Implementing subscription services in WooCommerce: a step-by-step guide

• By Admin
• Feb 06, 2025
• 35

WooCommerce allows you to add subscription-based products to your eCommerce store. This robust business model provides a steady monthly income flow. Besides, you can maintain good customer relations by automating the billing system through different pricing tiers that satisfy customer preferences. 

WooCommerce's subscription service enables you to sell both physical and digital products through various plugins. In this article, we’ll guide you through the step-by-step process of setting up subscription services in WooCommerce. As a result, you’ll enhance customer loyalty and generate recurring revenue. 

 

What is the WooCommerce Subscription Model?

Subscription-based business models are gaining popularity over traditional payment options. A prime example is online streaming services and software memberships, which use this model. It helps customers enjoy their products or services with payment flexibility and allows store owners to generate continuous revenue. 

WooCommerce subscription gives you a vast option of products and services with recurring payment options, including: 

• Physical Products: Monthly subscription boxes, curated product bundles, or replenishable goods like coffee or skincare items.
• Digital Products: Premium digital content, eBooks, or stock photos.
• Memberships & Services: Exclusive clubs, online coaching, or software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms.
  

 

The wooCommerce subscription model reduces the churn rate and maintains a steady cash flow. It creates a win-win situation for both store owners and the subscribers. 

Benefits of Offering Subscription Services

WooCommerce subscription can be a game changer option for online business due to the following benefits:

Better Customer Retention: Mostly, people subscribing to a service or product remain loyal to a brand. So, you can build a great relationship with your customers with a proper value proposition.

Up-selling and Cross-selling: WooCommerce subscription makes your online store an ideal platform to create premium tiers. Plus, you include add-ons and complementary products, which boost the average order value. 

Greater Inventory Management: Recurring orders help you understand your customers' preferences and trends. As a result, you can avoid resource waste and keep your supply appropriately. 

Increased Customer Lifetime Value: Rather than being one-time customers, subscribers are typically willing to pay more for your goods or services. 

Powerful Brand Engagement: Subscribers go through regular interactions that keep the brand identity intact and on top of mind. So, you get the chance to maintain a better reputation for your brand alongside customer relations. 

WooCommerce subscription offers a strategic advantage that secures your income stream and loyal customer base. 

Prerequisites for Setting WooCommerce Subscription 

Your WooCommerce store has to be ready and equip the necessary settings before setting up a WooCmmerce subscription. Here are the things that you’ll need: 

WooCommerce Installed and Configured: Make sure your WordPress site is ready with a fresh installation of WooCommerce. It adds all the eCommerce functionality and the subscription method. 

A Subscription Management Plugin: Up next, you need a WooComerce subscription plugin. This will enable the subscription service for products, payment handling, and billing automation. 

A Payment Gateway: Now, your store needs a payment gateway that supports recurring payments. Select a payment gateway that accepts recurring payments, such as Stripe, PayPal, or Authorize Net. 

SSL Certificate: Security is essential when it comes to securing your entire customer data.  This is where an SSL certificate is necessary for encrypting transactional information. 

Smooth Subscription Strategy: Clearly define all your offerings, pricing plans, and billing intervals for a seamless payment method. The subscription process will be smoother when you are aware of your objective. 

You can proceed to set up your WooCommerce subscription method after completing all the prerequisites. So, let's take your WooCommerce store to the next level.

Step-by-Step Guide to Implementing Subscription Services

Adding a WooCommerce subscription service to your eCommerce store is not a complex task. You simply need the right tool and guidance, which involves the following steps:

Install and Activate the WooCommerce Subscriptions Plugin

The first step is to install the WooCommerce Subscriptions plugin. This powerful tool extends WooCommerce’s functionality, enabling you to create and manage subscription products.

• Go to your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Plugins > Add New. Now, search the YITH WooCommerce Subscription plugin. This is a free plugin that most users prefer. 

• Then, install and activate the plugin on your dashboard.

• You’ll get a new menu item, YITH, that will appear in your WordPress dashboard.

Configuring Subscription Settings

After activation, you need to configure the plugin settings to match your business needs.

• Go to Settings and  Navigate to YITH > Subscription from the WordPress dashboard.

• Set General Subscription Options:

• Enable or disable subscriptions.

• Define subscription renewal frequency (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly).

• Allow users to pause, cancel, or renew their subscriptions manually.

• You can manage stocks for recurring payments. 

• Configure Payment Methods:

• Ensure your WooCommerce store has a compatible payment gateway (Stripe, PayPal, etc.) that supports recurring payments.

• Navigate to WooCommerce > Settings > Payments and enable subscription payments.

Creating Subscription Products

Now, you have to create subscription-based products on your WooCommerces store. 

• Add a New Product:

• Go to WooCommerce > Products > Add New.

• Enter the product title, description, and images.

• Select Product Type:

• Scroll down to the Product Data section.

• Choose tick mark the Subscription and select simple or variable product depending on whether you offer different pricing plans.

• Define Subscription Details:

  • Go to Subscription settings and set the billing interval (e.g., every month, every year).

  • Set the subscription price and renewal frequency when the subscription ends (if applicable).

  • You can apply subscription limits on your products. 

 

• Scroll up and click Publish to make the subscription product live on your store.

Test the Subscription Process

No, you can test the subscription product after setting up the subscription. 

• Add the subscription product to your cart and proceed to checkout.

 

 

• Complete the purchase using a test payment method.

• Verify that the subscription is created and recurring payments are set up correctly.

 

Customize Subscription Emails and Notifications

You need to customize the settings of the WooCommerce subscription plugin to keep subscribers informed and engaged. 

• Go to WooCommerce > Settings > Emails.

• Customize automated emails for subscription events, such as renewals, cancellations, or payment failures.

Manage Subscription Plans and User Access

Create multiple subscription tiers like basic, pro, and custom to offer more flexibility to your customers. 

• Customize the plugin to create different subscription levels with varying benefits and pricing.

• Restrict access to specific content, products, or features based on the subscription tier. 

• Now, access control for subscribers can be automated by utilizing WooCommerce’s user role management.  

Test Your Subscription Workflow

You need to go through a test transmission before going live with a WooCommerce subscription. 

• Test the entire process, starting with sign-up and ending with cancellation.
  Check for any errors in payment processing, email notifications, or access restrictions.

• Gather feedback from a small group of users to identify and fix potential issues.
  

Now that your WooCommerce subscription is ready, let's learn the best practices for managing it. 

Best Practices for Managing Subscription Services

Launching the WooCommerce subscription is just the first step in taking your store to the next level. Long-term success will come if you can properly maintain your subscription service with best practices. Here are some recommendations:

Monitor Subscription Performance

Monitor the following key metrics to analyze the performance of your WooCommerce subscription:

• First of all, you should use analytics tools after setting up the WooCommere subscription. This will help you measure growth renewal rates and cancellation ratios. 

• Then comes customer behavior, which you need to understand to learn why they stay or leave.

• Regularly review the insights for data-driven making that will improve your offerings. 

Offer Flexible Billing Options and Discounts

Your billing option should be flexible and include the following elements: 

• There should be multiple billing intervals (e.g., monthly, quarterly, and yearly) to satisfy different customer requirements.

• Offer discounts for long-term commitments, such as a 10% discount for annual subscriptions.

• Customers should be able to upgrade, downgrade, or pause their subscriptions effortlessly.

Provide Exceptional Customer Support

The customer support for your WooCommerce subscription service should focus on the following features: 

• The support system should be dedicated to subscription-related queries. Therefore, customers should get focused support for billing issues or plan changes.

• Include chatbots and easy-to-understand FAQs to address customers' queries quickly.

• Train your support team to answer subscription-specific queries. It is difficult to handle subscription-specific concerns with empathy and efficiency.

Regularly Update and Optimize 

Update and optimize WooCommerce subscription plans with the following steps: 

• Regularly collect subscriber’s feedback to understand their needs and pain points.

• Add trending features, products, or benefits to keep your offerings fresh and relevant.

• Test numerous pricing strategies and include features to structure the subscription offering. This will help you find the most appealing combination.

Automate Reminders and Payment Recovery

Your subscribers should always get reminders about subscription renewal and payment recovery. Take the following steps to implement reminder and recovery automation:

• Set up automated email reminders before subscription renewals to reduce sudden service cancellations. 

• Implement failed payment recovery management. This helps customers to get repayment options and notifications about payment issues.

• Offer multiple payment methods to minimize failed transactions.

Create a Community Around Your Subscription

You can expand your subscriber list by creating a community around it with the following steps:

• Craft exclusive content, forums, or events for subscribers. This will boost their sense of belonging to your brand.

• Encourage subscribers to share feedback and ideas about your subscription packages. They will feel valued when you make changes according to their preferences.

• Use social media or newsletters to keep subscribers engaged and informed about updates.

Some of the Best WooCommerce Subscription Plugins

There are several Subscription plugins available apart from the WooCommerce subscription plugin. These plugins will give you more options to add to your subscription model: 

WooCommerce Subscriptions

WooCommerce Subscriptions are the most popular and flexible option for managing subscription services. The plugin easily integrates with your store and offers essential features for creating and managing recurring payments.

Key Features:

• Create flexible subscription products with daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly billing.

• Offer free trials, sign-up fees, and discounts to attract customers.

• Automate recurring payments with supported gateways like Stripe and PayPal.

• Manage subscriptions easily with tools for pausing, canceling, or upgrading plans.

• Generate detailed reports to track revenue, churn rates, and subscriber activity.

YITH WooCommerce Subscriptions

YITH WooCommerce Subscriptions is a user-friendly plugin that simplifies the process of creating and managing subscription-based products. It’s ideal for businesses looking for a lightweight yet powerful solution.

Key Features:

• Create unlimited subscription plans with customizable billing cycles.

• Allow customers to pause, resume, or cancel subscriptions from their accounts.

• Support for multiple payment gateways, including Stripe, PayPal, and Authorize.net.

• Offer trial periods and discounts to encourage sign-ups.

• Monitor subscription performance with detailed analytics and reports.

Subscriptions for WooCommerce 

Subscriptions for WooCommerce by WP Swings is a cost-effective solution for adding subscription functionality. It’s easy to set up and offers a range of features to manage recurring payments and subscriptions.

Key Features:

• Create simple or variable subscription products with flexible billing intervals.

• Enable free trials, sign-up fees, and discounts to attract subscribers.

• Automate recurring payments with supported gateways like PayPal and Stripe.

• Customers can manage their subscriptions (pause, cancel, or upgrade) from their accounts.

• Track subscription performance with built-in reporting tools.

Final Words 

Setting up a WooCmmersce subscription is more than just automating the recurring payment option. It gives you the chance to create customer relations by delivering exceptional service that motivates customers to come back. 

This guide not only gives you the steps to implement it but also gives you suggestions to optimize it. Also, you have some amazing tools at your fingertips, which gives you limitless opportunities. Now it's your turn to enable the service and refine your offering to create a subscription-powered success story.