What’s New in Subscriptions 3.1

WooCommerce Subscriptions 3.1 contains a couple notable features – Updated REST API and Cart and Checkout Blocks integration.

Version 3.1 is a “minor” release and is backwards compatible with sites running previous versions of WooCommerce Subscriptions.

In order to ensure a smooth update process, please refer to the Subscriptions Upgrade Guide.

With the release of Subscriptions, 3.1 and WooCommerce Cart and Checkout blocks now support displaying the recurring totals section and subscription product details including the recurring billing details, free trials, sign up fees, sync dates, etc. Other Subscription features like manual renewals, switching and unsubscribing are also all supported.

_{WooCommerce Blocks cart block with subscription recurring carts}

Subscriptions 3.1 comes with an update to the subscription REST API endpoints and webhooks. You can now send REST API v3 requests to the subscription-related endpoints ( eg .../wp-json/wc/v3/subscriptions/) and receive subscription webhook v3 responses.

With this update, extra subscription and related order metadata is included in responses including additional line item meta. If you’re familiar with the REST API, the subscription v3 endpoints are built on top of WooCommerce core’s order v3 endpoints and so the request and response arguments should look similar.

You can look through the full documentation for the API v3 and see details for all of the endpoints and their query parameters.

Existing services using v1 of subscription endpoints and webhooks will continue to work as they have.

If you’d like to update or create new v3 subscription webhooks, you can do so from your WooCommerce > Settings > Advanced > Webhooks screen or to learn more about webhooks, take a look at WooCommerce’s guide to Using Webhooks.

Organizing the admin related orders table

_{The edit subscription screen’s related orders table sorted by date}

When viewing a subscription’s edit screen, the subscription-related orders table will now list orders by date rather than by type. Previously switch orders would always be listed first, then the parent order and then the renewal orders. To assist store managers in getting an overview of the subscription’s life cycle at a glance, all related orders are listed ordered by their date with the most recent first.

Added context to the Add to cart and Place order text 

When a customer is switching, manually renewing or resubscribing to a subscription, the product page’s Add to cart (switching only) and the checkout’s Place order button text will now display ‘Switch subscription‘, ‘Renew subscription‘, Resubscribe‘ respectively. This will assist customers in understanding the context for the type of action they are making.

_{Renew subscription checkout button}

To help facilitate a specific customer registration setup, store managers can now choose to allow subscription customers to register via the checkout but require standard purchases to be made via a guest account.

Because purchasing a subscription requires an account, when checkout registration was disabled prior to 3.1, customers purchasing a subscription would have to register on another page (if enabled) or have an account already.

With the introduction of this new setting, merchants can enable registration when it’s necessary, for customers purchasing subscriptions, but disable it for other purchases.

_{Allow subscription customers to create an account during checkout setting}

To change your Account registration settings go to WooCommerce > Settings > Accounts and Privacy.

In the interest of successful automatic subscription renewal payments, customers cannot delete a saved payment method if it is being used by one of their active subscriptions and if there’s no alternative method. In 3.1 we’ve added additional messaging around this limitation so customers know what the next step is in order to delete their old payment methods whilst keeping a payment method for their subscriptions.

_{Notice displayed to customers when they attempt to delete an actively used payment method}

To delete an active payment method there must be only one alternative payment method or if there is more than one, a default selected. If these criteria are met, the customer can delete the payment method and their subscriptions will transfer to the alternative method automatically.

New templates

• /templates/checkout/recurring-coupon-totals.php
• /templates/checkout/recurring-fee-totals.php
• /templates/checkout/recurring-itemized-tax-totals.php
• /templates/checkout/recurring-subscription-totals.php
• /templates/checkout/recurring-subtotals.php
• /templates/checkout/recurring-tax-totals.php
• /templates/checkout/recurring-totals.php

• WC_Subscriptions_Switcher::switch_order_meta_box_rows()
• WC_Subscriptions_Checkout::make_checkout_registration_possible()
• WC_Subscriptions_Checkout::make_checkout_account_fields_required()
• WC_Subscriptions_Checkout::restore_checkout_registration_settings()