Free Product (100% Discount) Checkout Process

If you wish to offer your customers a product free of charge, you can do so by creating a 100% discount code. When you create a 100% discount code, the checkout process for your customer is slightly different as the PayPal checkout is bypassed.

This is due to the fact that the customer does not need to ‘pay’ for the item (PayPal doesn’t allow a $0 transaction). Instead of sending the customer to a PayPal checkout window, when a 100% discount coupon code is applied to a product, the customer will be directed to fill in a basic manual checkout form. This way, website admins are still able to collect vital details from the customer (for example: shipping address). The plugin will use the information to populate the Orders menu (similar to a normal transaction).

Why Doesn’t a Customer Checkout with PayPal When Using a 100% Discount Code?

When a customer enters a code that entitles them to a 100% discount on a product price, they will fill their details into a manual form rather than checking out using PayPal. The reason for this is that PayPal doesn’t allow a $0 transaction.

Offering Free Products (100% Discount) to Customers

Step 1) Create a 100% Discount Coupon Code

To discount a product so that it is free of charge for a customer, you can create a 100% discount code. The customer can then simply copy and paste the code to receive their discount.

1. Ensure you have the WP Express Checkout Plugin installed and activated on your WordPress website.
2. Click on WP Express Checkout and then on the Coupons menu.
3. Add a Coupon and choose a word or phrase that you will use to represent this coupon code. Enter your coupon code (word) into the appropriate field.
4. Within the Discount field, add 100 and then choose Percent from the drop-down menu.
5. Choose which product(s) the coupon code can be used for.
6. Click the Create Coupon button.
7. You have now created your 100% discount coupon.
8. Ensure the product(s) that you wish for this coupon to be used for have coupon settings enabled. You can verify this by editing the product in question and scrolling towards the bottom.

Step 2) Share the Coupon Code with Your Customers

Now that you have created a 100% discount coupon code, you will need to share the code with your relevant customers so that they are able to paste the code into the coupon field and receive their free product or service.

Checkout Process for a Customer When Using 100% Discount Coupon

Once a customer has been given their coupon code they will be able to copy and paste it into the ‘Coupon Code‘ field for the appropriate product.

1. The customer receives their coupon code from the website owner by email, direct message or it has been advertised on social media.
2. The customer copies the code and goes to the product page. They click the ‘Buy Now‘ button for the product that they wish to receive free of charge. The payment popup window appears.
3. In the ‘Coupon Code‘ field, the customer pastes in the discount code they have been given.
4. The customer can then click ‘Apply‘.
5. The product price is discounted at 100% meaning the customer will not need to pay. Fields to collect the customers details are shown which they can fill in followed by clicking the ‘Place Order‘ button.