Can't Change Woocommerce "Thank you" message

Question

I've tried to edit the thankyou.php file in woocommerce to include some new text, but it keeps on showing the default message. I am not familiar with what anything means in php, but this is what I've been trying:

<?php
/**
* Thankyou page
*
* @author       WooThemes
* @package  WooCommerce/Templates
* @version     2.2.0
*/

if ( ! defined( 'ABSPATH' ) ) exit; // Exit if accessed directly

if ( $order ) : ?>

<?php if ( $order->has_status( 'failed' ) ) : ?>

    <p><?php _e( 'Unfortunately your order cannot be processed as the originating bank/merchant has declined your transaction.', 'woocommerce' ); ?></p>

    <p><?php
        if ( is_user_logged_in() )
            _e( 'Please attempt your purchase again or go to your account page.', 'woocommerce' );
        else
            _e( 'Please attempt your purchase again.', 'woocommerce' );
    ?></p>

    <p>
        <a href="<?php echo esc_url( $order->get_checkout_payment_url() ); ?>" class="button pay"><?php _e( 'Pay', 'woocommerce' ) ?></a>
        <?php if ( is_user_logged_in() ) : ?>
        <a href="<?php echo esc_url( get_permalink( wc_get_page_id( 'myaccount' ) ) ); ?>" class="button pay"><?php _e( 'My Account', 'woocommerce' ); ?></a>
        <?php endif; ?>
    </p>

<?php else : ?>

    <p><?php echo apply_filters( 'woocommerce_thankyou_order_received_text', __( 'Your shirt order has been received and will be at your doorstep in approximately 4 weeks. Thanks again for your support (and general badassery)!', 'woocommerce' ), $order ); ?></p>

    <ul class="order_details">
        <li class="order">
            <?php _e( 'Order:', 'woocommerce' ); ?>
            <strong><?php echo $order->get_order_number(); ?></strong>
        </li>
        <li class="date">
            <?php _e( 'Date:', 'woocommerce' ); ?>
            <strong><?php echo date_i18n( get_option( 'date_format' ), strtotime( $order->order_date ) ); ?></strong>
        </li>
        <li class="total">
            <?php _e( 'Total:', 'woocommerce' ); ?>
            <strong><?php echo $order->get_formatted_order_total(); ?></strong>
        </li>
        <?php if ( $order->payment_method_title ) : ?>
        <li class="method">
            <?php _e( 'Payment method:', 'woocommerce' ); ?>
            <strong><?php echo $order->payment_method_title; ?></strong>
        </li>
        <?php endif; ?>
    </ul>
    <div class="clear"></div>

<?php endif; ?>

<?php do_action( 'woocommerce_thankyou_' . $order->payment_method, $order->id ); ?>
<?php do_action( 'woocommerce_thankyou', $order->id ); ?>

<p><?php echo apply_filters( 'woocommerce_thankyou_order_received_text', __( 'Your shirt order has been received and will be at your doorstep in approximately 4 weeks. Thanks again for your support (and general badassery)!', 'woocommerce' ), null ); ?></p>

Answer 1

The best way to do this would be to filter the WC thank you message:

add_filter( 'woocommerce_thankyou_order_received_text', 'd4tw_custom_ty_msg' );

    function d4tw_custom_ty_msg ( $thank_you_msg ) {

        $thank_you_msg =  'This is your new thank you message';

    return $thank_you_msg;
}

Answer 2

Perhaps your theme is overriding your thank you template file. As a general rule you should never edit the plugin directly. Instead move the thankyou.php to your theme. Move this file to wp-content/themes/yourtheme/woocommerce/checkout/thankyou.php. More information it the documentation here.