Compatibility:

Managing digital goods: WebSite X5 Pro from version 13.1

Automatic order fulfillment: WebSite X5 Pro from version 17

Coupons, discounts, and promotions are essential tools for your online sales strategy: they can not only help you increase your sales and profits, they also reinforce your company’s image and consolidate customer loyalty.


Once you’ve identified your goals and defined your strategy, here are steps for activating your online store:


How to create a discount for a single product

One of the easiest ways to stimulate sales is to create a discount on single products within your store.

  • Go to Step 1 - WebSite Settings and click on the E-commerce button.
  • Double-click on an existing product or click on the New Product button: this will lead you to the Product Settings window. If necessary, insert the information required to define the product, otherwise proceed directly to the Discount section.
  • At this point, you will choose which kind of discount to apply the product. First of all, you can decide whether you want to apply a fixed discount or a percentage discount: just select the option you prefer and specify the number or percentage that should be discounted from the product’s price (which is set under Product Settings > General).
  • It’s good practice to establish a time frame within which a coupon is valid: use the calendar to selected activation and expiry dates. 


#tip - Principle of urgency. This is one of the principles of persuasion: knowing that an offer lasts only a short time and/or is about to end pushes people to take advantage of it and not miss the opportunity.


  • If you would rather not apply discounts directly to the prices shown in the store, but prefer to use a coupon which the user will insert into the specified fields when placing an order, select the Apply the discount rate with the coupon option and enter the code you want to link to the coupon. The coupon will automatically have the same validity period as the discount with which it is linked.


#tip - Name your coupon. You can use alphanumeric strings, symbols, single words, or short phrases as your coupon codes. Keep in mind that simple codes are easier for customers to use, and that the shopping cart field where the coupon is entered is case-sensitive.


  • In addition to a fixed or percentage discount, you can also choose to apply a quantity discount: select the Enable Quantity Discount option and click on the Add button to set the conditions in which the coupon will be applied. In practice, that just means setting the number of products to be met or exceeded, and the percentage discount to be applied to such orders.
#tip - Incremental discounts. With this mechanism, you can create several quantity discounts for a single product: the higher the quantity purchased, the higher the discount.


#tip - Calculating the discount. If a fixed/percentage discount is already applied to a Product, any additional quantity discount is calculated based on the discounted price, not the original price.


How to apply a discount to the total value of the order

In addition to applying a discount to single products, you can also choose to apply discounts to the total value of the order.

  • In the Shopping Cart window, open the Options section.
  • Select the Enable Coupon Code for the Order option and click on the button to open the Coupon Code window.
  • Click on the Add button and insert all the information required to create a new coupon: its name, the associated discount (fixed amount or percentage), and the dates during which it is valid. If you create a percentage discount, you can also decide whether the discount should be applied to just the total value of the order itself, or include shipping and transaction fees.
  • You can create several discount coupons with different values and conditions: view them all in the Coupon Code List.


#tip - Managing coupons. You can create and distribute as many coupons as you think may be useful for your store: during the checkout process, Customers may only apply one coupon.


How to discount shipping fees from the order

A good incentive to encourage users to purchase from your store may be to discount or even waive shipping fees for orders above a certain value. Here’s how to do this:

  • In the Shopping Cart window, open the Order Management section. 
  • Double-click on an existing shipping method or click on the Add button: this will lead you to the Shipping Type window, in which you can insert the settings required to make a shipping method available for your store.
  • If necessary, insert the required information, otherwise proceed directly to the Cost section.
  • Instead of simply setting a Fixed Cost, select the Cost of total Order amount option and click on the Add button to set the conditions that define the fee rates. Now you can allow shipping fees to be raised or lowered, or outright waived, depending on whether an order value meets or exceeds a specific value. 
  • If you have activated more than one shipping method, repeat these steps for each method to discount or waive the fees in each case.