WooCommerce Coupons: Adding a Start Date (The Easy Guide for Newbies)
So, you’re diving into the world of WooCommerce coupons? Awesome! They’re a fantastic way to boost sales, reward loyal customers, and run effective promotions. But maybe you want to schedule those awesome deals. That’s where setting a *start date* for your coupons comes in.
This guide is for the WooCommerce beginner who wants to understand how to add a start date to their coupons. We’ll skip the technical jargon and focus on the practical, so you can start using this feature like a pro in no time.
Why Use a Start Date for WooCommerce Coupons?
Think of it this way: You’re launching a flash sale for Black Friday, but you don’t want the coupon to be active *before* Black Friday. Or perhaps you’re running a week-long promotion that begins next Monday. Setting a start date is crucial for:
- Precise Timing: Ensures your coupons are only valid during the intended period.
- Promotional Planning: Allows you to prepare your marketing campaigns in advance without worrying about premature coupon usage.
- Avoiding Confusion: Prevents customers from trying to use coupons before they’re actually valid, leading to frustration.
Real-life example: Imagine you’re selling handmade jewelry. You’re offering a special 20% discount to celebrate your shop’s anniversary, but that anniversary isn’t until next week. You want to announce the coupon now, but you *don’t* want customers using it early. Setting a start date fixes that!
Adding a Start Date to Your WooCommerce Coupon: Step-by-Step
While WooCommerce itself *doesn’t natively offer a “start date”* feature, there are two reliable ways to achieve this functionality:
1. Leveraging the Expiry Date: This is the simplest and most commonly used approach.
2. Using a Plugin: When you need more advanced control, a plugin is your best bet.
Let’s explore each of these in detail:
1. The “Expiry Date” Trick: Your Built-In Solution
This method leverages the “Coupon expiry date” field to indirectly set a start date. We’ll set the expiry date far into the future, then *only promote the coupon from the date you want it to start*. It’s a little workaround, but it’s effective and requires no extra plugins!
Here’s how:
1. Log into your WordPress dashboard and navigate to WooCommerce > Coupons.
2. Create a new coupon or edit an existing one.
3. Fill out the general coupon details: Coupon code, description, discount type, and amount.
4. Go to the “Usage restriction” tab. Leave other fields untouched for a moment.
5. Now, the magic! In the “Coupon expiry date” field, select a date that is far into the future (e.g., a year from now or even longer). This ensures the coupon *could* be used until that date.
6. Save the coupon! (Click “Publish” if it’s a new coupon, or “Update” if you’re editing).
7. Don’t promote the coupon code until the date you want it to be active!
Reasoning: By setting a future expiry date, you’ve technically created a coupon that’s *always* valid (until that expiry date). The “start date” is then controlled by when you *choose* to release the coupon code to your customers.
Example: You want the coupon “SPRING20” to be valid starting March 1st, 2024.
1. Create the coupon “SPRING20”.
2. Set the expiry date to March 1st, 2025.
3. *Do not* advertise the coupon until March 1st, 2024. Start your email marketing campaign *on* March 1st, and only then will customers be able to successfully use the coupon.
2. Using a Plugin: For Granular Control
If you need more advanced features, like *automatically* activating a coupon on a specific date, a plugin is the way to go. There are several plugins in the WordPress repository that adds this functionality.
Here is an example of how to implement it using code, you can put this in your functions.php file (child theme):
/**
$start_date = get_post_meta( $coupon->get_id(), ‘_coupon_start_date’, true );
// If start date is not set, the coupon is valid
if ( empty( $start_date ) ) {
return $valid;
}
$current_time = current_time( ‘timestamp’ );
$start_date_timestamp = strtotime( $start_date );
if ( $current_time < $start_date_timestamp ) {
return false; // Coupon not yet valid
}
return $valid; // Coupon is valid
}
add_filter( ‘woocommerce_coupon_is_valid’, ‘is_coupon_valid_by_start_date’, 10, 2 );
/
* Add “Start Date” field to Coupon settings.
*/
function add_coupon_start_date_field() {
woocommerce_wp_text_input( array(
‘id’ => ‘_coupon_start_date’,
‘label’ => __( ‘Coupon Start Date’, ‘woocommerce’ ),
‘placeholder’ => ‘YYYY-MM-DD’,
‘description’ => __( ‘Coupon becomes valid on this date.’, ‘woocommerce’ ),
‘desc_tip’ => true,
) );
}
add_action( ‘woocommerce_coupon_options’, ‘add_coupon_start_date_field’ );
/
* Save “Start Date” field value.
*/
function save_coupon_start_date_field( $post_id, $coupon ) {
if ( isset( $_POST[‘_coupon_start_date’] ) ) {
update_post_meta( $post_id, ‘_coupon_start_date’, sanitize_text_field( $_POST[‘_coupon_start_date’] ) );
}
}
add_action( ‘woocommerce_coupon_options_save’, ‘save_coupon_start_date_field’, 10, 2 );
Important: Adding code snippets directly to your theme’s `functions.php` file can be risky. It’s always recommended to use a child theme or a custom plugin for custom code. If something goes wrong, it could break your entire site.
Reasoning: Plugins that handle coupon start dates offer a more controlled and automated approach. The `add_filter` for `woocommerce_coupon_is_valid` is the key: it intercepts the coupon validation process and checks if the current date is after the specified start date. If not, the coupon is considered invalid.
Conclusion
Adding a start date to your WooCommerce coupons is essential for effective promotion management. While you can use the “Expiry Date” trick for simple scheduling, a plugin provides a more robust and automated solution, especially if you need precise control over when your coupons become active. Choose the method that best suits your needs and start boosting your sales with perfectly timed promotions!
