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The most direct way to sell gift cards on a WordPress site is to run WooCommerce and add the official WooCommerce Gift Cards extension. It creates digital, prepaid gift-card codes as ordinary simple or variable products, emails them to a recipient, and lets that recipient redeem the balance at checkout or add it to a WooCommerce account.

This setup is for digital cards. WooCommerce’s documented extension does not create or fulfill physical cards or printed vouchers.

What you need before selling gift cards

  • A WordPress site with WooCommerce installed and configured.
  • Hosting that supports Action Scheduler.
  • WooCommerce Gift Cards extension version 2.0.0 or later, subject to the current requirements in WooCommerce’s Store Owner’s Guide.
  • For that documented extension version, the stated minimums are PHP 7.4+, WordPress 6.2+, and WooCommerce 8.2+. Recheck the live documentation because minimum versions can change.
  • A working payment gateway, email delivery system, and checkout.

Action Scheduler handles background jobs such as generating gift-card codes and sending gift-card emails. Disabled WP-Cron or failed loopback requests can stop those jobs, even when the order itself appears successful.

Install and activate WooCommerce Gift Cards

  1. Install WooCommerce from Plugins > Add New if it is not already active.
  2. Purchase and download the official WooCommerce Gift Cards extension from WooCommerce, then install it under Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin.
  3. Activate the extension.
  4. Open WooCommerce > Settings > Gift Cards. This is where the extension’s settings appear.

The extension does not add a separate WordPress product type. You create a normal WooCommerce product and enable its Gift Card setting.

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#1 Best Overall
Amazon eGift Card - Amazon Logo
  • Amazon.com Gift Cards never expire and carry no fees.
  • Multiple gift card designs and denominations to choose from.
  • Redeemable towards millions of items store-wide at Amazon.com or certain affiliated websites.
  • Available for immediate delivery. Gift cards sent by email can be scheduled up to a year in advance.
  • No returns and no refunds on Gift Cards.

Create the gift-card product

One fixed amount

  1. Go to Products > Add New.
  2. Enter a product name such as “$50 Gift Card,” description, image, and any relevant tax or catalog settings.
  3. Choose Simple product.
  4. Enable the product’s Gift Card setting.
  5. Set the fixed price and publish the product.

A simple product is appropriate when each listing represents one amount.

Several preset amounts

  1. Create a product under Products > Add New.
  2. Choose Variable product.
  3. Add an amount attribute, such as $25, $50, $100, and $200.
  4. Create variations with the corresponding prices.
  5. Enable the Gift Card setting and publish.

This keeps multiple denominations on one product page. The documented setup does not establish customer-entered amounts as a feature, so confirm that capability in the current extension documentation before promising it to buyers.

Choose who receives the card and when

Gift Cards settings let you define whether every purchase must be sent as a gift, whether sending to another recipient is optional, or whether the card goes to the purchaser’s billing email.

Rank #2
Amazon eGift Card - Happy Birthday
  • Amazon.com Gift Cards never expire and carry no fees.
  • Multiple gift card designs and denominations to choose from.
  • Redeemable towards millions of items store-wide at Amazon.com or certain affiliated websites.
  • Available for immediate delivery. Gift cards sent by email can be scheduled up to a year in advance.
  • No returns and no refunds on Gift Cards.

On the product and checkout flow, buyers can provide recipient details and a message. The official product documentation also lists sending to multiple recipients and choosing a future delivery date.

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Decide your policy before launch: explain whether the purchaser receives a copy, what happens when a recipient address is mistyped, and whether scheduled delivery can be changed after the order is placed.

Configure the email and card presentation

Set the recipient email image or design in the gift-card settings where your branding requires it. Check the email on both desktop and mobile, and make sure it clearly shows:

Rank #3
Visa Virtual eGift Card
  • Visa Virtual eGift Cards are designed for online use only. Gift Cards are subject to Terms and Conditions: a.co/5bw3qXJ
  • When you access your Visa Virtual eGift Card for the first time, you’ll need to register your name, address, phone number, and email address via activationspot.com. These details should also be used as your billing address for online purchases, as many merchants require address verification for purchase authorization.
  • This Visa Virtual eGift Card is non-reloadable. No cash or ATM access. Visa Virtual eGift Cards are emailed active.
  • Funds do not expire but your Visa Virtual eGift Card has a ‘valid thru’ date (9 years from date of purchase). If funds remain after this date has passed, please call the Toll Free number found on your Visa Virtual eGift Card for a replacement card. A one-time purchase fee applies at the time of checkout.
  • This item is not eligible for refund, resale, or return. Available for sale within the United States only. Not available to residents of Puerto Rico, Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, West Virginia and the US Virgin Islands.
  • the gift-card code or redemption instructions;
  • the value and store identity;
  • the intended recipient and sender message, when supplied;
  • where the recipient can get help if the email is delayed or lost.

How customers redeem a WooCommerce gift card

Redeem at checkout

The recipient enters the gift-card code in the gift-card or coupon area of checkout and applies it to the order. The available balance is used toward eligible purchases; if the order total exceeds the balance, the customer pays the remainder with another payment method.

Add the balance to an account

WooCommerce also documents adding the code’s balance to a customer account. Once stored, the recipient can use that balance on a later purchase while signed in.

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One-click scans. No signup required.

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Test partial redemption, an order worth less than the card balance, an order worth more than the balance, an invalid code, and an expired card if your configuration uses expiration.

Rank #4
Visa Virtual eGift Card
  • Visa Virtual eGift Cards are designed for online use only. Gift Cards are subject to Terms and Conditions: a.co/5bw3qXJ
  • When you access your Visa Virtual eGift Card for the first time, you’ll need to register your name, address, phone number, and email address via activationspot.com. These details should also be used as your billing address for online purchases, as many merchants require address verification for purchase authorization.
  • This Visa Virtual eGift Card is non-reloadable. No cash or ATM access. Visa Virtual eGift Cards are emailed active.
  • Funds do not expire but your Visa Virtual eGift Card has a ‘valid thru’ date (9 years from date of purchase). If funds remain after this date has passed, please call the Toll Free number found on your Visa Virtual eGift Card for a replacement card. A one-time purchase fee applies at the time of checkout.
  • This item is not eligible for refund, resale, or return. Available for sale within the United States only. Not available to residents of Puerto Rico, Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, West Virginia and the US Virgin Islands.

Run a complete pre-launch test

  1. Place a real or controlled test order using the same payment gateway customers will use.
  2. Use a recipient address you can access and confirm the email arrives with the correct amount, code, message, and design.
  3. Redeem the code as a guest if your store permits guest checkout.
  4. Redeem another test code after adding it to a customer account.
  5. Check partial-balance behavior and the handling of a failed or cancelled order.
  6. Verify that the order, gift-card transaction, and remaining balance appear correctly in the store administration.
  7. Repeat the test with your production theme, cache, security, email, tax, subscription, and checkout extensions active.

Check background processing when delivery fails

Code creation and email delivery depend on Action Scheduler. If an order completes but no code or email appears, inspect scheduled actions and your site’s cron and loopback health.

  • Confirm WP-Cron has not been disabled without a replacement server cron.
  • Check that the host allows WordPress loopback requests.
  • Look for failed or pending Action Scheduler jobs in the WooCommerce administration.
  • Resolve blocked callbacks, fatal PHP errors, or mail-delivery failures before retrying the order.

Do not manually promise a card has been delivered until the recipient email and code have been verified.

What the official extension supports

Capability Documented behavior
Product format WooCommerce simple or variable products with the Gift Card setting enabled
Fulfillment Digital gift-card codes issued after an order
Recipient options Purchaser or another recipient, with recipient details and a message
Delivery timing Immediate delivery and documented future delivery dates
Recipients Documentation lists support for multiple recipients
Redemption Apply at checkout or add the balance to an account
Administration Search and edit issued certificates, review transactions, view issued, used, and expired amounts, and import or export codes
Physical cards Not supported by this extension
Printed vouchers Not supported by this extension
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Support on Ko-Fi

Compatibility and operational limits

WooCommerce does not guarantee seamless operation with every third-party plugin or payment gateway. A gateway, checkout customization, cache layer, email plugin, or theme can change the result. Treat your own stack as the compatibility test: place orders, deliver codes, redeem them, and inspect balances before advertising the feature.

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Best Value
Amazon eGift Card - Iconic Graduation
  • Amazon.com Gift Cards do not expire and carry no fees.
  • Multiple gift card designs and denominations to choose from.
  • Redeemable towards millions of items store-wide at Amazon.com or certain affiliated websites.
  • Available for immediate delivery. Gift cards sent by email can be scheduled up to a year in advance.
  • No returns and no refunds on Gift Cards.

If you need cards that are printed, mailed, or sold in a physical shop, this extension is not the documented solution. You will need a different plugin or fulfillment workflow and must verify how its codes connect to online redemption.

Alternatives to the official extension

WordPress.org lists Gift Cards (Gift Vouchers and Packages), and Gift Cards Pro documentation says its product can work with or without WooCommerce. Their existence does not establish that they match the official extension’s features, pricing, security, or compatibility.

When evaluating another solution, compare:

  • WooCommerce dependency;
  • digital, physical, or hybrid fulfillment;
  • fixed, preset, or customer-entered amounts;
  • scheduled email and recipient personalization;
  • checkout redemption and partial-balance handling;
  • reporting, code search, editing, import, and export;
  • payment-gateway and checkout compatibility;
  • minimum WordPress, PHP, and WooCommerce versions;
  • license cost, renewal terms, support, and update history.

Verify each item in the alternative’s current documentation rather than relying on an old plugin listing.

Extension price and renewal details

At the time covered by the available WooCommerce product-page information, the extension displayed a one-year plan at $79 and a two-year plan at $126.40 against $158. These are a time-specific price snapshot, not a permanent price or a statement of renewal terms. Check the current product page for today’s price, term, and renewal conditions before purchasing.

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The Bottom Line

For a WordPress store that already uses WooCommerce, the official WooCommerce Gift Cards extension is the documented route to selling digital gift cards: create a simple or variable product, configure recipient delivery, test Action Scheduler and email delivery, and verify redemption at checkout and in customer accounts. Choose another solution if you require physical or printed cards.

Quick Recap

Bestseller No. 1
Amazon eGift Card - Amazon Logo
Amazon eGift Card - Amazon Logo
Amazon.com Gift Cards never expire and carry no fees.; Multiple gift card designs and denominations to choose from.
$50.00
Bestseller No. 2
Amazon eGift Card - Happy Birthday
Amazon eGift Card - Happy Birthday
Amazon.com Gift Cards never expire and carry no fees.; Multiple gift card designs and denominations to choose from.
$50.00
Bestseller No. 3
Bestseller No. 4
Bestseller No. 5
Amazon eGift Card - Iconic Graduation
Amazon eGift Card - Iconic Graduation
Amazon.com Gift Cards do not expire and carry no fees.; Multiple gift card designs and denominations to choose from.
$50.00

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.