How to Set Up a Coupon Code in Astra WooCommerce: A Beginner’s Guide
So, you’re running an online store powered by WooCommerce and the fantastic Astra theme? Great choice! Now, you want to offer coupon codes to boost sales, reward loyal customers, or attract new ones? You’ve come to the right place. This guide will walk you through setting up your first coupon code in WooCommerce using the Astra theme, even if you’re a complete beginner.
Imagine this: it’s Black Friday, and you want to offer 20% off all purchases. Or maybe you want to reward customers who’ve been subscribed to your newsletter for a month. Coupon codes are the perfect way to achieve these goals.
Why Use Coupon Codes?
Before we dive in, let’s quickly cover why coupon codes are a powerful tool for your online store:
- Increase Sales: Discounts and special offers incentivize customers to buy. Who doesn’t love a good deal?
- Attract New Customers: Offer a “Welcome” coupon for first-time buyers.
- Reward Loyalty: Provide exclusive coupons to existing customers.
- Clearance Sales: Quickly move slow-moving inventory.
- Track Marketing Campaigns: Use unique codes to track the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. If a code like “SUMMER2024” is used often, you know that campaign is working!
- Reduce Cart Abandonment: Offer a small discount to customers who are about to abandon their Read more about How To Remove Showing 1 Of 30 On Woocommerce Page cart.
- `SPRING20` (for a Spring discount)
- `NEWCUSTOMER` (for first-time buyers)
- `NEWSLETTER` (for newsletter subscribers)
- Percentage discount: A percentage off the total order (e.g., 20%). This is very common.
- Fixed cart discount: A fixed amount off Check out this post: How To Add Additional Information In Woocommerce the total cart (e.g., $10 off).
- Fixed product discount: A fixed amount off specific products (e.g., $5 off each “Awesome T-Shirt”).
- If you chose “Percentage discount” and want to offer 20% off, enter `20`.
- If you chose “Fixed cart discount” and want to offer $10 off, enter `10`.
- If you chose “Fixed product discount” and want to offer $5 off each qualifying product, enter `5`.
- First, I go to WooCommerce -> Coupons
- Next, I click “Add coupon”.
- In code, I enter FIRST30
- As discount type, I enter Percentage discount.
- As coupon amount, I enter 30.
- I go to the “Usage limits” tab, and fill “Usage limit per coupon” with value 30.
- I go to the “Usage limits” tab, and fill “Usage limit per user” with value 1.
- Finally, I click Publish!
- Use Astra’s header and footer builder to display coupon codes prominently. Create a banner announcing your latest offer with the coupon code.
- Incorporate coupon codes into your product descriptions and category pages.
- Use Astra’s blog layout options to create blog posts announcing your coupons.
Getting Started: Accessing the Coupons Section
First, you need to log in to your WordPress dashboard. This is usually located at `yourwebsite.com/wp-admin`.
Once logged in:
1. Navigate to WooCommerce in the left-hand menu.
2. Click on Coupons.
You’ll be greeted with a page that lists your existing coupons (if any) and a button to add a new one.
Creating Your First Coupon Code
1. Click the “Add coupon” button. This will open the coupon creation page.
Configuring Your Coupon
Now, let’s fill in the details for your new coupon.
1. Coupon Code: This is the code customers will enter at checkout. Choose something easy to remember and relevant to your offer. For example:
WooCommerce can also generate a code automatically if you leave this field blank, but a custom code is generally better for marketing.
2. Description (Optional): Add a brief description for your own reference. This is not visible to customers. For instance: “20% off Spring Sale.”
Setting the Discount Type and Amount
This is where you define the kind of discount you’re offering.
1. Discount type: WooCommerce offers three types:
2. Coupon amount: Enter the discount amount based on the type you selected. For example:
3. Allow free shipping: Tick this box if the coupon includes free shipping. This will only work if you’ve already set up free shipping options in WooCommerce.
4. Coupon expiry date: Set an expiry date for the coupon. This creates a sense of urgency and encourages customers to use the coupon before it expires. “Offer ends soon!” is a powerful marketing message.
Usage Restriction Tab
This tab lets you control how and when the coupon can be used.
1. Minimum spend: Set a minimum order amount required to use the coupon. For example, set it to $50 if you want the coupon to only work on orders that are $50 or higher.
2. Maximum spend: Set a maximum order amount on which the coupon applies. This is less commonly used.
3. Individual use only: Check this box if you don’t want the coupon to be combined with other coupons.
4. Exclude sale items: Check this box if you don’t want the coupon to apply to products that are already on sale. Prevent double discounts!
5. Products: Specify which products the coupon can be applied to. Start typing the product name, and WooCommerce will suggest matches.
6. Exclude products: Specify which products the coupon cannot be applied to.
7. Product categories: Limit the coupon to specific product categories.
8. Exclude categories: Exclude certain product categories from the coupon.
9. Allowed Emails: You can add the email addresses to which you want to grant access to use the coupon.
Usage Limits Tab
This tab controls how many times the coupon can be used.
1. Usage limit per coupon: Set the total number of times the coupon can be used across all customers. For example, set it to 100 if you only want the first 100 customers to be able to use the coupon.
2. Limit usage to X items: Set the number of individual items to which this coupon can be applied when using the “Fixed product discount” type of coupon.
3. Usage limit per user: Set the number of times a single customer can use the coupon. For example, set it to 1 if you only want each customer to use the coupon once. This helps prevent abuse.
Publishing Your Coupon
Once you’ve configured all the settings, click the “Publish” button to make the coupon live.
Example Code Scenario
Let’s imagine we are selling a course on Udemy. I want to provide discount for 30 people with code “FIRST30”.
Important Considerations with Astra
Astra itself doesn’t directly affect how WooCommerce coupons work. However, you can leverage Astra’s customization options to promote your coupons effectively:
Testing Your Coupon
Before you start promoting your coupon, it’s essential to test it thoroughly:
1. Add a product to your cart that meets the coupon’s criteria (e.g., minimum spend, specific product).
2. Go to the checkout page.
3. Enter the coupon code in the “Coupon code” field and click “Apply coupon”.
4. Verify that the discount is correctly applied to the order total.
If the coupon doesn’t work as expected, double-check your settings and ensure that you haven’t made any mistakes.
Conclusion
Setting up coupon codes in WooCommerce with the Astra theme is a straightforward process. By following these steps, you can create and manage coupons to attract new customers, reward loyal customers, and boost your sales. Remember to test your coupons thoroughly before promoting them to ensure they work correctly. Happy selling!
