How to Make a Subscription E-commerce Website

The subscription-based e-commerce site is a key feature to ensure the success of any online business. No matter how small your business is, someday, it will grow eventually. 

And, a subscription-based e-commerce site for your products and services can boost the speed of that growth. With a subscription-based e-commerce site, you can manage a group of customers in a professional manner and constantly try to improve customer satisfaction. Moreover, if you have a subscription-based e-commerce site, you don’t need to worry about new customers, instead, you can focus on the current subscribers to satisfy them and make a wave of recurring income. You might not know how exactly a subscription e-commerce site works. In that case, take Netflix who offers digital content to the subscribers and doesn’t need physical shipping or Dollar Shave Club, who also uses a subscription system but uses physical shipping to deliver Shaving products as examples. Subscription e-commerce can be ideal for any type of product from digital media to beauty products. It works perfectly to boost the business if done right. However, the point is how do you make a subscription e-commerce site?

There isn’t just one answer to make a subscription e-commerce site. There are lots of options, different platforms, and systems available to get it done. However, there are some of the key concepts you must take care while choosing any of the methods to make your subscription e-commerce site. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Security: As a business owner, protecting customer’s data is your top priority. So, make sure to choose a secure way to make a subscription e-commerce site.

• Costs: If you are a small or medium business owner, you must evaluate the cost of different packages and choose the best one that fits your business.

• Capabilities: Different subscribers have different choices, some may want to pay yearly while some are willing to do monthly subscriptions. Make sure that your system has these types of capabilities.

If you already have a Shopify or WooCommerce website, you can find an application or extension to make your existing website a subscription-based e-commerce site. 

And, if you are going to make it from scratch, there are lots of web-developers, website-builders and third-party subscription companies available. All you need to do is choosing the best service that suits your products. Here are some of the well-known services that can be used to make a complete site for your business:

• WooCommerce: WooCommerce is a subscription extension that can be used on WordPress site. It supports more than 25 payment gateways. And the perfect combination of WordPress and WooCommerce lets you make a highly customizable site and allows you the complete control of your website.

• Shopify: Shopify is the most used platform for e-commerce purposes. Though Shopify doesn’t have the proper built-in feature to make a complete subscription site, there are lots of apps and teams available such as egenz to make secure and affordable subscription sites. The best thing about using Shopify is you don’t have to pay for any transactions. Moreover, the custom application integrates well with the Shopify theme design. There are also some interesting extra features like referral systems, bulk imports and shipping carrier integrations available on Shopify.

• LemonStand: LemonStand is a complete subscription suite without having to install any third-party applications. By choosing LemonStand, you don’t need to worry about finding subscription services because they have integrated everything you need for your business and the plans start with $19 per month. People who want everything to manage from one platform, LemonStand will be the ideal solution for them.

• WordPress/MemberPress Plugin: The final solution for a subscription site is the MemberPress plugin offered by WordPress. MemberPress is a standalone plugin that integrates with your existing WordPress website. As with WooCommerce, MemberPress involves installing an extra plugin and configuring it from scratch. The setup isn’t all that bad, and you get features like coupons, user accounts, membership controls, reminders, and pretty much everything you would need for a subscription site.

To wrap things up, here is what you need to do to make a successful subscription site:

• Choose the best platform to make your business website.
• Make sure to find the best service package compatible with both websites and businesses.
• Find the best application or extension for the subscription system regarding cost and security.
• Launch your site earlier than the products.

And finally, start interacting with your subscribers.

After going through all the above, if you start wondering about why your business needs a subscription e-commerce site, keep in mind that having 3000 customers who pay $50 per month is far low riskier than having 50 customers who pay $3000 once to purchase your services. A subscription makes the recurring income for your business which is constant and constant growth is the best solution to move forward even if the amount is small. However, that doesn’t mean all you need is to launch a subscription e-commerce site for your business and you are done. To make progress while you have the best environment ready for the customers, here are some tips to achieve success:

• Create a business plan. Even though companies like Netflix make it easy to create a subscription business, don't be tempted to launch a business on a whim. Do the market research for your products and services and write a solid plan.

• Create a website with a clean and professional design. Consumers won't just hand over their sensitive information such as credit card or payment details for recurring charges for a product that has a sketchy website.

• Know your target audience well. Market to those who are mostly interested in the products or services you offer. The theme of your business should "fit" into the current market.

• Determine how you will provide value to your customers while still creating a profit. Start interacting with the subscribers from the start and leave a feedback option for them. It will help you to understand what they want. Ask yourself some questions such as: Will you buy the products as a consumer? Are you impressed with the services offered comparing with the competitors in the current market? These questions will help you to improve customer relationships and product satisfaction.

• Carefully determine the pricing of your products. While it may seem smart to keep your price as low as possible, you don't want to price yourself out of offering really excellent products.

Making a successful subscription e-commerce site is a fairly complicated and important choice as it’s one that strongly impacts your day-to-day business and far more complicated to change later. Fortunately, most of the platforms mentioned above offer free trials. You can start using any of those to determine the exact solution to make a subscription e-commerce site.