Set up subscriptions so customers can buy the same product on a recurring basis.
Create subscription products to sell goods or services on a recurring basis. Subscription products are great for bringing in recurring, predictable revenue when selling:
- Packaged food and beverages customers order regularly
- Subscription boxes for cosmetics, and other health and beauty items
- Ongoing services, recurring fees, and maintenance packages
Subscribers save their checkout details and your store charges them automatically when their subscription renews. After you receive the order, you’ll fulfill it, and repeat that process for each renewal. Customers can cancel their subscriptions at any time, and you can view and manage subscriptions from the Contacts panel.
Tip: If you’re new to Squarespace Commerce, visit Getting started with Squarespace Commerce for more information about setting up your store.
Selling store page product subscriptions is only available on the Commerce Advanced plans. However, Selling Digital Product subscriptions is available on the Business and Commerce Basic plans.
Eligibility
To offer subscriptions, you need to:
- Be on the Commerce Advanced plan.
- Enable customer accounts.
- Sell physical or service products. It's not possible to create subscription download products or donations.
- Connect Squarespace Payments or Stripe. It's not possible to sell subscription products using PayPal, Apple Pay, or ACH payments.
Subscription product details
Keep in mind the following subscription product details and limitations:
- You can only create subscription products on the computer.
- You can't place test orders for subscription products until you upgrade to paid service.
- The option to turn a product into a subscription will appear on ineligible sites, but the option to save changes by clicking Apply only appears on eligible sites.
- In version 7.0, customer accounts work best on templates that automatically display a Sign In link. Version 7.1 automatically displays the Sign In link.
- It's not possible to create a free subscription product.
- It's not possible to set a stock limit for subscription products.
- If you change an existing product on your site into a subscription product, the quantity automatically changes to unlimited. The inventory number of the original physical or service product is lost.
- It's not possible to offer a product as both a one-time purchase and a subscription in version 7.0.
Create a subscription product
You can make any physical or service product a subscription. The way to create a subscription product depends on your site's version.
- Open the Pages panel and click a store page.
- Click + to add a new product, or click All and double-click an existing product to edit it.
- In the product editor, scroll to the Inventory section. Click Subscription.
- In the window that appears, select a purchase option. You can offer a product as a one-time purchase and subscription, or as a subscription only.
- Under Frequency, select a monthly or weekly subscription cadence. Subscriptions can renew as often as once every week, and as infrequently as once every twelve months based on the purchase date.
- To limit the number of renewals, click the Billing cycles dropdown menu and select Expires after. This is the number of payments subscribers will make and includes the initial purchase. For example, to offer a three-month-long subscription that renews every month, select repeats every 1 month, and set it to expire after 3 payments. Instead, you can select Never expires if the subscription will renew indefinitely.
- Click Add.
- If you selected the subscription only purchase option, click Apply.
- If you selected the one-time purchase or subscription option, you can enter a subscription discount to incentivize repeat purchases. This will add to any applicable product discounts you've created.
- Click Add.
- Click Save to save your changes and keep editing, or click Exit then Save to close the editor.
- When you're finished, you can add or edit other product details.
If you selected one-time purchase and subscription as the purchase option, you can add multiple renewal frequencies. On the Create subscription page, click Add frequency and repeat the steps above. To style the subscription frequency section, visit Styling store pages.
- Open the Pages panel and click a store page.
- Click + to add a new product, or click All and double-click an existing product to edit it.
- In the product editor, scroll to the Inventory section. Click Subscription.
- In the window that appears, enter a number up to 12 and select weeks or months from the drop-down menu to set the subscription frequency. Subscriptions can renew as often as once every week, and as infrequently as once every twelve months based on the purchase date.
- To limit the number of renewals, click the Billing cycles drop-down menu and select Expires after. This is the number of payments subscribers will make and includes the initial purchase. For example, to offer a three-month-long subscription that renews every month, select repeats every 1 month, and set it to expire after 3 payments. Instead, you can select Never expires if the subscription will renew indefinitely.
- Click Apply in the subscription settings window.
- Add or edit other product details.
- Click Save to save your changes and keep editing, or click Exit then Save to close the editor.
Subscription renewal details
Monthly subscriptions renew at the same time on the same day each month. If a monthly subscription starts on the 29th, 30th, or 31st, the renewal date will change when the renewal month doesn't have a corresponding date. For example, a monthly subscription started on August 31 will renew on September 30, and it will continue to renew on the 30th of each month until February. In February, it will renew on the 28th, and will continue to renew on the 28th indefinitely.
Weekly subscriptions renew at the same time on the same day each week. Depending on the customer's bank and when the renewal happens, the charge may appear a day or two after the renewal date that displays on their order confirmation.
Tip: Register for our Design tips to increase your store’s sales webinar where we’ll present tools and tips that you can use to help make your products stand out across your site and drive sales.
Enable subscription renewal notifications
You can enable subscription renewal notifications to send customers a renewal notification email 15 days before their renewal date. The email includes the name of the product, price, renewal date, cadence at which the subscription renews, and a link to log into their account and manage their subscription.
To enable renewal notifications:
- Open the Customer Notifications panel.
- Click Subscription orders, then click Subscription renewal.
- Turn the Send to subscribers toggle on.
Keep in mind, subscription terms of 11 or fewer weeks (if renewing weekly) or two or fewer months (if renewing monthly) aren’t eligible for renewal notification emails.
Fulfill a subscription renewal
When a customer’s subscription renews, you’ll receive a new order notification email with details about the order and the customer’s subscription. The order will display as Pending in the Products & services orders panel. To learn how to fulfill the order, add tracking information, and send the customer an order fulfilled notification, visit Fulfilling orders.
Edit a subscription product
To edit a subscription product, follow the steps in Editing products. Some changes will only apply to new customers.
To replace a subscription product, you can discontinue the subscription product. Then add a new product to your store.
Pricing
You can apply a price change to future customers or all customers:
- In the product editor, change the price.
- Click Save.
- In the window that appears, choose how to apply the price change. To limit the change to new customers, select Future subscription customers only. To apply the change to new customers and existing customer renewals, select All subscription customers.
- Click Apply.
If you apply your price change to all customers, existing subscribers will receive an email notifying them of the change. Price changes take seven days to go into effect. Subscriptions that renew within seven days of the price change will renew at the original price, and the change will apply to future renewals.
Changes to sale status, discounts, shipping, currency, and tax rules will only apply to new customers.
Renewal frequency
You can only apply a renewal frequency change to new customers:
- Open the Create subscriptions page.
- Click the ... icon beside the renewal frequency.
- Click Delete, then click Add frequency. This updates the options for new customers, but doesn't affect existing customer subscription renewals.
Apply new purchase settings to an existing subscription product
On version 7.1 sites, it’s now possible to offer a single product as both a one-time purchase and a subscription.
Previously, the only way to offer both purchase options for a product was to list it twice. If you set your store up this way before the new setting became available and you want to use it, you’ll need to add a new product to your store:
- Add a new product and apply the new subscription settings.
- Hide or delete the original subscription product to prevent future purchases. This won't affect existing subscriptions.
- Hide or delete the original one-time purchase product.
Manage a customer’s subscription
By default, subscriptions renew indefinitely. You may want to cancel a subscription, cancel a single order, or delay a subscription renewal.
Manage a customer's subscription from their customer account:
- Open the Lists & Segments panel.
- Click Customers.
- Find and click the customer whose subscription you want to cancel.
- In Customer Details, click the Recurring tab.
Customer subscription details include:
- Next order - The date of their next subscription renewal.
- Price - The subtotal of the next order, before any discounts that may apply.
- Frequency - How often their subscription is set to renew.
- Payments - Their progress toward completing a set number of subscription renewals.
Delay a subscription renewal
You may want to delay a subscription renewal if you need more time to replenish your inventory, or if a customer asks if they can delay an order. To delay a renewal:
- Click the subscription you want to delay.
- Click Reschedule order date.
- Select the new renewal date. You can't revert this change or switch to an earlier date.
- Click Save.
- Click Continue.
Delaying a customer's subscription renewal affects all future renewals. For example, if a subscription is set to renew on the first day of the month at 1:00 PM, and you delay it until the second, it will renew on the second day of the month at 1:00 PM indefinitely. Customers won't receive an automatic email about their delayed subscription. We recommend that you contact your customer to tell them about the renewal date change.
Cancel a subscription
If a customer asks to cancel future renewals, they can cancel their subscription from their customer account. To cancel the subscription for them:
- Click the subscription you want to cancel, scroll down, then click Cancel subscription.
- Click Confirm.
The customer will receive an email notification automatically. Canceling a subscription doesn't automatically cancel the most recent order, but you can cancel and refund the order separately.
To stop offering a subscription product altogether, discontinue the subscription product.
Cancel an order
Canceling is the best option to refund a single order but continue the subscription for future renewals. To cancel an order, visit Canceling, and refunding orders.
Tip: Add details about your subscription refund and cancellation terms to your store’s return policy.
How customers buy subscriptions
The way a subscription product displays in your live store depends on your site's version.
If you offer a product as both a one-time purchase and a subscription, customers can choose between these options on the product details page. When a customer selects Subscribe, they can click a dropdown menu to select the renewal frequency, if you offer more than one. If you added a renewal frequency discount, it displays in the dropdown menu. The option to subscribe will only appear for subscription-only products.
When customers click Subscribe to complete their purchase, they’re taken to express checkout, where they will confirm the order. Customers can only purchase one subscription product at a time and can't include other types of products in the transaction. To complete the transaction, the customer is asked to log in or create a new customer account, and then complete the check out process.
After the order processes, they receive an Order Confirmed email with their subscription details and information about how to manage their settings. By default, they only receive this email once. You can choose to send the order confirmation after every subscription renewal in your order email settings.
The credit card used to purchase the subscription is saved to the customer's account and will be charged for each subscription renewal payment.
If a customer cancels their subscription and later wishes to resubscribe, they use these same steps.
When a customer clicks Subscribe, they’re taken to express checkout to confirm the order. It's not possible to purchase a subscription product and other types of products at the same time. If your store accepts PayPal in addition to Squarespace Payments or Stripe, they can only check out with Squarespace Payments or Stripe for the subscription. To complete the transaction, the customer is asked to log in or create a new customer account.
After the order processes, they receive an Order Confirmed email with their subscription details and information about how to manage their settings. By default, they only receive this email once. You can choose to send the order confirmation after every subscription renewal in your order email settings.
The customer's account saves the credit card entered at checkout. This credit card is charged for the subscription's automatic renewal orders.
If a customer cancels their subscription and later wishes to resubscribe, they use these same steps.
How customers manage their subscriptions
Customers who buy subscription products can view and manage their subscriptions from their customer account. After logging in, they click My account, and then Subscriptions.
All subscriptions are listed in the Subscriptions section. Customers can click a subscription to view its details, including:
- The next order date
- Product price (excluding shipping and taxes)
- Subscription frequency
- Order history
- Saved billing and shipping information
If the subscription has a limited number of renewals, the panel also displays the number of payments left in the subscription.
To cancel the subscription, they click Cancel Subscription. You'll receive an email notification when a customer cancels their subscription. Canceling a subscription doesn't automatically cancel the most recent order. Customers will need to contact you separately to request a refund. Customers can't delay their subscription renewals, but you can do it for them.
To update their payment information or change their billing address, they click Payment method, and then Add new payment method.
Note: To change the subscription shipping address, customers must cancel the subscription and resubscribe using different shipping details.
Via the order email
To manage subscriptions, customers can also click the Manage subscription link in the order email. This opens a new tab or window where they can log into their account.
Failed payments
When a customer’s payment fails, you both get an email notification. The customer's email includes a link to update their billing information.
The charge is attempted again after five days, and then for a final time five days after that. If the payment fails for a third time, the order and subscription are canceled, and the customer receives an email. Customers can update their payment information in the Subscription panel in their customer account. You can customize these emails in the Customer notifications panel.
A customer's payment may fail because of an issue with their payment method, or your payment processor account. Visit Troubleshooting failed customer payments for more help.
Tip: If a customer's bank is located in India, their subscription renewal may fail if they haven't authorized recurring payments. To resolve the issue, they'll need to update their billing credit card from their customer account.
Discontinue a subscription product
Note: When you delete a subscription product, existing subscriptions remain active until you cancel them.
To discontinue a subscription product entirely:
Step 1 - Delete the product
Delete or hide the product to prevent new customers from subscribing.
Step 2 - Contact subscribers
Inform customers that you’ll be canceling their subscriptions. For help contacting your customers, visit Managing customers.
Step 3 - Cancel active subscriptions
To prevent future renewals, cancel each customer’s active subscription from their customer contact information:
- Open the Products & Services panel and click Orders.
- In a separate window or somewhere convenient, make a list of all customers subscribed to the product you’re discontinuing.
- In the Lists & Segments panel, click Customers.
- Find a customer on your list, and follow these steps to cancel their subscription.
- Repeat these steps for each subscriber.
Next steps
- Promote your new subscription products with Squarespace Email Campaigns. You can build mailing lists or create automated email campaigns to send marketing emails to customers after they make a purchase.
- If you only sell subscriptions, hide the shopping cart icon on your site.
- Help drive more traffic to your site by adding SEO descriptions to your products. This helps search engines properly index your site, making it easier for people to find your content online.
- Share your products with followers and attract new customers by selling your products on Facebook and Instagram.
FAQ
What happens if I connect to a different payment processor account?
If you connect to a different payment processor account, customers will have to resubscribe to your subscription products.
Can a customer skip a renewal?
No. If a customer wants to skip a renewal, you can cancel their pending order after it’s placed. You can also delay their next subscription renewal to push all scheduled renewals to a later date.
Can a customer pause their subscription?
If a customer wants to pause their subscription, you can delay their next subscription renewal for them.
Are customers notified before their subscriptions renew?
If you enable subscription renewal notifications in the Customer Notifications panel, you can send customers a notification 15 days before their subscription renewal date.
Can I change how often a subscription renews?
To change a subscription renewal frequency only for future subscribers, edit the product.
To change the frequency for all subscribers (current and future), discontinue the subscription product and add a new product to your store with the new renewal frequency.
Can I view the total number of active subscriptions?
No. It's not possible to view the number of active subscriptions. You can only view individual subscription order details.
What happens to my subscriptions if my site is canceled or expires?
If your site is canceled or expires, active subscriptions will be canceled immediately and customers will be notified by email. They'll receive the subscription canceled email. If you reactivate your site, customers need to resubscribe to continue their subscriptions.
What happens to my subscriptions if I downgrade my plan?
If you downgrade to a website plan that doesn't support selling subscription products, active subscriptions won't renew. Your site tries to renew the subscriptions three times over the course of ten days. If you don't upgrade your website plan before your site's final renewal attempt, the subscriptions expire. Your subscription customers receive a payment failed email.
Can I offer different renewal frequencies for the same product?
Yes. To offer different renewal frequencies, select one-time purchase or subscription as the purchase option, then click Add frequency under Frequency.
Can a customer apply a discount to a subscription product?
Yes. The discount can apply to the first payment, or to all subscription renewal payments. To learn more, visit Creating discounts.
Tip: To create a free trial, add a 100% discount that applies to the first subscription payment. When your customers use the discount, they subscribe to your product and get the first installation for free.
Can a customer buy a subscription with a gift card?
No. Your customers can't use gift cards to purchase subscription products.
Do Commerce API integrations work with subscription products?
Yes, commerce integrations still work with subscription products.
Does ShipStation work with subscription products?
Yes. Because each subscription renewal creates a new order, you can use ShipStation to manage shipping for these products.
I use a third-party service to manage subscriptions. How can I switch to Squarespace?
To switch from a third-party service, visit Switching to Squarespace subscriptions from Moonclerk or PayWhirl.