How to set up Subscriptions for WooCommerce

Subscription-based eCommerce business allows enterprises to build long-term, profitable relationships with customers. Forecasting of profit is easier with this model than any other since a subscription service goes into each month with a clear idea of how much profit one can expect with a constant source of incoming revenues,

Subscription Plugin for WooCommerce is one of the best plugins that can integrate a subscription model eCommerce into your online WooCommerce store efficiently.

This article elucidates the main features and how to successfully set up the WebToffee Subscription Plugin For WooCommerce.

Subscription-based eCommerce site provides its users with the choice to get their required products (Eg: common use items, Subscription boxes, Services, etc) set up in specified intervals(daily, monthly, yearly or seasonal).

Subscription plugin for WooCommerce is an ideal plugin for creating simple subscriptions in your store. Like any other WooCommerce product, you have the option to create Subscriptions out of physical, virtual or downloadable products. This plugin is compatible with most of the WooCommerce add-on plugins like WooCommece Membership plugin, Stripe, etc.

Once you have installed and activated this plugin, a new section will be made available in the WordPress menu titled WebToffee Subscription.

After installation of the plugin when adding new products to your WooCommerce store, you will get two additional product types in the Product data drop-down list as Simple subscription and Variable Subscription. When you select the product type as Simple Subscription, you will have options to state the subscription price, subscription interval, and subscription length.

By choosing the Variable Subscription product type, you can create Variable Subscription products with corresponding attributes and variations suiting your business requirement.

Under WooCommerce settings > WebToffee subscription tab, you can manage the text displayed on the front-end for My Account Tab Title, My Account Tab Text, Add to Cart Button Text and Place Order Button Text. Check the Allow mixed checkout tick-box, to enable subscription products and normal products to be purchased together.

After purchasing the Subscription Plugin For WooCommerce by WebToffee, the plugin will be available as a zip file in the API Downloads section of your MY ACCOUNT page.

1. Download the zip file from API Downloads by logging into your WebToffee MY ACCOUNTS page.
2. Log in as the WordPress Admin of your online store.
3. Navigate to Plugins > Add New to upload the downloaded plugin.
4. Choose the plugin file to upload.
5. Finally, activate the plugin.

Note: Please uninstall the basic version (in case you have it installed) prior to installing the premium version to avoid any conflicts.

Subscriptions for WooCommerce will add a new menu called “WebToffee Subscription” under the WooCommerce menu. There, you will find all the subscription orders.

Once you have installed and activated this plugin, a new section is available in the WordPress menu titled WebToffee Subscription.

To add subscription products to your WooCommerce store, navigate to Products > Add New from your WordPress dashboard. It will take you to the product editor where you can enter details about the product. 

Once you give the product name and the product description, select the Simple subscription from the Product data drop-down list.  

You have options to choose either virtual, downloadable or none of the two. Enable both virtual and downloadable boxes for an item, if you do not want to sell it as physical.

After you select this product type, under the General tab, you will have options to state;

• Subscription price:  Enter the price of the subscription, subscription/billing interval and period
• Subscription Length: Specify the time period after which the subscription automatically expires.
• Sale Price: In the case of a discount, you can enter the discounted price. Also, there is an option to schedule the sale according to the subscription period(day, week, month, year)

Adding Simple Subscription Products

After entering all the other details in the related fields(Inventory, Shipping, Linked products, Attributes and Advanced)just like the other products in WooCommerce, Publish the product and it will be visible on the product page.

Variable Subscription Products are those products where the subscription charges may vary due to some attributes such as color, license period, etc.`
Once you give the product name and the product description, select the Variable subscription from the Product data drop-down list.  

Click on the Attributes tab to add product attributes. You can specify the attribute which will vary the Subscription of the product. It can be anything from the color of the product to size, edition, license items, etc.

Adding Attributes to Products

After successfully adding the attributes, click on Save Attributes. The attributes created will be saved under the product name.

After creating Attributes, click on the Variations tab to create Variations to the product based on these attributes.

Adding Variation to Attributes

You can also select/add Product categories, Product tag and Product image, which can be seen on the right-hand side of the page.

After entering all the other details in the related fields(Inventory, Shipping, Linked products, Attributes and Advanced)just like the other products in WooCommerce, Publish the product and it will be visible on the product page.

Navigate to WooCommerce > Settings > WebToffee Subscription. This section helps you to manage the button text displayed on the Subscription listing page, Product page and Checkout page.

Manage text Section

 The Manage text section contains the following settings;

• My Account Tab Title: Specify my account tab title(as defined by you) button for the subscription listing page, which will be visible on the My Account page of your WooCommerce store.
• My Account Tab Text: Enter my account tab text(as defined by you) button for the subscription listing page.

Subscription My Account Listing Page

• Add to Cart Button Text: Enter the text to be displayed for add to cart button. Customers can see this button on the Product page of your WooCommerce store.
• Place Order Button Text: When an order contains a subscription, the text specified in this field will be displayed on the checkout page.

The Other section contains the following settings;

• Allow mixed checkout: Tick this check-box, to allow subscription products and normal products to be purchased together from your WooCommerce store.

Once all the required changes are made click Save Changes button.

Once all the required settings are done, the subscription products you added will be visible in your WooCommerce store along with the other products. Customers can now search and add the products they want to subscribe to their cart. Like any other normal WooCommerce products, the details along with the price will be listed on the product page.

To place an order, customers need to click on the product and select the number of products they want to order on the cart page and then click Proceed to checkout. In the checkout page, the shipping details and the method of payment can be mentioned. After a successful payment, you will receive the order and billing details.

Once the order is placed the related subscription can be viewed in the WebToffee Subscription section.

WebToffee Subscription page

The related order(Parent order and renewal order) details can be viewed on the Edit Subscription page.

Subscription Edit Page

The option to synchronize subscription renewals helps a great deal to manage and track subscriptions in your WooCommerce store, especially if your store has a large number of subscriptions. For enabling the synchronized renewal option:

• Go to WooCommerce > settings> WebToffee Subscriptions
• Enable subscription synchronization checkbox
• Click save changes

Read more

Synchronization of simple subscription

Synchronization of variable subscription

Settings for proration of the first payment

Below given are some of the main features of the WebToffee Subscription plugin.

• Display subscription products along with individual products on your Shop page. Your customers can choose to opt for a subscription according to their preference (based on the subscription plans that you set up). However, customers need to register on your store to initiate a subscription.
• Renew subscriptions automatically or manually. Please note, automatic renewals will be dependent on the payment gateway that you choose.
• Synchronize your subscription renewals for weekly, monthly, or yearly subscriptions and the option to choose proration of the first payment of the synchronized subscription.
• This plugin supports recurring payments. Since recurring payments are bound to repeat after completion of a billing cycle, Subscriptions for WooCommerce plugin makes sure a new order is placed as soon as the due date is reached.
• Allow customers to cancel their subscriptions from the ‘My Account’ page. Customers also have the option to change the shipping address if required.

Please check out the product page for more understanding of the plugin features.