WooCommerce Subscriptions V5.1.2

WooCommerce Subscriptions

WooCommerce Subscriptions is a plugin for the popular eCommerce platform, WooCommerce. It allows store owners to sell products or services on a recurring basis, whether that be weekly, monthly, or annually. WooCommerce Subscriptions Plugin is a powerful tool for those who sell products that require ongoing payments, such as subscription boxes, digital memberships, or monthly services.

A subscription-based model will allow you to capture more residual revenue — and all you have to do is ship the orders.

WooCommerce Subscriptions Plugin : How it Works ?

WooCommerce Subscriptions works by extending the functionality of WooCommerce to include subscription-based products. To use the plugin, you’ll need to have a WooCommerce store set up, and you’ll need to install and activate the WooCommerce Subscriptions plugin.

Once the plugin is installed, you can create subscription products in the same way that you create regular products. To create a subscription product, you’ll need to set the product type to “Subscription” and specify the payment interval (e.g. weekly, monthly, or annually). You’ll also need to set the subscription price and any other relevant details, such as product variations or shipping options.

When a customer purchases a subscription product, they’ll be prompted to set up an account (if they don’t already have one) and choose a payment method. The payment method will be used to automatically deduct payments at the specified intervals, until the subscription is cancelled.

Store owners can manage subscriptions through the WooCommerce Subscriptions dashboard, which provides a range of tools for managing subscriptions, viewing reports, and communicating with customers.

WooCommerce Subscriptions Features :

• Free Trials & Sign-Up Fees
  Charge an initial amount to account for customer setup costs, or allow customers to try before they buy, by adding sign-up fees and free trials to any subscription product.
• Subscription Management
  Store owners get full-featured subscription management via the WooCommerce > Edit Subscription administration screen. You can suspend or cancel a subscription, change the trial expiration, add items, shipping, fees or taxes to the subscription or modify the recurring total for future payments.
• Synchronized Payments
  If you only want ship on certain days of the month, or align all customers to the same annual membership term, you can with WooCommerce Subscriptions’ renewal synchronization feature. You can even prorate the first payment of a synchronized subscription purchase.
• Flexible Product Options
  When creating a subscription product, you can make the product downloadable, virtual or physical, charge renewal payments weekly, monthly or annually, limit the product to one-per-customer and even charge shipping only on the initial order.
• Subscription Coupons
  Offer customers a discount on their monthly payments or just the sign-up fee. Subscriptions includes both recurring discount coupons and sign-up fee coupons.
• Variable Subscriptions
  Create variable subscription products and allow your customers to choose a subscription that suits their needs. You can even allow customers to choose their own billing schedule.
• Subscriber Account Management
  Your customers can also manage their own subscriptions. With the My Account > View Subscription page, subscribers can suspend or cancel a subscription, change the shipping address or payment method for future renewals and upgrade or downgrade their subscription.
• Upgrades/Downgrades
  Allow customers to upgrade, downgrade or cross-grade between different subscription products. With flexible proration options for the recurring amount, sign-up fee and length, you can also customize the costs of switching to a new subscription product to suit the needs of your store.
• Multiple Subscriptions
  Your customers can also purchase different subscription products in the same transaction and Subscriptions will group the products to reduce the payment gateway fees and logistical overhead for their future renewals.
• Customer Emails
  Automatically notify customers when a subscription renewal payment is processed, a subscription is cancelled or when a subscription has expired with the built-in subscription emails.

Setting up WooCommerce Subscriptions Plugin :

To set up WooCommerce Subscriptions, you’ll need to follow these steps:

1. Install and activate the WooCommerce Subscriptions plugin.
2. Create a subscription product by setting the product type to “Subscription” and specifying the payment interval and price.
3. Set up the payment gateway that you want to use for subscriptions (e.g. PayPal, Stripe, or Authorize.net).
4. Set up any necessary subscription reports or email notifications.
5. Test the subscription purchase process to ensure that everything is working as expected.

Let’s take a closer look at each of these steps.

Step 1: Install and activate the WooCommerce Subscriptions plugin

The first step in setting up WooCommerce Subscriptions is to install and activate the plugin. You can do this by navigating to the “Plugins” section of your WordPress dashboard, and clicking “Add New.” From there, you can search for “WooCommerce Subscriptions” and click “Install Now” to install the plugin.

Once the plugin is installed, click “Activate” to activate it on your site.

Step 2: Create a subscription product

Once the plugin is activated, you can create a subscription product by following these steps:

1. Navigate to the “Products” section of your WordPress dashboard.
2. Click “Add New” to create a new product.
3. Set the product type to “Subscription” by selecting “Subscription” from the dropdown menu in the “Product Data” section.
4. Specify the payment interval (e.g. weekly, monthly, or annually) in the “Subscription Price” section.
5. Set the subscription price and any other relevant details, such as product variations or shipping options.
6. Save the product.

Once the subscription product is created, it will be available for purchase on your WooCommerce site.

Step 3: Set up the payment gateway

To accept payments for subscriptions, you’ll need to set up a payment gateway that supports recurring payments. WooCommerce Subscriptions is compatible with a range of payment gateways, including PayPal, Stripe, and Authorize.net.

To set up a payment gateway, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the “WooCommerce” section of your WordPress dashboard.
2. Click “Settings.”
3. Click the “Payments” tab.
4. Choose the payment gateway that you want to use (e.g. PayPal or Stripe).
5. Follow the on-screen instructions to set up the payment gateway.
6. Save the payment gateway settings.

Step 4: Set up subscription reports and email notifications

WooCommerce Subscriptions includes a range of reports to help you track subscription performance. To set up these reports, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the “WooCommerce” section of your WordPress dashboard.
2. Click “Reports.”
3. Choose the report that you want to view (e.g. “Subscription Reports”).
4. Configure the report settings as necessary (e.g. date range).
5. View the report.

To set up email notifications, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the “WooCommerce” section of your WordPress dashboard.
2. Click “Settings.”
3. Click the “Emails” tab.
4. Choose the email notification that you want to configure (e.g. “Subscription Renewal Reminder”).
5. Configure the email settings (e.g. subject, message).
6. Save the email settings.

Step 5: Test the subscription purchase process

Once you’ve set up the subscription product, payment gateway, and email notifications, it’s important to test the subscription purchase process to ensure that everything is working as expected.

To test the purchase process, follow these steps:

1. Visit your WooCommerce site.
2. Find the subscription product that you created.
3. Add the subscription product to your cart.
4. Proceed to checkout.
5. Set up an account (if necessary) and choose a payment method.
6. Complete the purchase.
7. Monitor the subscription in the WooCommerce Subscriptions dashboard to ensure that payments are being deducted as expected.

WooCommerce Subscriptions is a powerful tool for anyone who sells products or services on a recurring basis. With features such as automatic payments, subscription management, customer communication, and payment gateway integration, WooCommerce Subscriptions makes it easy to set up and manage subscription-based products on your WooCommerce site.