WooCommerce Smart Discount Manager

A production-quality WordPress plugin for managing flexible, rule-based discounts in WooCommerce.

Features

Phase 1 Implementation

1. Plugin Activation

• Automatic activation check
• WooCommerce dependency verification
• Database table creation on activation
• Admin notice if WooCommerce is not active

2. Admin Menu

Located under WooCommerce menu:

• Dashboard
• Discount Rules
• Add New Rule
• Settings

3. Dashboard

Quick overview showing:

• Total Rules count
• Active Rules count
• Inactive Rules count
• Scheduled Rules count
• Quick action buttons
• Getting started guide
• Recent rules list

4. Discount Rules Management

Table view with columns:

• Rule Name
• Discount Type
• Discount Value
• Priority
• Status
• Date Range
• Actions (Edit, Duplicate, Enable/Disable, Delete)

5. Visual Rule Builder

Easy-to-use interface for creating discount rules:

• Rule name and description
• Dynamic condition builder
• Discount type selection (percentage/fixed)
• Discount value input
• Priority configuration
• Scheduling (start/end dates)
• Status control

6. Conditions System

Fully implemented condition types:

• Product: Is / Is Not
• Product Category: Is / Is Not
• Product Tag: Is / Is Not
• Quantity: Greater than, Greater than or equal, Less than, Less than or equal, Equal
• Cart Subtotal: Greater than, Greater than or equal, Less than, Less than or equal, Equal
• Customer Role: Is / Is Not
• Logged-in Status: Is (logged in/logged out)

AND Logic: All conditions must match for the rule to apply

7. Discount Types

• Percentage Discount: Apply percentage off (e.g., 20%)
• Fixed Amount Discount: Apply fixed currency amount (e.g., $10)

8. Rule Priority System

• Configurable priority number (lower = higher priority)
• Used in conflict resolution strategy

9. Rule Scheduling

• Optional start date
• Optional end date
• WordPress timezone aware
• Rules outside scheduled dates don't apply

10. Conflict Resolution Settings

Three strategies for handling multiple matching rules:

• Highest Discount: Apply the rule giving the best discount
• Highest Priority: Apply the rule with lowest priority number
• First Matching Rule: Apply the first matching rule

11. WooCommerce Integration

• Hooks into cart item pricing
• Applies discounts to cart totals
• Works with checkout
• No recursive calculations
• Preserves WooCommerce pricing when no rules match

12. Database Architecture

Custom table structure:

• wp_sdm_discount_rules table with fields:
  • id (primary key)
  • name
  • description
  • conditions (JSON)
  • discount_type
  • discount_value
  • priority
  • status
  • start_date
  • end_date
  • created_at
  • updated_at

Uses WordPress dbDelta() for safe schema updates.

13. Security

• Capability checks (manage_woocommerce)
• Nonce verification
• Input sanitization
• Output escaping
• Prepared SQL queries
• Data validation

14. Data Management

• Uninstall hook respects user preference
• Option to delete data on uninstall
• Data preserved during deactivation

File Structure

smart-discount-manager/
│
├── smart-discount-manager.php      # Main plugin file
├── uninstall.php                   # Uninstall handler
│
├── includes/
│   ├── class-autoloader.php        # PSR-4 autoloader
│   ├── class-plugin.php            # Main orchestrator
│   ├── class-database.php          # Database operations
│   ├── class-rule-manager.php      # Rule CRUD and logic
│   ├── class-condition-manager.php # Condition evaluation
│   ├── class-discount-engine.php   # Discount calculations
│   └── class-woocommerce-integration.php # WC integration
│
├── admin/
│   ├── class-admin.php             # Admin handler
│   │
│   ├── views/
│   │   ├── dashboard.php           # Dashboard page
│   │   ├── rules.php               # Rules list page
│   │   ├── rule-editor.php         # Rule editor page
│   │   └── settings.php            # Settings page
│   │
│   ├── css/
│   │   └── admin.css               # Admin styles
│   │
│   └── js/
│       └── admin.js                # Admin interactivity
│
├── i18n/
│   └── languages/                  # Translation files
│
└── assets/
    ├── css/
    ├── images/
    └── js/

Usage Instructions

Creating a Discount Rule

1. Go to WordPress Dashboard
2. Navigate to WooCommerce → Smart Discounts
3. Click "Add New Discount"
4. Fill in the rule details:
   • Rule Name: Give it a descriptive name
   • Description: Optional note about the rule
5. Add conditions:
   • Click "Add Condition"
   • Select condition type
   • Select operator
   • Enter value
   • Repeat for multiple conditions (all must match)
6. Configure discount:
   • Select discount type (percentage or fixed)
   • Enter discount value
   • Set priority
7. Optional scheduling:
   • Set start date if rule should activate in the future
   • Set end date if rule should expire
8. Set status (Active/Inactive)
9. Click "Create Rule" or "Update Rule"

Managing Rules

• View All: Go to Discount Rules to see all rules
• Edit: Click rule name to edit
• Duplicate: Clone a rule to quickly create similar rules
• Enable/Disable: Toggle rule status with one click
• Delete: Remove a rule (confirm required)

Settings

Access from WooCommerce → Smart Discounts → Settings

• Discount Conflict Resolution: Choose strategy when multiple rules match
• Data Management: Choose whether to delete data on uninstall

Database Schema

wp_sdm_discount_rules Table

CREATE TABLE wp_sdm_discount_rules (
  id BIGINT UNSIGNED NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
  name VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
  description LONGTEXT,
  conditions LONGTEXT NOT NULL COMMENT 'JSON encoded conditions',
  discount_type VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,
  discount_value DECIMAL(10, 2) NOT NULL,
  priority INT NOT NULL DEFAULT 10,
  status VARCHAR(20) NOT NULL DEFAULT 'active',
  start_date DATETIME,
  end_date DATETIME,
  created_at DATETIME DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
  updated_at DATETIME DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
  INDEX idx_status (status),
  INDEX idx_priority (priority),
  INDEX idx_dates (start_date, end_date)
);

Testing Guide

Test 1: Basic Percentage Discount

1. Create a product (Price: $100)
2. Create rule:
   • Condition: Product = Test Product
   • Discount: 20% Percentage
3. Expected: Cart shows $80

Test 2: Fixed Amount Discount

1. Create a product (Price: $100)
2. Create rule:
   • Condition: Product = Test Product
   • Discount: $15 Fixed
3. Expected: Cart shows $85

Test 3: Category Discount

1. Create a product in "Shoes" category (Price: $100)
2. Create rule:
   • Condition: Category = Shoes
   • Discount: 20% Percentage
3. Expected: Product shows discount

Test 4: Category Exclusion

1. Create a product NOT in "Shoes" category
2. Use the rule from Test 3
3. Expected: No discount applied

Test 5: Quantity Discount

1. Add 5+ items to cart
2. Create rule:
   • Condition: Quantity >= 5
   • Discount: 10% Percentage
3. Expected: Discount applies when quantity >= 5

Test 6: Inactive Rule

1. Create a rule and set to Inactive
2. Expected: Discount does not apply

Test 7: Scheduled Rule

1. Create rule with start date in future
2. Expected: Discount does not apply until start date
3. Create rule with end date in past
4. Expected: Discount does not apply

Test 8: Conflict Resolution

1. Create two rules matching same product:
   • Rule A: 20% discount, Priority 5
   • Rule B: 10% discount, Priority 10
2. Test each strategy:
   • Highest Discount: 20% applies
   • Highest Priority: Rule A (priority 5) applies
   • First Matching: Depends on order

Architecture Highlights

Modular Design

• Separated concerns (Database, Rules, Conditions, Discounts, WooCommerce)
• Easy to extend with new condition types
• Easy to add new discount types

Security First

• WordPress nonces on all AJAX
• Capability checks on all admin functions
• Sanitized input, escaped output
• Prepared SQL statements

Performance Optimized

• Discount cache to avoid recalculation
• Indexed database queries
• Efficient condition evaluation

Extensibility

Ready for Phase 2 features:

• Condition manager supports adding new types
• Discount engine designed for complex calculations
• Database structure supports additional fields

Known Limitations

1. No Discount Stacking: Only one discount per rule applies
2. No BOGO: Buy X Get Y not implemented
3. No Bundle Discounts: Multi-product discounts not in Phase 1
4. No Customer Loyalty: Loyalty-based discounts not implemented
5. No Shipping Discounts: Cart subtotal doesn't include shipping
6. No Coupon Integration: Works independently of WooCommerce coupons
7. Percentage Comparison: When comparing discounts for "highest discount", percentage and fixed amounts aren't converted

Phase 2 Recommendations

1. Buy X Get Y Discounts

   • Add BOGO rule type
   • Condition: Product quantity threshold
   • Action: Free/discounted secondary product

2. Tiered Pricing

   • Multiple discount brackets by quantity
   • Progressive discount increase

3. Bundle Discounts

   • Multi-product conditions
   • Discount on bundle total

4. Customer Loyalty

   • Loyalty tier conditions
   • Loyalty points-based discounts

5. VIP/Membership Pricing

   • Membership level conditions
   • Exclusive pricing

6. Discount Stacking

   • Allow multiple rules to apply
   • Cumulative or combined discount calculation

7. Advanced Analytics

   • Track discount usage
   • Revenue impact analysis
   • Discount effectiveness reports

8. Import/Export

   • Backup and restore rules
   • Share rules between stores

Code Standards

• Follows WordPress coding standards
• Uses PSR-4 autoloading with namespace
• Consistent naming conventions
• Comprehensive comments for complex logic
• No external dependencies

Support

For issues or questions, refer to the code documentation and inline comments throughout the plugin files.