How to Offer Free Downloadable Products in WooCommerce Using YITH Wishlist and a Little Code Magic
Offering free downloadable products is a fantastic way to attract new customers, build your email list, and generate leads. In this article, we’ll walk you through how to achieve this in WooCommerce, leveraging the popular YITH Wishlist plugin to incentivize downloads. While WooCommerce readily offers downloadable products, we’ll combine it with the YITH Wishlist plugin and a small code snippet to create a smooth, effective freebie-giving experience.
Why Use Free Downloadables and YITH Wishlist?
Before we dive into the how-to, let’s understand why this combination works so well:
- Lead Generation: Offering a valuable resource in exchange for an email address is a proven method for building your subscriber list.
- Increased Engagement: Freebies encourage users to interact with your website and explore your other products.
- Wishlist Power: Integrating the YITH Wishlist plugin adds a layer of engagement. Users might add your free download to their wishlist initially, and then be subtly nudged towards your paid offerings.
- Enhanced User Experience: We can customize the experience to feel less like a transaction and more like a reward for using the wishlist.
- Go to the “Downloadable files” section.
- Click “Add file.”
- Enter a “File name” (e.g., “SEO Checklist”).
- Click “Choose file” to upload your PDF, ebook, template, or other downloadable resource.
Setting Up Your Free Downloadable Product
First, let’s create the downloadable product in WooCommerce:
1. Go to Products > Add New: In your WordPress admin dashboard, navigate to the “Products” section and click “Add New.”
2. Enter Product Details: Give your freebie a descriptive title (e.g., “Free SEO Checklist for Beginners”). Add a compelling product description that highlights its benefits.
3. Set Product Data to ‘Simple Product’: In the “Product data” dropdown, select “Simple product.”
4. Mark Check out this post: How To Customize The Cross Sells In Woocommerce as Virtual & Downloadable: Check both the “Virtual” and “Downloadable” checkboxes. “Virtual” is generally applicable for downloadable products as there is no physical shipping involved.
5. Add the Downloadable File:
6. Set Download Limit and Expiry (Optional): Configure the “Download limit” and “Download expiry” as desired. You can leave these blank for unlimited downloads and no expiry.
7. Set Price to Free: Ensure the “Regular price” is set to 0.00. Crucially, ensure you have disabled the “sale price”.
8. Publish the Product: Click the “Publish” button to make your free download available.
Integrating with YITH Wishlist (And Why it’s Useful!)
YITH Wishlist is a fantastic plugin that allows users to save products they’re interested in. While not strictly *required* for a free download, we can leverage it for marketing:
1. Install and Activate YITH Wishlist: If you haven’t already, install and activate the YITH WooCommerce Wishlist plugin from the WordPress plugin repository.
2. Configure YITH Wishlist (Optional): Customize the wishlist button, position, and other settings in the YITH > Wishlist section of your dashboard to match your website’s branding. Pay particular attention to the button text.
The Code Snippet: Automatically “Adding” the Free Download to the Cart Upon Adding to Wishlist
This is where the magic happens. We’ll use a short code snippet to automatically add the free downloadable product to the cart when a user adds it to their wishlist. Read more about How To Make Delivery Zero In Woocommerce Important Note: This code snippet should be added to your theme’s `functions.php` file or, preferably, a custom plugin to avoid losing it during theme updates.
/**
// Replace ‘YOUR_PRODUCT_ID’ with the actual ID of your free downloadable product.
$free_product_id = YOUR_PRODUCT_ID;
// Check if the added product is the free downloadable.
if ( $product_id == $free_product_id ) {
// Add the product to the cart (if not already present).
$cart = WC()->cart;
if ( ! $cart->find_product_in_cart( $cart_item_key = false, $product_id ) ) {
$cart->add_product( $product_id, $quantity, $variation_id );
wc_add_notice( __( ‘Free download added to your cart!’, ‘your-text-domain’ ) ); // Optional: Display a notice
}
// Redirect to the cart page
wp_safe_redirect( wc_get_cart_url() );
exit;
}
}
add_action( ‘yith_wcwl_added_to_wishlist’, ‘auto_add_free_download_to_cart’, 10, 5 );
Explanation:
- `YOUR_PRODUCT_ID`: Explore this article on Woocommerce How To Setup Shipping Crucially, you need to replace this with the actual ID of the WooCommerce product you created as the free download. You can find the product ID on the product edit screen in the WordPress admin. Look for the “Post” ID in the URL bar (e.g., `post=123`).
- `add_action( ‘yith_wcwl_added_to_wishlist’, … )`: This hooks into the YITH Wishlist action that fires when a product is added to the wishlist.
- `$cart->find_product_in_cart(…)`: This checks if the free product is already in the user’s cart. We only want to add it once.
- `$cart->add_product(…)`: This adds the free product to the WooCommerce cart.
- `wc_add_notice(…)`: This displays a notice to the user, confirming that the free download has been added to their cart. You can customize the message. Remember to replace `’your-text-domain’` with your theme’s text domain for proper localization.
- `wp_safe_redirect( wc_get_cart_url() )`: This redirects the user directly to the cart page after the product is added, making the process seamless.
How to Use This Snippet:
1. Locate Your `functions.php` file: The `functions.php` file is located in your theme’s directory (e.g., `/wp-content/themes/your-theme/functions.php`). It’s highly recommended to use a child theme so that you can update the main theme without losing your changes.
2. Edit the File: Using a code editor or the WordPress theme editor (Appearance > Theme File Editor), open the `functions.php` file.
3. Paste the Code: Paste the code snippet at the end of the file, before the closing `?>` tag (if it exists). If there is no closing `?>` tag then add it at the end of the file.
4. Update `YOUR_PRODUCT_ID`: Replace `YOUR_PRODUCT_ID` with the actual ID of your free downloadable product.
5. Save the File: Save your changes to the `functions.php` file.
Important Considerations:
- Child Theme: Always use a child theme when making modifications to your theme’s files. This prevents your changes from being overwritten when you update your theme.
- Backup: Before editing any code files, always back up your website. This is crucial in case something goes wrong.
- Error Handling: If you encounter any errors, double-check your code for typos and ensure you’ve correctly replaced `YOUR_PRODUCT_ID`.
- Custom Plugin: An alternative to editing `functions.php` is creating a custom plugin. This is generally considered a cleaner and more maintainable approach.
Potential Drawbacks
While this method is effective, consider these potential drawbacks:
- Code Complexity: Requires basic coding knowledge or willingness to use code snippets.
- Dependency on YITH Wishlist: Your free download strategy becomes dependent on the YITH Wishlist plugin.
- Cart Management: Users might inadvertently end up with multiple copies of the free download in their cart if they repeatedly add it to their wishlist. The code snippet mitigates this, but careful testing is still required.
- Technical Issues: Compatibility issues with other plugins or theme updates can occur. Testing after updates is essential.
Conclusion
Offering free downloadable products is a powerful tool for lead generation and audience engagement in WooCommerce. By combining the inherent capabilities of WooCommerce downloadable products with the YITH Wishlist plugin and a short code snippet, you can create a seamless and rewarding experience for your users. Just remember to thoroughly test your implementation, use a child theme, and keep your code up-to-date to ensure everything runs smoothly. Good luck!
