Set up Ecommerce on your site so that you can sell content and other Ecommerce items to your learners. There are a variety of ways to package content and entice learners to purchase, but first you have to configure your settings.
Use Case Information
Stripe is the primary Ecommerce vendor on the Thought Industries platform. In order to sell courses via your learning site, you must create a Stripe account and then connect that account to your instance. You can sell content (courses, webinars, etc.) and other Ecommerce items (subscriptions, products, etc.) directly from your learning site.
When configured you can control the following:
Sell Content & Products
- Package content in subscriptions, collections, or a la carte
- Allow learners to check out without leaving learning site
- Sell products from your learning site
Setting Up Stripe
To begin with, you can create your Stripe account by going to www.stripe.com. Once you have an account set up on Stripe, go into your Thought Industries instance to connect your Stripe account to Thought Industries. Alternatively, you can set up your Stripe account during Step 2 below, as you set up your integration.
Credit card information is not stored or processed by Thought Industries.
- From the homepage, go to Ecommerce > Settings > Integrations.
- Click the Connect to LIVE Stripe Account button.
Warning
Once you click on the link to connect Stripe, you must continue the set up in the same session. If for any reason you are not able to finalize the set up, please contact your Tech Success & Support to have your connection reset.
- If you did not already create a Stripe account before this step, you can do so now.
Note
Alternatively, you can click the Connect to TEST Stripe Account button if you'd like to use a test account to test transitions prior to launch.
If you choose the test account option, you will need to reconnect to your live account prior to launch to begin accepting payments. When you're ready to switch and connect to your live account, please reach out to Tech Success & Support.
- If you did not already create a Stripe account before this step, you can do so now.
- Next, you'll be prompted to provide the following details:
- Country
- Business address
- Type of business (corporation; individual, sole proprietorship, or single-person LLC; limited liability company (LLC); nonprofit organization; partnership)
- Employer Identification Number (EIN) or personal social security number (optional)
- Business website
- Business description
- Legal name
- Job title
- Date of birth
- Last four digits of social security number
- Home address
- Statement descriptor
- Customer support phone number
- Routing number
- Account number
Tip
Visit Stripe's support page for additional information.
Other Ecommerce Settings
There are a few other checkout settings you can configure after setting up your Stripe integration.
- From the homepage, go to Ecommerce > Settings > Integrations.
- The following settings can be enabled under Checkout Settings:
Newsletter Sign Up
Toggle: Ask learners to sign up for newsletter on checkout?
Enable this toggle if you would like learners to see an option to sign up for updates during the checkout process. It will show as a checkbox on the 2nd step when entering payment information, after terms and conditions and above the button to place their order.
Update the language of this option by going to Translations and searching for newsletter-signup.
Tip
You can have the same checkbox for newsletter sign up display to learners if they register without a purchase. If enabled, it will show on the /register page in the registration widget. To enable this option, go to Settings > Setup > Primary > Registration section.
Collect Addresses
Toggle: Require address for all Ecommerce checkouts?
Enable this toggle to collect addresses from learners as they purchase something from your learning site. The address information will be collected in Step 1 of the checkout process. After purchasing, the address will be available in the learner's user profile.
Auto-Renewal Terms Opt-In for Subscriptions
Toggle: Require Auto-renewal terms opt-in for all subscription checkouts?
Enable this toggle to display auto-renewal terms with an accompanying checkbox to learners during Step 2 of the checkout process. If enabled, the checkbox is required for the learner during the purchase process.
Update the language of the checkbox by going to Translations and searching for checkout.subscription-opt-in.
If the learner does not opt-in by marking the checkbox, they will see an error that tells them to opt-in to continue. You can update this error language as well by going to Translations and searching for checkout.subscription-opt-in-error.
Restrict Countries from Purchasing
Toggle: Country restrictions?
Enable this toggle to restrict purchases, and therefore access to content, to specific countries.
Default Currency
By default, currency will display in dollars. However, you have the option to change the currency symbol that is used across your learning site. Changing currencies will affect the currency symbol that is displayed on both the admin interface, as well as the learner view of your site.
Thought Industries supports all major currencies.
Note
Only one currency is currently supported per learning site.
- From your homepage, select Ecommerce > Settings.
- In the left menu, select Integrations.
- Find the Default Currency container.
- Click the Currency drop-down menu to see the list of currency options.
- Choose your currency and click Save.
Tip
Refresh your page after switching currencies to ensure you are viewing the latest setting.
Learner Experience: Purchasing a Course
This is the typical checkout flow using Thought Industries' standard eCommerce integration with Stripe.Learners typically start on the learning site homepage, and are then sent to the full content catalog or directly to a specific detail page.
Learner View of Detail Page
This page is customized in the course settings found in Courses > All Courses > Click on Content Title. When configuring the course, you can set a title, description, image, pricing, etc.
Learner View of Cart
Clicking the Enroll Now button on the detail page brings learners into their cart, giving them the option to Continue Shopping or Checkout. If applicable, the basket will also include products tied to that particular course, or any related content items.
Learner View of Checkout Page 1 (Registration)
Clicking Checkout from the cart will bring learners to step 1 of the checkout flow which requires each learner to either register or sign in.
Learner View of Checkout Page 2 (Payment)
Clicking Enter Payment Information will bring learners to step 2 of the checkout flow which requires each learner to enter credit card information, agree to terms, and, if enabled, opt-in to your newsletter.
Learner Confirmation Page
Clicking Place Your Order will bring learners to an order confirmation page. This page automatically pulls course title, image, and purchase price. It will also display any confirmation text you included in the course eCommerce settings.
Learner Confirmation Email
Once an order is placed, a confirmation email will also be sent to the learner. The confirmation email includes the same information as the confirmation page above, but in a slightly different format. You can further customize your email settings in Settings > Setup > Emails.
Learner Dashboard
Clicking the View button from the confirmation page or email will bring learners to their dashboard. Learners will see all active content, completed content and certifications, as well as any additional content and eCommerce items available for purchase.