Getting started with Easy Subscriptions

5 min read

Before You Start

If you’re moving from another subscription app or need to connect a payment gateway to Shopify for the first time, handle that first. Which path applies depends on your situation:

Already using Shopify Payments, Stripe, Authorize.net, Braintree, or PayPal Express, and only switching subscription apps → use the Standard Migration guide.
Connecting Braintree, Authorize.net, or PayPal Express to Shopify for the first time → use the gateway-specific migration guide for that provider.
Starting fresh with no existing subscription data to bring over → skip ahead to Step 1 below.

Step 1: Add the Subscription Widget to Your Theme

Before customers can see a subscription option, the widget needs to be added to your product page through the Shopify theme editor. This requires a theme that supports Online Store 2.0 app blocks. See the Subscription Widget setup guide for the full steps, and Widget Customization once it’s live if you want to adjust its appearance.

Step 2: Create Your First Subscription Plan

A Subscription Plan defines the product, purchase type, pricing, and frequency customers see. Start with the basics:

Plan name and subscription type, One-time Plus Subscription or Subscription Only.
The product or products the plan applies to.
Delivery frequency and billing details.
Any discount you want to offer for subscribing.

Everything else on the plan creation screen, trials, auto-cancellation, gift products, prepaid billing, swapping, is optional and can be configured later. See the full Subscription Plan Configuration guide when you’re ready to go beyond the basics.

Step 3: Decide What Customers Can Manage Themselves

The Customer Portal lets subscribers pause, skip, cancel, reschedule, or otherwise manage their subscription without contacting you, but only for the permissions you enable. Review the Customer Portal Permissions guide and turn on what fits your operations; you don’t need to enable every option on day one.

Step 4: Set Up Basic Notifications

Confirm which customer and admin notifications are active, and set a Preferred Email so your team actually receives admin alerts like failed payments or low stock. You can review and expand this later as your subscription program grows.

Step 5: Decide on Payment Failure Handling

Enable Dunning Management so failed payments retry automatically instead of silently lapsing into involuntary churn. Set a retry count and post-failure action that matches how much flexibility you want to give a customer whose card fails.

What to Explore Next

Once the core flow, widget, plan, portal, and notifications, is working, these areas add capability as you need them:

Bundles → Fixed Bundles, Build Your Own Box, and Variant-Based bundles for grouped or curated product offerings.
Growth Tools → Upsells, Customer Retention flows, and Quick Cart and Checkout Links for campaigns.
Series Subscriptions → Time based or order based sequences where the product changes over the life of the subscription.
Advanced Analytics → Deeper reporting across subscribers, payments, upsells, and fulfillment.
Custom Shipping → A shipping profile scoped only to subscription orders, if your subscription fulfillment costs differ from one-time orders.
Tags → Automatic tagging of subscription orders and customers for reporting inside Shopify.

Best Practice

Get one product’s subscription flow fully working end to end, widget, plan, and portal, before rolling it out across your catalog.
Don’t feel obligated to enable every Customer Portal permission or notification at launch; start narrow and expand based on actual support requests.
Revisit Dunning Management and notification settings after your first few weeks live, once you’ve seen how failed payments and customer behavior actually play out.

Support

If you have any questions, visit the Support center, watch the video tutorials, or read the full manual.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to migrate data before I can use Easy Subscriptions?

Only if you have existing subscribers on another app or gateway. A brand new subscription program with no existing subscribers can skip migration entirely and start at Step 1.

What’s the minimum I need to configure to launch my first subscription product?

The Subscription Widget added to the product page, and a Subscription Plan with a product, purchase type, frequency, and pricing set. Everything else is optional at launch.

Should I enable every Customer Portal permission right away?

No. Start with the permissions that clearly fit your operations, such as pause and skip, and add more as you see what customers actually ask for.

When should I set up bundles or growth tools?

Once your core subscription flow, widget, plan, and portal, is live and working. These are additive features meant to be layered on, not prerequisites for launching.

What happens if I don’t set up Dunning Management?

Failed payments won’t retry automatically, which increases the risk of involuntary churn, where a subscription lapses due to a payment issue rather than a customer’s actual decision to leave.

Where do I go if I get stuck on a specific step?

Each area referenced here has its own detailed guide in this help center. If something still isn’t clear, contact support at support@easysubscription.io.