Create WooCommerce Coupons: A How-to Guide

Coupons are one of the most effective ways to attract customers, recover abandoned carts, and encourage repeat purchases. Most online shoppers actively look for discounts before completing a purchase, and WooCommerce makes it straightforward to create and manage them right from your dashboard.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to create coupons in WooCommerce step by step, cover the different coupon types available, and show you how to go beyond the basics with Smart Coupons for WooCommerce by WebToffee.

WooCommerce coupons are discount codes that customers can apply at checkout to reduce their order total. They’re one of the most widely used promotional tools in eCommerce — and for good reason. Most online shoppers actively search for a discount before completing a purchase, and offering a coupon at the right moment can be the difference between a completed order and an abandoned cart.

As a store owner, coupons give you a flexible way to run time-limited promotions, reward loyal customers, target specific products or categories, and recover hesitant buyers. WooCommerce includes a built-in coupon system that lets you create and manage discount codes directly from your WordPress dashboard.

Before creating your first coupon, it helps to know which type fits your goal. WooCommerce offers three default coupon types:

Coupon Type	How It Works	Example
Percentage discount	Applies a percentage-based discount to the order or selected products	10% off a $100 order = $10 discount, customer pays $90
Fixed cart discount	Applies a flat discount to the entire cart	$20 off a $150 order = customer pays $130
Fixed product discount	Applies a fixed discount to each eligible product in the cart	$5 off per item × 3 eligible items = $15 total discount

These are the coupon types available in WooCommerce by default. Third-party plugins like Smart Coupons for WooCommerce unlock additional types — BOGO coupons, store credits, giveaway products, and more.

First, we will show you how to create a new coupon on your WooCommerce store using the default options available in WooCommerce.

Step 1: Create a New Coupon Code

• Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
• Go to the Marketing tab from the sidebar menu and select Coupons.`
• In the Add new coupon page, enter a coupon code.
• You can click on the Generate coupon code button to create a unique coupon code.
• Then add a short description for the coupon code.

Step 2: Choose the Discount Type

• Under the Coupon data settings, choose Percentage discount as the discount type.
• Enter a value for the coupon. For this guide, we will choose 35 percent discount.
• Then, set the coupon expiry date. You can choose a date for the coupon to automatically expire, or leave it blank.

Step 3: Set Usage Restrictions for the Coupon

Go to the Usage restriction tab under Coupon data. This is where you control who can use the coupon and under what conditions.

• Minimum spend: Set the minimum cart value required to apply the coupon
• Maximum spend: Restrict the coupon to orders below a certain value
• Individual use only: Prevent the coupon from being combined with other coupons
• Exclude sale items: Stop the coupon from applying to products already on sale
• Products: Limit the coupon to specific products only
• Exclude products: Prevent the coupon from applying to certain products
• Product categories: Restrict the coupon to specific product categories
• Exclude categories: Omit certain categories from the discount
• Allowed emails: Limit coupon usage to specific customer email addresses
• Product brands: Apply the coupon only to selected brands
• Exclude brands: Prevent the coupon from applying to certain brands

Step 4: Set Usage Limits

• Go to the Usage limits tab.
• Usage limit per coupon: Set the total number of times this coupon can be used across all customers
• Usage limit per user: Limit how many times a single customer can apply the coupon

Step 5: Publish the Coupon

Once all settings are configured, click Publish to make the coupon live on your store.

Step 6: Test the Coupon

Before promoting the coupon, test it to make sure it works as expected.

1. Go to your store’s shop page and add a qualifying product to the cart
2. Proceed to checkout
3. Enter your coupon code in the coupon field
4. Verify that the correct discount is applied to the order total

If the discount doesn’t apply, double-check your usage restrictions; the most common cause is a minimum spend requirement or a product exclusion that the test order doesn’t meet.

And, that’s it! You have successfully created a percentage coupon on your WooCommerce store.

Now, we will look at the different types of WooCommerce coupons.

The default WooCommerce coupon system covers the basics well, but it has limits. If you want to run more targeted or automated campaigns, Smart Coupons for WooCommerce by WebToffee is a powerful upgrade available in both free and premium versions.

Smart Coupons extends WooCommerce’s built-in coupon functionality with features like auto-applying coupons to eligible carts, scheduling coupon start dates, restricting coupons by shipping method, payment method, user role, or customer location. You can also add giveaway products that are automatically added to the cart when a coupon is applied, and create flexible BOGO (Buy One Get One) deals with custom trigger conditions and reward options.

Whether you want to simplify the redemption experience for customers or build complex, rule-based promotions for specific audiences, Smart Coupons gives you the control and flexibility to do it — without custom code.

Creating coupons in WooCommerce is a simple yet effective way to attract customers, increase conversions, and encourage repeat purchases. With the built-in coupon options, you can quickly set up basic discounts like percentage-based offers, fixed cart discounts, and product-level coupons, making it easy to get started even if you are new to WooCommerce.

As your store grows, however, your promotional needs may go beyond basic coupon rules. This is where advanced tools like WebToffee Smart Coupons for WooCommerce come in. From advanced usage restrictions and checkout-based conditions to giveaway products and flexible BOGO offers, Smart Coupons gives you the control and flexibility needed to run more targeted and scalable coupon campaigns.

Whether you want to keep things simple or build complex promotional strategies, WooCommerce provides a solid foundation. Start with the default coupon features, and when you’re ready to level up your discount campaigns, Smart Coupons can help you unlock even more possibilities for your WooCommerce store.