Subscriptions are one of the best ways to gain a stable income from your website. You can start receiving regular payments as soon as a customer signs up. However, you\u2019ll need to use the right payment solution. The wrong tool can make it harder for customers to sign up, reducing your potential revenue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fortunately, WordPress has made implementing recurring payments pretty simple. There are two primary methods you can use to start receiving these payments. Both options, Stripe<\/a> and WooCommerce<\/a>, are easy to set up once you know how to get started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this article, we\u2019ll talk about why you should use recurring payments and how they work. We\u2019ll then detail how to set them up via two methods. Let\u2019s get going!<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n Small businesses and websites can use recurring payments to streamline their payment processes. Recurring payments automate the process of billing and collecting monthly or yearly fees. This can reduce the administrative work you have to do, letting you focus on other parts of your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most importantly, recurring payments help to keep your cash flow more stable. Products or services sold via one-time fees are more unpredictable, while this system ensures that you\u2019ll get smaller but more regular payments from your customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recurring payments can take various forms. However, at a basic level, they involve charging your customers a set amount at specific intervals. The \u2018renewal period\u2019 can be set to any length of time, such as a month, six months, or a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the end of each renewal period, your payment system will invoice, charge, and send a receipt to the customer. The system continues this process until the customer changes or cancels their subscription. If a payment fails, the system will typically notify you and\/or the customer so the problem can be addressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re accepting recurring payments on your WordPress website, you have a couple of options. We\u2019ll look at two of the best techniques you can use. The first option is to use a combination of the Stripe payment processor<\/a> and a WordPress plugin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you do not have a Stripe account yet, you\u2019ll first need to create one. On the Stripe website, hit the Start Now<\/em> button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ll need to provide your business email address, full name, and a strong password. You can then create and activate your account, following a few simple steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You may also need to provide additional information about your business. It\u2019s a good idea to add your bank account at this point, because Stripe recurring payments may take up to seven working days to verify it.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n To connect your Stripe account to your WordPress website, you can download the WP Simple Pay<\/a> plugin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can find and download this tool through the WordPress Plugin Directory, or from the Plugins<\/em> section of your dashboard. WP Simple Pay is free to use, although there is a pro version available<\/a> with additional features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After installing and activating WP Simple Pay, navigate to the plugin\u2019s settings. Then select the Stripe Setup<\/em> tab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Click on the Connect with Stripe<\/em> button, which will take you to Stripe and prompt you to log in. After doing so, you should be redirected to your website\u2019s Stripe Setup<\/em> tab. That\u2019s all you need to do to connect your Stripe account to WP Simple Pay. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can now create a form for your recurring payments. Navigate to Simple Pay<\/em> > Add New<\/em> to open a new form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are some tabs here with fields you\u2019ll need to fill out. After adding a title, you can customize payment options, tweak how the form will appear on the screen, and decide what it will display.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition, the Custom Form Options<\/em> tab lets you add new fields to your form as needed. The last tab is Subscription Options<\/em>, where you can set the renewal period and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To add your form to a page or post, you\u2019ll need to copy the shortcode that\u2019s provided when saving it. Then open up the page or post where you want the form to appear, and paste the code into a Shortcode<\/em> block.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are using the old WordPress visual editor, you can select the WordPress form you want to add, and then hit the Insert Payment Form<\/em> button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re already using WooCommerce<\/a> to run your online store (or thinking about doing so), that plugin can also be used to set up recurring payments. Let\u2019s look at how that works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To use WooCommerce for recurring payments, you\u2019ll need both the core plugin and the Subscriptions<\/a> extension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can download and install WooCommerce from the WordPress Plugin Directory if you haven’t done so already. Then, the Subscriptions add-on can be found in the Extensions<\/em> section of the plugin’s settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are not using WooCommerce already, you\u2019ll need to create a new account after activation. Fortunately, there\u2019s a simple wizard that takes you through entering your business details, shipping options, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can also set up your payment methods, which includes activating PayPal and\/or Stripe. If you do not have a Stripe account, you can ask WooCommerce to set one up for you. You will need to open your own PayPal account if relevant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After setting up the necessary tools, you can start adding your subscription products. Navigate to WooCommerce<\/em> > Products<\/em> > Add Product<\/em> to open the product editor. Each item should be given a unique name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the Product Data<\/em> section, select Simple Subscription<\/em> or Variable Subscription<\/em><\/a>. You can then enter the cost, frequency of billing, and length of the subscription.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other information can also be entered here as needed, such as free trial days and sign-up fees. After creating a subscription product, you can add it to your website the same way you would for any WooCommerce product<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n WooCommerce Subscriptions also has an administration page for managing your subscriptions. This page lists all of the subscriptions purchased on your site. You can find it under WooCommerce<\/em> > Subscriptions<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On this page, you can change the status of subscriptions and see their start dates. End dates and the dates of the next payments are also listed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, you are not limited to WP Simple Pay and WooCommerce for managing recurring payments. There are other methods you can use, such as PayPal and contact forms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n PayPal may be the simplest payment gateway to use, because your customers will generally be familiar with it. You can set up recurring payments in your PayPal account<\/a>, and avoid the need to add an extra plugin to your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are going to use a contact form, you will need to choose the right form provider<\/a>. Certain contact forms tools have payment extensions, such as WPForms Stripe Addon<\/a>. When you build your forms, you\u2019ll also need to make sure and request all the information needed to process payments.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Adding subscriptions to your eCommerce website can stabilize your income. However, you\u2019ll need to be able to receive recurring payments in WordPress first. You can set this feature up easily with WooCommerce Subscriptions<\/a> or WP Simple Pay<\/a> and Stripe<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While subscriptions can boost your income, however, you\u2019ll still need the right resources to support your eCommerce website. Here at WP Engine<\/a> we provide you with what you need for your site, leaving you with more time to focus on WordPress development<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Subscriptions are one of the best ways to gain a stable income from your website. You can start receiving regular payments as soon as a customer signs up. However, you\u2019ll need to use the right payment solution. The wrong tool can make it harder for customers to sign up, reducing your potential revenue. Fortunately, WordPress…<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":177,"featured_media":106228,"template":"","resource-topic":[905],"resource-role":[895,896,906,897,903,899],"resource-type":[916],"class_list":["post-106224","resource","type-resource","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Use Recurring Payments?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How Do Recurring Payments Work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Method 1: WP Simple Pay With Stripe<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Step 1: Create Your Stripe Account<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step 2: Download WP Simple Pay<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step 3: Connect Stripe and WP Simple Pay<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step 4: Create a New Form<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step 5: Add Your Form to a Post or Page<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Method 2: WooCommerce<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Step 1: Download the WooCommerce Plugin<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step 2: Create your WooCommerce Membership Account<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step 3: Create Subscription Products<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step 4: Manage Your Subscriptions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Recurring Payments: Other Methods<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Optimize Your eCommerce WordPress Site with WP Engine<\/h2>\n\n\n\n