Looking to get Bold Subscriptions for Shopify Checkout set up and running? Follow this comprehensive step-by-step guide and you will soon be ready to launch your subscription service.
Setup
1. Install Bold Subscriptions to your store
Video Walkthrough
To install Bold Subscriptions on your Shopify store, please follow the steps below.
- Navigate to Bold Subscriptions on the Shopify app store.
- Click the Install button.
- If it prompts you, enter your .myshopify.com URL.
- Click Install.
- Click Continue to approve the future monthly charges.
Note: Bold Subscriptions provides a 30 day free trial. If you have previously installed the app, you will be prompted to pay the first month's fee right away.
- Enter your payment method and click Approve.
- Read through the terms of service and privacy policy, then click Accept and continue.
2. Install Bold Subcriptions on your theme
Video Walkthrough
Bold Subscriptions must be properly installed on your theme in order to function on your store. How this works depends on the theme you are using. Online Store 2.0 themes can be quickly installed using Shopify's app blocks. Vintage themes require Liquid code to be inserted into your theme.
You can follow the steps outlined in either of the following articles:
- Activate Subscriptions for Shopify Checkout - this guide takes you through the in-app onboarding flow.
- Manual Installation Guide for Bold Subscriptions - this guide allows you to install manually.
If you are not sure if you are using a Storefront 2.0 theme or a vintage theme, please visit Shopify's article on Theme architecture versions.
3. Connect an eligible payment gateway
In order for Bold Subscriptions to process subscription transactions on your store, either Shopify Payments, Authorize.net or PayPal Express need to be connected and activated in your Shopify store. For more information, please visit Payment Options & Eligibility in Bold Subscriptions.
Bold Subscriptions also uses your Shopify Shipping and Shopify Taxes settings. Please ensure that these are set up as well, before creating a subscription on your store.
Please visit Shopify Payments for steps that you can follow to setup and configure Shopify Payments on your store.
4. Create your subscription groups
Video Walkthrough
Subscription groups allow you to choose the products you'd like to offer for subscription. Within the subscription group, you can determine the frequency options you'd like to offer (weekly, monthly, etc.), and you can even offer a discount for purchasing a subscription.
Please visit Create a Standard Subscription Group in Subscriptions for Shopify Checkout for a detailed walkthrough on the functionality and setup.
5. Create a subscription test order
Video Walkthrough
Once your subscription group has been created, it's best to place a test order for one of your subscription products to make sure everything is working as it should. This also allows you to see everything on your store exactly how your customers will see it.
Shopify Payments allows you to put your store into test mode. This will help you create a test order on your store without having to make a live payment. For detailed instructions, please visit Shopify's help article.
To complete a test purchase on your store, please follow the steps below.
- From your storefront, navigate to a subscription product page.
- Choose a subscription frequency, and click Add to Cart.
- Complete the checkout through Shopify's Checkout.
Note: If you have test mode enabled on your store, please use the following payment information:
Card Number: 4242 4242 4242 4242
Choose any name, a future expiration date, and CVV - Within Bold Subscriptions, navigate to Subscriptions.
- From here, locate your subscription purchase and view options to manage.
Bold Subscriptions does not interact with fulfillment of your orders such as sending out your products or generating shipping labels. The order fulfillment must be processed the same way that one-time orders are processed on your store.
6. Edit your subscription settings
Video Walkthrough
It's best to review the default subscription settings before launching your subscriptions on your store. This will give you the opportunity to choose your email notifications, determine the permissions your customers will have a in the customer portal, and more.
Visit our Edit Settings in Bold Subscriptions for more information on adjusting the in-app settings.
7. Set up your cancellation & dunning management
Video Walkthrough
With flexible cancellation management, Bold Subscriptions allows you to determine what your customers see when they attempt to cancel a subscription.
You can display a message to your customers in the customer portal or present cancellation reasons that your customers can choose from.
Using dunning management, you can automate what happens when your customer's recurring transaction fails. You can decide how long Bold Subscriptions waits until it retries the transaction, how many additional attempts are made, and what should happen after the failed transaction limit has been met (pause or cancel).
For more information, please visit Cancellation & Dunning Management in Subscriptions for Shopify Checkout.
8. Track reporting and analytics
To view information about your future subscription orders, customer activity logs, and more, please visit Dashboard Analytics, Reports & Activity Logs in Subscriptions for Shopify Checkout.