StrapMate: WooCommerce Subscription Box Store
An online store for smartwatch straps with monthly subscription plans and packing lists that show what goes into every parcel
About the project
- Client: StrapMate, a smartwatch strap brand
- Region: United States
- Timeline: June–October 2020
- Technologies: WordPress, WooCommerce, WooCommerce Subscriptions, Stripe
- Team: a WordPress developer and a project manager
StrapMate sells straps for smartwatches, and its main idea is a monthly subscription box. A customer picks a plan, pays every month and receives a few straps by post. The client from the United States wanted a shop for this idea, and the shop had to look like the mockups that the client had prepared.
So we needed three things at once: a polished storefront, subscriptions with recurring payments, and an admin who can see what to put in every parcel.
What we delivered
THE CHALLENGE
- Mockups for a bought theme.
- Monthly plans with recurring payments.
- A parcel that must be assembled by hand.
- Plugins that print only the plan name.
THE SOLUTION
- The theme reworked to the mockups.
- Three plans with subscriptions.
- A custom field for parcel contents.
- Invoices and post stickers.
THE OUTCOME
- A store with three plans.
- Packing lists with parcel contents.
- Invoices and stickers for orders.
- A project accepted in October 2020.
A subscription is sold on the site, but it is a box in the post: both sides had to match.
A shop on a commercial theme
The client had bought a commercial WooCommerce theme, and the mockups were drawn for it. For this reason, we did not write the markup from scratch. We reworked the theme to match the mockups: new fonts, adjusted shades and a full-width layout instead of the 1440 px mockup.
In addition, we set up a demo domain for the client and connected an Instagram feed. Meanwhile, the theme claimed support for the latest WooCommerce, but one of its functions failed on newer versions, so we opened a ticket with the theme authors.
Three subscription plans
We built the plans with the WooCommerce Subscriptions plugin. A Beginner plan costs $20 a month and includes one strap and 10% off. An Intermediate plan costs $60 and includes two straps. A VIP plan costs $100, includes three straps and gives 20% off on premium straps. Every plan also has an annual price, and the higher plans add gifts and invitations to events.
We prepared the shop for Stripe payments.
What goes into a parcel
The main requirement came later: the admin has to see the contents of every parcel. However, the ready-made plugins printed only the name of the plan on the packing list, so the admin could not tell which straps to send.
As a result, we added a custom field "Package includes" to the product. The admin fills it in, and its value appears on the packing list. In addition, the shop creates an invoice for every order and a sticker for the post office, and we set up parcel tracking. The client reviewed the solution and accepted it.
Orders, invoices and shipping
The client planned to ship through a fulfilment service and ShipStation. For this reason, an order carries the address and the plan, and the packing list carries the parcel contents. We used two paid plugins for invoices and subscriptions, and we listed their license costs for the client.
What turned out to be hard
- A theme that lags behind. The theme did not support the current WooCommerce in full, so we checked every function on the live version.
- Subscriptions are not parcels. The plugin sells a plan, but a customer receives a box, so we had to describe the box separately.
- Waiting for answers. The client needed time for decisions, so we clarified the requirements in calls.
- Annual plans. Automatic invoices for annual subscriptions stayed outside the first scope, and we offered them as a separate extension.
Result of the project
We delivered the shop in October 2020, and the client accepted it. The shop offered three subscription plans, and the admin saw the contents of every parcel on the packing list.
Looking for a similar store? See our custom web app development or read how we built a marketplace with an interactive map. The plans rely on WooCommerce Subscriptions.
Need a shop with subscriptions? Tell us about your task.
SEE MORE OUR CASE STUDIES
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