4 Tech Solutions You Need To Start A Subscription Box Business

Discover the four tech solutions you’ll need to have in place in order to start your subscription box business. 

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Starting a subscription box business is fun and exciting. You spend hours dreaming up your box theme, curating products, and imagining how your subscribers will feel when they open it for the first time.

Then reality hits. Tech.

You start searching for answers about how to set up your website, collect recurring payments, and ship your boxes. The more you search, the more confused you get. Everyone seems to have a different opinion, and suddenly what felt fun now feels… overwhelming.

I get it.

I sat on my own subscription box idea for over a year because I let the tech pieces stop me. 

I don’t want that to happen to you.

Launching your subscription box shouldn’t require a tech degree or a six-figure software stack. You don’t need fancy. You just need tools that work.

Today, I’m walking you through the four tech solutions you need to start your subscription box business. The same ones I use and recommend inside Launch Your Box.

1. Website Platform

Yes, you need a website.

Sure, you could technically collect payments with a PayPal button on Facebook, but if you’re serious about building a sustainable business, you need a real foundation.

A proper website lets you look professional, automate your systems, and set your business up for long-term growth. And it’s important to understand that once your subscribers sign up through a certain platform, you can’t transfer them to a new one without asking them to re-subscribe. That means if you decide to switch platforms later, you risk losing subscribers in the process.

That’s why it’s so important to start with the right one.

Inside Launch Your Box, we recommend two website platforms for subscription box businesses: Shopify and WooCommerce on WordPress. Both are great options.

Shopify

Shopify makes it easy to get a professional-looking site up and running quickly. You can choose from hundreds of themes, drag and drop sections, and connect apps to handle almost anything, from upsells to shipping.

Just remember: every app you add usually comes with a monthly cost, so keep an eye on your expenses as you grow.

If you want simple, straightforward, and user-friendly, Shopify might be the right fit.

WooCommerce on WordPress

I use WooCommerce on WordPress for my own subscription boxes because I love the flexibility and customization it offers. My Monogram Box™ has a lot of variations and WooCommerce handles them all beautifully.

You can truly make your site your own, but fair warning: setup takes a bit more work. If you’re not super tech-savvy, this might be one area to hire out so you can move faster.

Launch Your Box members - find even more information about choosing the right platform for your subscription box business inside the training library.

2. Payment Processing

If your subscription box runs through Shopify or WooCommerce, you’ll need a way to charge customers automatically each month without manually sending invoices or reminders.

Woocommerce Subscriptions Plugin

On Woocommerce, I use a plugin called Woocommerce Subscriptions. It connects with Stripe to process all my payments. In this instance, you will need to set up a Stripe account.

PayWhirl

On Shopify, you currently need an app to run recurring payments. We recommend PayWhirl to take care of all the subscription logistics - recurring charges, cancellations, updates, and more.

3. Shipping Software

Shipping used to be my least favorite part of running a subscription box business. I still remember printing one label at a time… hundreds of times. It was awful.

Then I discovered ShipStation and everything changed.

ShipStation integrates with your website and pulls in orders from Shopify, WooCommerce, and more. You can batch-print hundreds of labels in minutes, track shipping costs, and connect to multiple carriers,  all in one place.

I use a Rollo printer (which doesn’t require ink!) to print all my labels, and it’s one of the best investments I’ve made for my business.

If you’re on Shopify, you can also use Shopify Shipping, which is built right into the platform. It allows you to buy and print labels directly from your Shopify dashboard.

Whichever route you take, the key is to automate your shipping process as much as possible.

4. Email MarketingCRM

Your email CRM (Customer Relationship Management system) is where the real magic happens.

This is how you’ll connect with your audience, build relationships, and drive sales, long before and after launch day.

And no, it’s not something to set up “later.” You want your email CRM in place early so you can start collecting email addresses now.

My favorite platform and the one I recommend to every subscription box owner is Klaviyo.

Klaviyo is built specifically for e-commerce businesses. It makes it easy to:

• Set up automated flows (like welcome sequences and abandoned cart reminders)
• Track customer behavior
• Send beautifully designed, professional emails
• Understand what’s working with detailed data and analytics

It’s one of the most powerful tools you can invest in for your subscription box business, and it grows right alongside you.

Listen to episode 225 of The Launch Your Box Podcast for more about the 4 Tech Tools You Actually Need to Launch Your Box.

Hire It Out or DIY?

If setting up checkout flows or automations makes your eyes glaze over, you’re not alone.

You don’t get bonus points for doing it all yourself. You can hire someone  for a few hundred dollars to get your tech stack up and running. 

What might take a tech expert 30 minutes could take you three days (and a lot of frustration).

I’m a firm believer in staying in your lane and doing what you do best. I’ve hired out every one of these tasks except for setting up ShipStation, and it’s been worth every penny.

Test Like a Customer

Before you launch, walk through your own website like you’re a first-time visitor. 

Ask yourself:

• Can I place a test order from start to finish?
• Do recurring payments process properly?
• Are confirmation and welcome emails being sent automatically?
• Are shipping options correct and clear?
• Does everything look professional with no broken links or typos?

You’ve worked hard to get people to your site. Don’t lose them because of a small tech issue you could have caught with one test order.

A Bonus Tool for Staying Organized

If your desk (or brain) is covered in sticky notes, it’s time for a project management tool.

My team and I use Asana to organize launch tasks, plan box curation, and track marketing campaigns. Many Launch Your Box members also use Trello  or ClickUp. Each has a free version and will save you serious stress, especially leading up to launch week.

Tech Is Not a One-and-Done

You’re building a long-term business, not a one-time project.

That means your tech will need updates, tweaks, and improvements over time, and that’s okay. Part of being a successful subscription box owner is learning how to use your tools (or who to call when something breaks).

You don’t need the fanciest setup. You just need one that works consistently and reliably.

Keep it simple. Get it tested. And be ready when subscribers start clicking “buy.”