How To Setup WordPress Woocommerce Monthly Subscription

Setting Up WooCommerce Monthly Subscriptions: A Beginner’s Guide

Want to create a recurring revenue stream and build a loyal customer base? WooCommerce Subscriptions is your answer! This powerful plugin lets you sell products and services on a subscription basis. In this guide, we’ll walk you through setting up monthly subscriptions step-by-step, even if you’re a total newbie. No coding experience required!

Why Subscription Models are Awesome

Think about services you use every month: Netflix, Spotify, your internet provider. These are all subscription models! Why are they so popular?

Predictable Revenue: Knowing you’ll get paid every month allows you to budget and plan better. Imagine a small coffee roasting business. Instead of relying on daily sales alone, they can offer a monthly coffee bean subscription. This guarantees a certain amount of income, helping them buy beans and pay bills.
Customer Loyalty: Subscriptions foster a stronger relationship with your customers. They become invested in your product or service over the long term. Consider a monthly “book box” subscription. Customers look forward to receiving curated reading material, building anticipation and loyalty.
Increased Customer Lifetime Value: You earn more money from each customer over time compared to one-off purchases. A software company selling a yearly license gains significantly more than selling a single-use version.
Easier Forecasting: Subscription data helps you predict future sales and plan inventory.

Now, let’s dive into the practical stuff.

Step 1: Installing WooCommerce and WooCommerce Subscriptions

First things first, you need to have WooCommerce installed and activated on your WordPress website. If you haven’t already, go to Plugins > Add New and search for “WooCommerce.” Install and activate it. Follow the on-screen setup wizard.

Next, you’ll need to purchase and install the WooCommerce Subscriptions plugin. It’s a premium plugin, meaning you need to buy it from the WooCommerce website: [https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-subscriptions/](https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-subscriptions/)

Once purchased, download the plugin’s ZIP file, then go to Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin on your WordPress site. Upload the ZIP file and activate the plugin.

Step 2: Creating Your First Subscription Product

Now for the fun part: creating your subscription!

1. Go to Products > Add New.

2. Give your product a name (e.g., “Monthly Coffee Bean Subscription,” “Premium Website Maintenance,” “Deluxe Beauty Box”).

3. Write a compelling product description highlighting the benefits of subscribing. Explain what customers will receive each month and why it’s worth subscribing. For example: “Enjoy a carefully curated selection of ethically sourced coffee beans delivered to your door every month. Discover new and exciting roasts from around the world!”

4. In the “Product data” dropdown, choose “Simple Subscription” or “Variable Subscription”.

Simple Subscription: For a single, fixed product or service.
Variable Subscription: If you want to offer different subscription options (e.g., different bean types, service tiers, or box sizes).

5. Configure the subscription settings:

Price: The monthly subscription price.
Billing Interval: How often the customer is billed (typically “1” for monthly).
Billing Period: “Month” (for monthly subscriptions).
Subscription Length:
Never Expires: The subscription continues indefinitely until cancelled. This is often a good choice!
Expires after [Number] [Billing Period(s)]: The subscription ends after a set period (e.g., 12 months).
Sign-up Fee: A one-time fee charged at the beginning of the subscription (optional). This could cover setup costs or initial materials.
Free Trial: Offer a free trial period (optional). This can entice customers to subscribe. For example, a 7-day free trial of a software service.
Sale Price: Set a sale price, the same as simple products.
Synchronization: A feature to synchronize renewal payments between customers (useful for products like boxes with same shipment schedules for everyone).

6. Set a Product Image. A high-quality image makes your subscription more appealing.

Example: Monthly Coffee Bean Subscription Settings

Product Name: Monthly Coffee Bean Subscription
Product Data: Simple Subscription
Price: $25.00
Billing Interval: 1
Billing Period: Month
Subscription Length: Never Expires
Sign-up Fee: $0.00
Free Trial: 0 Days
Product Image: A photo of different coffee beans or a bag of your brand’s coffee.

Step 3: Setting Up Recurring Payments

WooCommerce Subscriptions relies on a payment gateway that supports recurring payments. Popular options include:

Stripe: A widely used payment gateway with excellent support for subscriptions.
PayPal: Another popular option (requires the WooCommerce PayPal Payments extension).
Authorize.net: A reliable option for businesses needing specific features.

Important: Make sure you have correctly configured your chosen payment gateway with the correct API keys and webhooks. Follow the instructions provided by your payment gateway and WooCommerce Subscriptions documentation. This part can be a little technical, but most payment gateways have well-documented setup processes.

Step 4: Managing Subscriptions

WooCommerce provides tools to manage subscriptions:

WooCommerce > Subscriptions: View and manage all active subscriptions. You can change billing schedules, cancel subscriptions, and update customer information.
Customer Account: Customers can manage their own subscriptions from their account page (if enabled). They can change payment methods, cancel subscriptions, and view their subscription history.

Example: Cancelling a Subscription

If a customer contacts you to cancel their subscription, you can do so from the WooCommerce > Subscriptions page. Find the customer’s subscription, click on it, and then change the status to “Cancelled.”

Step 5: Customizing Your Subscription Experience (Optional)

WooCommerce offers various ways to customize the subscription experience:

Email Notifications: Customize the email notifications sent to subscribers. You can personalize the messages for signup confirmations, renewal reminders, and cancellation notices. This is crucial for communicating effectively with your subscribers. Go to WooCommerce > Settings > Emails
Subscription Renewal Reminders: Send email reminders before the subscription renews, giving customers a heads-up and reducing the risk of failed payments. This is especially helpful if customers use credit cards that may expire.
Discounts and Coupons: Offer discounts or coupons specifically for subscriptions. This can incentivize new sign-ups and reward loyal subscribers.
Dunning Management: Implement a dunning management strategy to automatically retry failed payments and send payment reminder emails. This can significantly reduce churn (the rate at which customers cancel their subscriptions). There are plugins available that automate this process.

// Example of a function to check if a product is a subscription
function is_product_a_subscription( $product_id ) {
$product = wc_get_product( $product_id );
if ( $product && is_a( $product, 'WC_Product_Subscription' ) ) {
return true;
}
return false;
}

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Payment Gateway Issues: Double-check your payment gateway configuration and API keys. Ensure that your payment gateway supports recurring payments.
Subscription Renewal Failures: Enable email notifications for failed subscription renewals. Implement dunning management to retry failed payments.
Customer Account Issues: Ensure that the “My Account” page is properly configured and that customers can access their subscription information.

Conclusion

Setting up WooCommerce monthly subscriptions might seem daunting at first, but with this guide, you’ll be well on your way to creating a recurring revenue stream and building a loyal customer base. Remember to focus on providing value to your subscribers, communicating effectively, and continuously improving the subscription experience. Good luck!