WooCommerce Subscriptions: Everything You Need to Know

by Octavia D | Apr 30, 2023 | Business

More than 23% of all eCommerce stores are built on WooCommerce — and if you’re among those who’ve chosen this as the platform for your online shop, you know there are plenty of benefits for using it. From the freedom to customize your store to the low cost and easy access, WooCommerce provides many advantages. And if you’re now looking to add more features to your store and generate recurring income, WooCommerce subscriptions are a great — and easy to implement — idea.

How to do it? What are some of the most important things to know about WooCommerce subscriptions?

We’re diving into this topic right here — read on and find out more.

Contents

Why Do You Need WooCommerce Subscriptions?

There are many reasons you may need WooCommerce subscriptions. Some of the most common ones include:

You want to offer subscriptions for your products or services
You want to provide customers with more flexible payment options
You want to create a recurring revenue stream
You want to build customer loyalty and increase retention
You want to offer tiered subscriptions or discounts for long-term customers

The good news? Getting started with WooCommerce subscriptions is easy.

How to Create WooCommerce Subscriptions

The easiest way to create WooCommerce subscriptions is by installing a WooCommerce subscriptions plugin. Just like with every other WordPress plugin, all you have to do is search for the plugin in your WordPress dashboard, install it, and activate it.

Once you have the plugin installed, you can start setting up your subscriptions. The best plugins will provide you with access to a number of features, such as:

Creating different types of subscriptions
Allowing customers to manage their own subscriptions
Sending out payment reminders or notifications
Generating reports and tracking the performance of your subscriptions
Integrating with other payment gateways
Integrating with email marketing software to help you sell more

Top 3 WooCommerce Subscriptions Plugins

There are many WooCommerce subscription plugins out there, but here are some of the best ones:

Ultimate Membership Pro

OK, we may be biased here, but Ultimate Membership Pro offers a pretty wide range of features to help you build a subscription-based eCommerce store on WooCommerce. Essentially, our plugin allows you to:

Create tiered plans
Integrate with the most popular payment processors
Integrate with the most popular email marketing tools
Generate custom reports and track subscription performance
Offer discounts and coupons for recurring customers
Block access to any type of content on your site (just in case you want to sell digital products)

And all for a one-time price of $59/ month. For an additional $149/ year, you can get access to 40 premium add-ons as well, but overall, the base product will help you get going with WooCommerce subscriptions in no time.

Just to give you an idea of how easy it is to work with Ultimate Membership Pro, take a look at these quick tutorials on how to:

Subscriptions for WooCommerce by WebToffee

WooCommerce Subscriptions by WebToffee is an easy-to-use product that allows you to create subscriptions for your physical or digital products, with the option to choose between simple and variable subscriptions. It supports synchronized renewal with prorate options and multiple billing schedules.

You can also offer a free trial and signup fee, as well as recurring subscription discounts and email notifications. The product enables you to synchronize subscription product dates to a specific day of the month, and is fully compatible with multiple payments gateways. Overall, WooCommerce Subscriptions is a convenient and effective tool for managing subscriptions for your online store — especially if you aren’t looking for something extremely advanced.

Pricing for WebToffee starts at $89/ year (for one site) and gets as high as $199/ year (for up to 25 sites.)

WooCommerce Subscription by WooCommerce

This is the official WooCommerce subscription plugin, and its main goal is to allow you to create and manage subscriptions directly in your WooCommerce dashboard, without having to install any third-party plugins.

The plugin is a good choice for more basic WooCommerce subscriptions, but if you’re looking for something a bit more complex and want to scale your store at some point, it may not be the best choice.

The price for WooCommerce Subscriptions is $19.92/month, billed at $239/ year.

WooCommerce Subscriptions Ideas for eCommerce Owners

Want to integrate subscriptions in your WooCommerce store, but you’re out of ideas? Here are 30 ideas you can use to bring recurrent revenue into your eCommerce business:

Subscription snacks (for a grocery store)
Subscription books (for an online bookstore)
Subscription plants (for a flower shop)
Subscription pet supplies
Subscription art supplies
Subscription coffee beans
Subscription monthly box of craft supplies
Subscription tea/coffee delivery service
Subscription local fruit boxes
Subscription access to fitness training (if you sell fitness equipment or supplements)
Subscription meal plans (if you sell food products)
Subscription access to streaming video content related to your niche
Subscription clothes, shoes, and accessories
Subscription access to cooking classes
Subscription monthly wine, beer, and cocktails
Subscription home décor items
Subscription access to online courses and webinars related to your niche
Subscription access to premium content on your website (think magazines)
Subscription monthly box of art, photography, or design materials
Subscription beauty and skin care products
Subscription home cleaning services
Subscription access to virtual events related to your niche
Subscription consultation related to your niche

Essentially, you can turn your business into a subscription-based one, regardless of what, more specifically you sell. If it’s online and if it’s something people use on a regular basis, they may be interested in getting it effortlessly, with a subscription service — or they may be interested in getting additional content to help them make the most of your products.

5 Tips for a Successful WooCommerce Subscription Business

WooCommerce subscription businesses can be extremely successful. However, like with every other type of business, there are things you can do to ensure your success:

Create a Comprehensive Pricing Model

Your pricing model should be clear, easy to understand, and as attractive as possible. Consider offering discounts or free shipping if you can, and give people the option to choose between different subscription lengths.

Make the Checkout Process Quick and Easy

This is an essential part of any successful subscription business — you need to make sure it’s easy and intuitive for people to sign up. So, focus on making sure your checkout process is as quick and frictionless as possible.

Make Customer Service a Priority

Provide your customers with the best possible customer service and make sure to respond to their inquiries quickly. This is essential for building trust and loyalty.

Focus on Retention

Retention is key when it comes to growing a successful subscription business, so make sure to focus on retaining customers and engaging them with your product or service.

Offer Upsells

Upsells are an excellent way to increase revenue and motivate people to stay with your subscription service. Offer upsells as often as possible, or offer discounts for longer subscriptions.

These are just some of the tips for creating a successful WooCommerce subscription business. If you follow these steps, you should be able to have a successful subscription business in no time.

Conclusion

WooCommerce subscription businesses can be extremely successful, and there are plenty of opportunities for entrepreneurs to tap into the growing demand. While the technical side (getting your WooCommerce subscriptions up and running) is an easy job (one you can do without coding), it is worth mentioning that WooCommerce subscriptions are not magic — you still need a solid business strategy, marketing (whether through organic content, ads, email, social media, or a combination thereof), and clear, straightforward goals and metrics to follow.

Other than that, WooCommerce subscriptions can open the door to a whole new world of opportunities for your eCommerce store: recurring revenue, loyal customers, and a more reliable income stream. So, if you’re looking for a way to boost your business’s profitability subscriptions on WooCommerce are more than worth a try!