The subscription-based business activity has changed both the way customers purchase and its profitability for companies. Nowadays, clients opt for convenience and uniformity- be it content streaming such as Netflix or monthly beauty subscriptions, or high-end online groups.
Subscriptions help businesses have a steady revenue source, an improved client retention strategy, and a chance to establish long-term relationships with their brand.
Yet, to have an efficient business using the subscription model, it is important to select the corresponding platform.
WooCommerce is one of the popular solutions in the market among several solutions. But the question is, does WooCommerce really offer the best platform to manage subscriptions?
This is an in-depth guide that will look deep into the functionality of WooCommerce, what makes it good, and what its limitations are in managing subscription business.
What Exactly is a Subscription-Based Business?
Fundamentally, a subscription-based business allows a customer to pay a monthly or periodic price to use a product or service indefinitely.
This could be in the form of digital goods, such as e-learning products and SaaS applications, or in brick-and-mortar items such as meal kits or grooming supplies.
Some companies go a step further and merge the two together, having memberships that choose to provide not only exclusive content but deliveries as well.
The advantage of the model is that it is predictable, and customers would be loyal. They also form long-term relationships in which individuals become not 1-time buyers but rather continual revenue generators.
To control this, you need a platform that will support recurring payments, automate renewals, control billing cycles, and provide customer flexibility to upgrade or cancel their plan.
Why WooCommerce is Considered for Subscription Businesses?
WooCommerce is a free (open-source) eCommerce based on WordPress and, therefore, immensely customizable. WooCommerce offers all the control you have over your design, data, and functionality, unlike the SaaS platforms that provide a closed environment.
This is particularly attractive to those companies that do not want only a straightforward subscription plan. The WooCommerce subscriptions extension is the real power of WooCommerce in subscriptions.
This premium plugin implements all the needed functionality related to recurring billing and plan management and makes WooCommerce a pretty good contender on the subscription market.
The Key Advantages of Using WooCommerce for Subscriptions
Flexibility is one of the greatest felicitous things about WooCommerce that businesses like so much about the platform. In contrast to hosted platforms, where you have to work in a specified template and fixed features, WooCommerce enables you to make any customization to your store.
You are able to come up with simple recurring products, provide free trials, establish sign-up charges, or allow customers to transfer between plans prorated. This degree of control is not easily topped.
A more significant advantage is the smooth infiltration with WordPress. When there is a premium content aspect, such as courses, gated blogs, or a community, WooCommerce is a natural fit.
It enables you to seamlessly knit commerce with content, something that platforms such as Shopify or standalone billing tools can not achieve without contortions.
Many businesses have cost as a determining factor. As compared to enterprise-level subscription-based services such as Chargbee or Recurly, WooCommerce is much cheaper.
You are charged to host, cover the WooCommerce Subscriptions extension, and other add-ons you require, making it an appropriate scalable solution to small- and medium-sized businesses.
Finally, WooCommerce allows you to possess all data. Your client information, accounts records, and purchase data stay in your database rather than in a third-party system.
To the businesses, this degree of independence is essential to those ventures that cherish the element of privacy and abhor lock-in by vendors.
Unlock subscription growth with WooCommerce today
Pooja Upadhyay
Director Of People Operations & Client Relations
What You’ll Need to Run Subscriptions on WooCommerce
It is necessary to add that WooCommerce is not a fully featured subscription platform out of the box. The correct tools should be acquired so that you are able to suit your needs. You will at least need:
- WooCommerce Core.
- WooCommerce Subscriptions- to charge users regularly.
- A Tokenization Payment Gateway – like Stripe or PayPal to tokenise automated renewals.
Depending on your business model, you might also require:
- Restricted-content or premium-access membership plug-ins.
- Recurring deliveries shipped integrations.
- Dunning tools to manage the failed payments and decrease churn.
- Taxation management services that allow built-in compliance in various jurisdictions.
- Recurring revenue, churn, and customer lifetime value analytics plugins.
Strengths of WooCommerce for Subscription Businesses
WooCommerce excels in several areas when it comes to running subscription businesses:
Full Control Over the Customer Experience: All aspects of your subscription process- sign-in and checkout flow, email messages, and customer account- can be customized to reflect your brand identity.
WooCommerce will also allow you to create a unique experience that suits your vision, unlike other platforms where only limited customization is possible.
Flexibility for Complex Subscription Models: Complicated subscription configurations are Uncertain, whether you are offering monthly and annual plans, bundle products, or a hybrid membership with both physical and digital benefits.
WooCommerce can deal with everything. Such latitude is an immense benefit when your business model is not simple.
Global Payment Options: WooCommerce has many payment gateways, including country-specific providers.
This is especially vital in case you have customers in various countries or have to offer local payment procedures.
Cost Efficiency Compared to Enterprise Solutions: Enterprise billing systems are heavy-duty and also costly.
WooCommerce has offerings cheaper than those of Shopify and does not forgo critical functionalities.
Challenges and Limitations You Should Consider
WooCommerce cannot be perfect, and it is necessary to realize its weaknesses before making a decision.
Maintenance Responsibilities: Maintenance tasks and uptakes, which include manually updating, setting up security patches, or carrying out backups or performance optimizations, are your responsibilities since the software is self-hosted.
Unless you happen to be a technically savvy individual, you will need the services of a developer or managed host provider.
Limited Advanced Billing Features Out of the Box: WooCommerce Subscriptions covers most typical needs, but when users need to comply with more complex needs, they have to resort to third-party tools or build out customization.
Hosting Requirements for Scalability: Your hosting has to be capable of supporting a large volume of users should that occur in the future. This increases expense and complexity.
How Does WooCommerce Compare to Other Platforms?
Off-the-shelf subscription solutions include WooCommerce, Shopify, and PayPal, and billing-first platforms like Chargebee and Recurly.
WooCommerce is the most flexible, but integrating content and maintenance is necessary.
The subscription app in Shopify offers convenience and flexibility, but it has limitations in customization, and it becomes costly due to the use of third-party apps.
Billing tools such as Chargebee are great at billing logic and financial management, but low at content storefront.
Is WooCommerce the Right Choice for Your Subscription Business?
That will depend on what is a priority to you. WooCommerce is a great alternative if you want to be able to customize, save money, and own your data.
It is specifically suited to membership sites, content-based companies, and hybrid systems where you have both physical and digital goods. However, a dedicated billing system, or a hosted platform like Shopify, may be more suitable, especially when you like to have as little maintenance as possible.
Final Thoughts
WooCommerce is an eCommerce platform through and through, but as a subscription platform, when used to leverage, it is a powerful platform.
It is extremely customizable, capable of scaling to meet your needs, and very cost-effective, making it an attractive option when starting a new business or when you are expanding. The pay-off is the release of the maintenance and optimization burden, although this may not be acceptable in numerous companies.
When you are willing to invest in creating a subscription solution that fits your brand and business objectives, WooCommerce can be a game-changer. AddWeb Solution helps companies to launch powerful, at-scale, and conversion-oriented subscription websites. Become a partner with us and leave your subscription idea to become a booming reality!
Discover the pros and cons of WooCommerce
Pooja Upadhyay
Director Of People Operations & Client Relations
