How to sell subscriptions in WooCommerce online store?

 How to sell subscriptions in my WooCommerce online store?

Although subscriptions are a common payment model, many of the e-Commerce tools do not include it in their default options. In the case of WooCommerce for WordPress, the subscription purchase model is not present and you must add a plugin to add this feature.

Fortunately, like other WooCommerce plugins , WordPress allows you to add plugins to add subscriptions on your website for the sale of your products or services. In this way, your client can pay a recurring fee to access your services or products continuously until the end of the subscription. This model can offer your clients benefits in hiring or a lower cost in the long term.

Some examples of subscriptions beyond Netflix or Spotify, are Birchbox , guapabox (beauty), ponteloopas (lenses), comefruta , degustabox (power), frankietheking (pet), lamuda , Justfab (fashion), vinopremier (wines) , La Vanguardia , El País or elPeriódico (press) and many others. The business model is very similar, the client selects the appropriate package and the form of delivery and payment, monthly or weekly, all with a flat rate until the client cancels the subscription.

Subscription-based birchbox.es example

How to add subscriptions to WooCommerce?

WooCommerce developers themselves offer two plugins to cover this subscription need on your website: WooCommerce Subscriptions and WooCommerce Memberships. Although there are also other alternatives that you should evaluate. Let's review the options:

WooCommerce Subscriptions

Ideal for a digital press, software as a service (SaaS) or any other product or service that requires charging recurring fees.

Using an official WooComerce plugin is the best way to ensure that your website integrates seamlessly with a subscription plugin. In addition, this solution includes a variety of functions that will allow you to create any type of subscription service that you want to sell, whether physical or virtual. It will also allow you to manage free trial periods and expiration dates, in addition to integrating seamlessly with practically all payment gateways . With this plugin, the client can also easily manage his subscription whenever he sees fit.

This plugin has a cost of $ 199 per year that will guarantee maintenance and updates on your website. More information and download: WooCommerce Subscriptions .

WooCommerce Memberships

Unlike the “WooCommerce Subscriptions” solution, in this case Membership is ideal for charging one-time registration fees. You cannot use this plugin to collect recurring payments. You will only be able to charge membership fees once upon registration.

To create recurring membership payments, you will need to use the two plugins together (WooCommerce Subscriptions + WooCommerce Memberships). WooCommerce Memberships individual license is also $ 199 per year. More information and download: WooCommerce Subscriptions .

Alternatives to WooCommerce subscriptions

    There are alternatives to the own solutions offered by WooCommerce developers, which also add subscription options to your WordPress website with or without WooCommerce, some of them are:

• ·         Yith Woocommerce Subscription: Yith integrates seamlessly with WooCommerce facilitating automatic renewal of subscriptions on expiration dates and compatible with PayPal and Stripe payment gateways. It includes a reminder system by sending an email to subscribers. It also notifies about the renewal of expired cards, among others. There is a free license and another with advanced functions for € 129. More information and download: Yith Woocommerce Subscription .
• ·         Memberpress: Useful for membership, this plugin offers some features that even WooCommerce tools don't include, such as restricted access management, member forums or coupon management. The basic annual license is $ 149. More information and download: Memberpress .
• ·         Paid Memberships Pro: Another solid membership option that stands out for the ease of integrating with many other systems or plugins such as WooCommerce, BuddyPress (forums), Constant Contact, Mailchimp ( Email Marketing ), PayPal, Authorize.Net, Braintree, 2Checkout, CyberSource , PayFast, CheckGateway, Stripe ( payment gateways ) and more. The annual license is $ 297. Paid Memberships Pro .
• ·         S2Member: The free version of S2Member covers all basic membership needs. However, the paid version is required to integrate other payment gateways other than PayPal, as well as other advanced functions. The basic license is a one-time payment of $ 89. More information and download: S2Member .

Conclusion

Using the best subscription solution that suits the needs of your business and your website is key and it is important to choose the correct tool from the beginning, since once your users are subscribed it will be difficult to migrate subscriptions to another system, especially if you also change the payment gateway. The safest way is to use some of the WooCommerce solutions, which will guarantee proper updates and integration with WordPress and WooCommerce, but it will depend on your business and technology needs.