WooCommerce product variations in English disappearing after purchase in German

This thread is resolved. Here is a description of the problem and solution.

Problem:
You are running a WooCommerce store with Elementor and WPML for translations. Each product has several variations, which are initially synchronized and visible on the English product pages. However, after some time, these variations begin to disappear from the frontend, and in the backend, they are no longer linked to the original German product variations. This issue seems to occur when a variation is purchased in the German store, and you suspect it might be related to caching issues involving WP Rocket and Varnish cache.
Solution:
We recommend checking if this issue occurs due to a conflict with third-party plugins, especially the Variation Swatches for WooCommerce plugin. You can test this by deactivating WPML and other third-party plugins temporarily to see if the problem persists. If the issue is resolved when WPML is deactivated, it likely indicates a plugin conflict. Additionally, consider reviewing your cache settings on WP Rocket and your server's Varnish cache to ensure they are not interfering with WPML and WooCommerce functionalities. For further guidance, you might find it helpful to refer to a similar case discussed in the German WPML forum.

If this solution does not apply to your case, or if it seems outdated, we highly recommend checking related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming that you have installed the latest versions of themes and plugins. If issues persist, please open a new support ticket.

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This topic contains 8 replies, has 0 voices.

Last updated by Marcel 2 weeks ago.

Assisted by: Marcel.

Author	Posts
June 20, 2025 at 11:31 am #17154124
annetteW-3	<b>Background of the issue: </b> I am running a WooCommerce store created with Elementor, using WPML for translations. Each product has several variations (e.g., size, quantity), which are correctly synchronized to the English version using the WooCommerce Multilingual plugin. Initially, the variations are visible and selectable on the English product pages. Link to a page where the issue can be seen: English: hidden link Correct German product: hidden link <b>Symptoms: </b> After a few hours or days, the variations of the English version begin to disappear from the frontend - not all at once, but gradually. In the backend, the variations are no longer linked to the original German product variations. It seems to happen when the variation is purchased in the German store, breaking the link from the English variant to the German variant, which is then no longer displayed in the frontend. I have a staging website. I cannot reproduce the problem there. I suspect it is a problem with the cache. I use WP Rocket and a Varnish cache on the server side. <b>Questions: </b> What settings do I need to make so that the cache no longer causes problems?
June 24, 2025 at 11:05 am #17164419
Marcel Supporter Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) German (Deutsch ) Timezone: Europe/Madrid (GMT+02:00)	Hi, Could you please try re-syncing the variations as described in the following guide and let me know if it resolves the issue? Resync Product Variations – WPML Support Guide Best regards, Marcel
June 26, 2025 at 12:26 pm #17173445
annetteW-3	Hi Marcel, thank you for your reply! But that is not the problem. I have often done what you describe. It fixes the problem, the product variations are then synchronized again. But this only works temporarily. As soon as a German version is purchased again, the link from the English version to the German version disappears and then the English version is no longer visible and purchasable in the frontend. However, this cannot be the solution if I have to do this manually several times a day so that visitors to the English website can buy the products. There has to be a permanent solution here. As I said in my first post, I suspect the cache is the culprit. However, deactivating the cache cannot be the solution either. But I don't quite understand how the cache can cause the link in the backend to break? Is something not synchronized properly after a purchase? Could it be, for example, that the stock level is reduced after a purchase in the German version and the next check reveals that the English version does not have the same stock level as the master product and therefore breaks the link? We use the WooCommerce JTL-Connector plugin to load products from the merchandise management system (JTL Wawi) into WooCommerce. Could this have something to do with it? I have attached a picture where you can see how the linking is broken for the English product. Thank you very much in advance! In case it is interesting: I use Elementor Pro and the Hello Elementor theme
June 26, 2025 at 2:45 pm #17174310
Marcel Supporter Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) German (Deutsch ) Timezone: Europe/Madrid (GMT+02:00)	Hi, As soon as a German version is purchased again, the link from the English version to the German version disappears and then the English version is no longer visible and purchasable in the frontend. To investigate this properly, please create a Duplicator package before running the option and another one after the purchase. This will allow us to compare the database tables and identify any changes. We can only provide a reliable solution if the issue is reproducible — the Duplicator packages will be very helpful in this process. From what I can see, it doesn’t seem to be cache-related. However, you can easily rule that out by temporarily disabling your cache. There’s also a chance the issue is related to the JTL-Connector. If possible, please test the process without it to see if the problem persists. Best regards, Marcel
June 27, 2025 at 5:39 am #17175724
annetteW-3	So did I understand correctly that I should send you a complete copy of my website? I could provide a backup that I create via my hoster. I would send a copy now before the synchronization, then a copy after the synchronization (where everything is as it should be) and then again a copy after a purchase, when the link from English to German product is no longer given. How can I make the copies available to you?
June 27, 2025 at 2:33 pm #17177899
Marcel Supporter Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) German (Deutsch ) Timezone: Europe/Madrid (GMT+02:00)	Hi, Yes, with a site copy we’ll be able to debug the issue locally. However, please don’t send a full backup. Instead, create a site package using tools like Duplicator or All-in-One WP Migration. This allows you to exclude media files, keeping the package lightweight and speeding up our deployment process by having database adjustments automated. A copy of the site before and after the purchase is sufficient, so we can reproduce the issue ourselves. The easiest way to share the files is via WeTransfer or any other file-sharing or cloud storage service. Best regards, Marcel
July 10, 2025 at 11:52 am #17223654
annetteW-3	Addition: Please note the article Hand warmer (hidden link which is german "Handwärmer"). Here I bought the single, 10-pack and 30-pack versions in the German store. They are no longer linked in the English store (in the export after-purchase)
July 11, 2025 at 4:50 pm #17229098
Marcel Supporter Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) German (Deutsch ) Timezone: Europe/Madrid (GMT+02:00)	Hi, Thanks for the details. I’ll run some tests and get back to you if I find anything. Best regards, Marcel
July 16, 2025 at 10:40 am #17241366
Marcel Supporter Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) German (Deutsch ) Timezone: Europe/Madrid (GMT+02:00)	Hi, There seems to be an issue with the site copy. Purchasing any package (such as the 5-pack) isn't possible in the original language. The following message appears even after a product option has been selected: Bitte wähle unter Handwärmer Produktoptionen aus. Have you encountered this issue before? It works correctly when WPML is deactivated. However, when WPML is active, the issue only disappears if the Variation Swatches for WooCommerce plugin is deactivated. A similar case was mentioned in the German WPML forum in the past. However, I wasn’t able to reproduce the issue on my end. I successfully completed the order process for both the 5- and 10-pack, and they remained functional in the secondary language. This suggests the problem might be related to a third-party plugin conflict — JWT was active during my test. Would you be able to try reproducing the issue on a staging site with all third-party plugins disabled? Best regards, Marcel Best regards, Marcel