MH Free Gifts for WooCommerce
Store Owner User Manual
This guide explains how to create, test, and manage free-gift offers in your WooCommerce store.
It is written for store owners. You do not need to edit code.
Contents
- Before you start
- Quick start: create your first rule
- How a rule works
- Rule settings explained
- Example promotions
- Plugin settings
- Test a rule before publishing
- Common questions
Before you start
You need:
- WordPress and WooCommerce installed and active.
- At least one WooCommerce product that can be given away as the gift.
- Products and/or product categories ready if your offer depends on specific items.
The plugin uses normal WooCommerce products as gifts. The gift is added at a price of $0.00. Free gifts do not count toward the cart quantity or subtotal used to qualify for another gift.
Quick start: create your first rule
Example: "Spend $50 and choose one free gift."
- In WordPress admin, go to Free Gifts > Add Rule.
- Give the rule a clear internal name, such as
Spend $50 - choose a gift. - Under Select Gifts, choose one or more products that the customer may receive.
- Leave Auto-add Gift unticked. This lets the customer choose.
- Set Display Gifts On to
CartorCart & Checkout. - Set Number of Gifts Allowed to
1. - Under Cart Subtotal, choose
Is Greater Than or Equal Toand enter50. - Leave other restrictions blank unless you need them.
- Click Save Rule.
- Add products worth at least $50 to a test cart and confirm the gift selector appears.
Tip: Use a meaningful rule name. Customers do not see it, but it makes future changes much easier.
How a rule works
Every active rule asks two questions:
- Does this cart qualify?
- If it qualifies, what gift or gifts can the customer receive?
A rule can qualify from one condition or several combined conditions. For example:
- Cart subtotal is at least $50.
- Cart contains a specific product.
- Cart contains an item from a chosen category.
- The customer has bought at least 3 qualifying items.
- The customer is logged in.
- The offer is inside its start and end dates.
If a rule has more than one condition, all configured conditions must be true.
Rule settings explained
General Settings
| Setting | What it does | Simple advice |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Turns the rule on or off. | Set to Disabled while building or testing an offer. |
| Rule Name | Internal name for store staff. | Describe the offer and its trigger. |
| Description | Internal notes for store staff. | Record campaign details or exclusions. |
| Select Gifts | Products a customer may receive. | Choose one or more products for a choice-based offer. |
| Auto-add Gift | Adds the gift automatically when the rule qualifies. | Select exactly one gift product before enabling this. |
Display Settings
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Display Gifts On | Shows the manual gift selector on Cart, or on Cart and Checkout. |
| Items Per Row (Cart) | Controls the number of gift cards per row on the cart page, from 1 to 6. If several rules qualify, the highest applicable value is used. |
Auto-added gifts do not appear in the manual gift selector. They are added and removed automatically as the cart qualifies or stops qualifying.
Usage Restrictions
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Product Dependency | Requires at least one selected product in the cart. |
| Product Category Dependency | Requires at least one product from any selected category in the cart. |
| Threshold Scope | Decides whether quantity and subtotal conditions use the whole purchased cart or only dependency-matching products. |
| User Dependency | Restricts the offer to specific WordPress users. |
| Registered Users Only | Hides the offer from guest shoppers. |
| Number of Gifts Allowed | Number of gifts a customer can claim from this rule. |
| Disable if Coupon Applied | Makes the rule unavailable when any coupon is applied. |
| Cart Subtotal | Adds a spend condition using less than, greater than, less than or equal to, greater than or equal to, or equal to. |
| Cart Quantity | Adds an item-count condition using the same operators. |
| Repeat Gifts For Quantity Multiples | Repeats the allowed gift count as qualifying quantity grows. |
| Valid From / Valid To | Starts or ends an offer automatically on the selected dates and times. |
| Usage Limit per Rule | Caps the total number of orders that may use the rule. |
| Usage Limit per User | Caps how many times each logged-in customer may use the rule. |
Threshold Scope: the important choice
Threshold Scope appears when you choose a Product Dependency or Product Category Dependency.
Whole Purchased Cart is the default. The dependency only confirms that the qualifying product/category is present; the quantity or subtotal can come from any purchased products.
Example: The cart must contain a pizza and have a quantity of 3. One pizza plus two drinks qualifies.
Matching Dependency Items Only is more precise. The quantity or subtotal only counts products that match the selected dependency.
Example: The cart must contain 3 pizzas. One pizza plus two drinks does not qualify.
Use Matching Dependency Items Only for offers such as "Buy 3 pizzas" or "Spend $100 on skincare." Use Whole Purchased Cart for offers such as "Spend $100 anywhere, as long as the cart includes a skincare item."
Quantity multiples
Quantity multiples are for repeated offers.
Example: Set Cart Quantity to Is Greater Than or Equal To 2, Number of Gifts Allowed to 1, and tick Repeat Gifts For Quantity Multiples.
- 2 qualifying items: 1 gift
- 4 qualifying items: 2 gifts
- 6 qualifying items: 3 gifts
This works with Greater Than or Equal To and Greater Than quantity conditions. For auto-add, use exactly one gift product; the plugin adds the needed number of copies automatically.
Example promotions
1. Spend $75 and choose a sample
Use this for a simple store-wide reward where the shopper chooses one item.
| Field | Set it to |
|---|---|
| Rule Name | Spend $75 - choose a sample |
| Select Gifts | Select 2 or 3 sample products |
| Auto-add Gift | Off |
| Display Gifts On | Cart & Checkout |
| Number of Gifts Allowed | 1 |
| Cart Subtotal | Is Greater Than or Equal To 75 |
Leave product/category dependencies blank. The customer sees the gift choices once the purchased cart subtotal reaches $75.
2. Buy 3 pizzas, get the fourth pizza free automatically
Use this when the gift should be added without the shopper choosing it.
| Field | Set it to |
|---|---|
| Rule Name | Buy 3 pizzas - free fourth pizza |
| Select Gifts | Choose the one pizza to give away |
| Auto-add Gift | On |
| Product Category Dependency | Pizza |
| Threshold Scope | Matching Dependency Items Only |
| Cart Quantity | Is Greater Than or Equal To 3 |
| Number of Gifts Allowed | 1 |
Important: Auto-add requires exactly one selected gift. If the customer removes a pizza and no longer qualifies, the automatic gift is removed too.
3. Buy any 2 products from a category and choose a free accessory
Use this when a customer can choose from several gifts after buying qualifying category items.
| Field | Set it to |
|---|---|
| Rule Name | Buy 2 candles - choose an accessory |
| Select Gifts | Wick trimmer, matches, or gift bag |
| Auto-add Gift | Off |
| Product Category Dependency | Candles |
| Threshold Scope | Matching Dependency Items Only |
| Cart Quantity | Is Greater Than or Equal To 2 |
| Number of Gifts Allowed | 1 |
Two candles qualify. One candle plus another unrelated product does not.
4. Buy 2, get 1 - repeated at higher quantities
Use this for "Buy 2, get 1" style offers that repeat.
| Field | Set it to |
|---|---|
| Rule Name | Every 2 coffees - one free biscuit |
| Select Gifts | One biscuit product |
| Auto-add Gift | On |
| Product Dependency or Category Dependency | Coffee products or Coffee category |
| Threshold Scope | Matching Dependency Items Only |
| Cart Quantity | Is Greater Than or Equal To 2 |
| Number of Gifts Allowed | 1 |
| Repeat Gifts For Quantity Multiples | On |
The customer receives 1 biscuit at 2 coffees, 2 biscuits at 4 coffees, and 3 biscuits at 6 coffees.
5. VIP customer-only gift
Use this for a reward limited to named customers.
| Field | Set it to |
|---|---|
| Rule Name | VIP thank-you gift |
| Select Gifts | Choose the reward product |
| User Dependency | Search for and select your VIP users |
| Cart Subtotal | Is Greater Than or Equal To 100, if required |
| Number of Gifts Allowed | 1 |
Use Registered Users Only when any logged-in customer may qualify. Use User Dependency when only selected accounts may qualify.
6. Weekend promotion with a coupon exclusion
Use this when the gift should run automatically for a limited campaign and should not stack with discounts.
| Field | Set it to |
|---|---|
| Rule Name | Weekend $100 gift |
| Select Gifts | Choose the campaign gift |
| Cart Subtotal | Is Greater Than or Equal To 100 |
| Disable if Coupon Applied | On |
| Valid From | Friday campaign start date and time |
| Valid To | Sunday campaign end date and time |
| Usage Limit per Rule | Optional campaign total, such as 100 |
| Usage Limit per User | Optional per-customer limit, such as 1 |
Test the date and time with a short future window before relying on it for a live campaign.
7. Spend $100 on skincare, not on other products
Use this when only one department should count toward a spend threshold.
| Field | Set it to |
|---|---|
| Rule Name | Spend $100 on skincare - free pouch |
| Select Gifts | Cosmetic pouch |
| Product Category Dependency | Skincare |
| Threshold Scope | Matching Dependency Items Only |
| Cart Subtotal | Is Greater Than or Equal To 100 |
| Number of Gifts Allowed | 1 |
$60 of skincare plus $40 of unrelated products does not qualify. The cart needs at least $100 of skincare products.
Plugin settings
Go to Free Gifts > Settings to control how rules work together and how the selector looks.
Allow Gift Accumulation
When enabled, a shopper can claim gifts from several eligible rules in the same order.
When disabled, the shopper can keep gifts from one eligible rule only. This is useful when offers should not stack. Auto-added rules prefer the highest qualifying tier.
Checkout placement and text
These settings apply to classic WooCommerce checkout. Checkout Blocks use their own compatible gift panel.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Checkout Placement | Chooses where the classic checkout Free Gift section appears. |
| Cart Heading Text | Changes the main gift heading on cart and Blocks panels. |
| Checkout Toggle Text | Changes the classic checkout accordion label. |
| Checkout Accordion Default State | Chooses whether the classic checkout Free Gift accordion starts open or closed. |
| Add Button Text / Remove Button Text | Changes the button labels. |
| Cart Heading Font Size / Checkout Toggle Font Size | Changes the matching text sizes. |
Button styles
You can change the gift button text colour, background, border colour, border size, font size, and border radius. Start with your existing site colours, then check both cart and checkout on a phone as well as desktop.
Test a rule before publishing
Use this quick checklist for every new promotion:
- Save the rule as Disabled while entering the settings.
- Check the selected gift products are in stock and purchasable.
- Activate the rule.
- Test just below the threshold. The selector or auto-gift should not appear.
- Test exactly at the threshold when using
Greater Than or Equal To. - Test above the threshold.
- If using dependencies, test unrelated products as well as qualifying products.
- If using a coupon exclusion, apply a coupon and confirm the offer disappears.
- If using dates or limits, test those conditions before the campaign begins.
- Test Cart, classic Checkout, and WooCommerce Blocks if your store uses them.
For a manual rule, test adding and removing the gift. For an auto-add rule, test reducing the cart below the threshold and confirm the gift is removed automatically.
Common questions
Why is the free gift selector not showing?
Check that the rule is Active, a gift is selected, the cart meets every configured condition, no usage limit has been reached, the date window is active, and no coupon is applied when Disable if Coupon Applied is enabled.
Why does one matching product plus another item not qualify?
Check Threshold Scope. If the offer is "Buy 2 from this category," choose Matching Dependency Items Only so both items must come from that category.
Can customers choose from several gifts?
Yes. Select several products under Select Gifts, keep Auto-add Gift off, and set Number of Gifts Allowed to the number they may choose.
Can I use a variation as a gift?
Yes. Search for and select the variation in the gift picker. Test the rule in a real cart after saving.
Why cannot I enable Auto-add Gift?
Auto-add works only when exactly one gift product is selected. It cannot automatically choose between several possible gifts.
Do free gifts count toward thresholds or quantity multiples?
No. The plugin evaluates only purchased cart items, so free gifts cannot help a cart qualify for more free gifts.
Can I stop guests using an offer?
Yes. Tick Registered Users Only. For a reward limited to particular accounts, use User Dependency instead.
A customer has an old cart. Will changes take effect?
Yes. Save the rule, then refresh the cart or checkout. The plugin reevaluates eligibility as WooCommerce updates the cart.
Safe operating habits
- Keep one clear purpose per rule.
- Test new rules with a private/incognito browser window so your admin account does not affect customer-specific rules.
- Use date windows and usage limits for limited promotions.
- Disable a rule rather than deleting it when a campaign ends; this preserves the setup for later reuse.
- Review rules after changing product categories, prices, coupons, or shipping promotions.