Settings → Email Ticketing.
2. Set Enable Email Ticketing to Yes.
3. Keep Thread Email Replies on Yes so replies with [TKT-1001] (or matching thread headers) attach to the same ticket instead of creating a new one.
4. Set Inbound Reply Address (used as Reply-To on notification emails).
5. Copy the Webhook URL and Webhook Secret into Mailgun, SendGrid, or another inbound provider.

Important: Email Ticketing alone does not fetch mail. You must also configure Gmail Inbound or a provider webhook.

7.3 Gmail Inbound PRO

Poll a Gmail inbox and pull replies into tickets.

Settings → Gmail Inbound

1. Enable the PHP IMAP extension on the server (php_imap). Without it, Gmail Inbound cannot run.
2. Go to Settings → Gmail Inbound.
3. Set Enable Gmail Inbound to Yes.
4. Enter the Gmail Address (same address used as Reply-To when possible).
5. Enter a Google App Password (not the normal Gmail password).
6. Set Folder (usually INBOX) and optionally Mark as Read.
7. Save changes.

WP-Cron polls Gmail about once per minute by default. On production sites, use a real server cron hitting wp-cron.php.

7.4 AI reply suggestions PRO

Help agents draft replies faster with an AI provider.

Settings → AI

1. Go to Settings → AI.
2. Set Enable AI Suggestions to Yes.
3. Choose Provider (e.g. OpenAI).
4. Set Model (e.g. gpt-4o-mini).
5. Enter your API Key.
6. Optionally add a System Prompt to match your support tone.
7. Save. Agents see AI tools in the ticket reply composer.

7.5 Other Pro capabilities

Plus features worth highlighting

These ship with Support Ticket Plus (no Pro required):

Reports — SLA and agent performance

Customer Knowledge Base

8. Quick reference

Admin menu (WordPress)

Portal URLs (examples)

Replace the path with your portal page slug:

First-time setup checklist

• Activate Support Ticket Plus
• Confirm Support Portal page and menu link
• Configure Settings → General
• Enable Anyone can register (WordPress) and Allow Registration (Auth tab) — or use guest tickets instead
• Confirm Allow Guest Tickets is set as desired under Settings → General
• (Recommended) Enable Cloudflare Turnstile for guest spam protection
• Configure SMTP and send a test registration or ticket
• Create departments and assign agent roles
• (Optional) Install Pro for email ticketing, Gmail inbound, and AI