Kestrel API Manager for WooCommerce

Kestrel API Manager Software Licensing and Subscriptions

• Sell Licensed Software
  • Provide license keys to customers when they purchase your product. Integrate with any programming language to restrict only paying customers from using your software.
• Full Licensing API
  • Handle license activation, deactivation, status checks, list purchased products, verify active api key, deploy software updates for your customer’s license keys, and more.
• Renew Subscriptions
  • Built-in API Manager subscriptions can be renewed manually by the customer.
  • Subscription renewal emails are sent 30 days and 7 days before, and 1 day after, a subscription is set to expire, with a renewal link in the email.
• Upgrade/Downgrade Subscriptions
  • Allow your customers to upgrade their license key and offer more features or activations. You can pro-rate the upgrade and offer additional discounts by pairing with Woo Subscriptions.
• Release Updates
  • Provide new features and bug fixes to your users by deploying updates to your software via the included licensing API.
  • One-click and auto-updates are supported.
  • Amazon S3, remote URL, and local server download options are available for software updates. All URLs are turned into a secure URL.
  • Drop-in library Kestrel API Manager PHP Library for Plugins and Themes is available for WordPress plugin and theme developers.
• Automated Payment Processing
  • When paired with Woo Subscriptions and a supporting billing gateway, subscription renewal payments are billed automatically.
• Unlock Software with License
  • Ability to prevent the software from being used until the license is activated.

Online Subscription Service

• Authenticate customer access through purchased API Key activations.
• Block access until the API Key is activated.
• Check API Key activation status.
• Determine which products/API Resources are available through the API.
• Determine subscription level by the API Key and the number of activations available.
• Automatically process subscription payments when paired with Woo Subscriptions and a supporting billing gateway.

Existing Store Setup

Setting up a WooCommerce store with existing products and orders with the Kestrel API Manager is accomplished as follows:

1. Edit each product to be used with the KestrelAPI Manager by selecting the API checkbox, then filling in the API tab form, and if it is a variable product variation, a few API Manager details such as the number of activations.
2. API Resources will be automatically created from Order line items that contain those products selected as API products. Order line items that contain WooCommerce Subscription product types will also be automatically created. All API Resources are now accessible with client software or an online service through the APIs.
3. Either add the Kestrel API Manager PHP Library for Plugins and Themes to your plugin or theme, or build an API client to connect to the API Manager APIs according the the documentation to take advantage of all the features available.
4. Done.

Migrating from Other License Managers

• WooCommerce Software Add-on
  • The Kestrel API Manager has a built-in tool to import WooCommerce Software Add-on data into the API Manager. The API Manager can also answer API queries intended for the WC Software Add-on, so it is safe to delete the WC Software Add-on once the data import has been completed. Clients can migrate at their own pace to new client software that takes advantage of the API Manager’s robust API features.

Make Recurring Income Selling Software or Services

The Kestrel API Manager turns WooCommerce Products into an API Resource that can be accessed with a License Key (API Key). API Resources (products) can be software, a service, an iPhone or Android App, a membership, a subscription, or anything that can be accessed over the Internet. The most frequently used Product types are Simple, Variable, Simple Subscription, Variable Subscription, and Group. Subscription product types are created using the Woo Subscriptions extension that allows for automated payment collection on the renewal anniversary. There is also support for API access expiration time limits for built-in WooCommerce products purchases that require manual purchase renewal.

How does it work? The customer buys a Product (API Resource) which will have an API Key with a defined number of activations, or unlimited activations. The customer uses the API Key to access the API Resource, which is controlled by Kestrel API Manager. The API Resource remains accessible until it expires, if it has an expiration time. For even more advanced API Resource time management, the Kestrel API Manager works seamlessly with Woo Subscriptions.

Sell API Keys as a License for Software and Automated Updates

The Kestrel API Manager secures your software with an API Key, by acting as a WooCommerce Software License Manager. When used for software, the API Key is similar to using a License Key. The API Key provides access to an API Resource. By using an API Key, client software has a full range of options to activate, deactivate, check the status of an activation, get information about updates, check for updates, get updates, and more. All software downloads use secure, expiring, URLs to insure only your customers have secure access to the software that was purchased. Software downloads can come from the WooCommerce store local server, Amazon S3, or a remote server.

To make selling API Keys for WordPress plugins and themes easier, the Kestrel API Manager PHP Library for Plugins and Themes was developed as a PHP Library that can be dropped into a plugin and theme in less than 5 minutes for API Key authentication and software updates with the KestrelAPI Manager. Learn more about how to get a copy of the Kestrel API Manager PHP Library for Plugins and Themes.

Amazon S3 File Download Support Built-in

File downloads are better served by Amazon S3, which is scalable world-wide, and is extremely affordable for any sized business. Setup your file as described in the documentation, copy and paste the Amazon S3 URL, and your file will be served securely by Amazon S3. Using Amazon S3 allows issues with local web server setup, web hosts, firewalls, WooCommerce file download changes, and other impediments to be completely avoided.

Flexible API Key Types to Match Store Workflow

There are three types of API Key types that provides a flexible API Key model for any store.

1. Master API Key: Great for customers who want to use a single API Key for everything. Can be used to activate any API Resource purchased with this single API Key. Providing a one-key solution to makes its use easier and more convenient for the customer, which improves satisfaction. Customer access to all API Resources can be turned off by the store owner using the Master API Key if required.
2. Product Order API Key: Great for store owners who want customers to use separate API Keys for each purchase. Can be used to activated a single API Resource from a single order. Can be used for more fine-grained control by the store owner, or by the customer who may choose to allow employees, or a friend, to use only that API Key.
3. Associated API Key: Just like the Product Order API Key, except you are in control of which products and orders it is associated with. Can be generated by another plugin, site, or imported, and stored in a custom table that is used by the Kestrel API Manager when the API Key is associated with an API Resource. This allows store owners to use API Keys in a custom way.

Kestrel API Manager Subscriptions

The Kestrel API Manager has API Access Expiration, which is just another way of saying a time limit for an API Key that acts like a subscription. The customer buys a product, and can access that product (API Resource) until the API Access time limit expires, at which time the customer must renew the time limit by buying the product again. When the product is a WooCommerce Subscription, the store can automatically renew the subscription and email a receipt to the customer, or the customer can manually renew the subscription. A Variable WooCommerce Subscription allows a customer to upgrade/downgrade the subscription. All API Resources are managed using API Key activations. A product can have one or more activations available, and any of the API Key types mentioned above can be used to grant access to the API Resource. The choice to use the built in API Manager Subscriptions, or Woo Subscriptions, depends on the product, and store’s needs.

Flexible Product Types

The Kestrel API Manager allows product creation based on your sales model, and the structure provided by WooCommerce. An API Resource (Product) can be sold as a simple/simple subscription product, or a variable/variable subscription product with variations. Each simple and variable variation can have a single number of activations, or unlimited activations, for purchase, or for variable product variations, each variation can have a different number of activations, including one variation that has unlimited activations.

Kestrel API Manager Features

Free Products

Store owners can offer free products, and give existing products that are not free to existing customers for free.

SmartCache

The API Manager uses SmartCache to cache database and API queries at critical points in the data process to dramatically increase the speed of critical services such as data and API responses. SmartCache only updates the cached data being requested when the data changes, or when expired cache is requested but needs to be refreshed. The result is a dramatic speed increase, and a dramatic decrease in server load. When SmartCache is combined with object caching the result is blazing fast speed. SmartCache allows the API Manager to effortlessly scale to any level of traffic load.

Order Screen API Resources

Order items that are API Resources are listed on the Order screen along with pertinent details.

Order Screen API Resource Activations

API Key activations are listed on the order screen, and can be removed if needed.

My Account Dashboard API Keys

On the My Account > API Keys page the Master API Key is always listed. The remaining details can optionally list the Product Order API Key, or it can be hidden as is shown in this screenshot. The customer can remove activations that were not properly removed by client software in the dashboard.

My Account Dashboard API Downloads

On the My Account > API Downloads page API Resources that are software products can be downloaded, and saved to Dropbox if that option is configured. All URLs are secure, and expire at a time interval configured under settings.

Easy WordPress Plugin and Theme Setup

The Kestrel API Manager PHP Library for Plugins and Themes for the API Manager makes it possible to setup both WordPress plugins and themes in minutes. The Kestrel API Manager PHP Library for Plugins and Themes allows WordPress plugins and themes to do automatic updates, and to communicate with all the API Manager APIs to complete tasks such as activation, deactivation, etc. This is an example.

When the plugin is activated the customer can easily find the activation screen.

Once activated the API returns the activation totals. The Product ID form field in the screenshot above is optional.

When an update is available, the customer will see and update the plugin like any other WordPress plugin.

Depending on the information gathered, and tabs chosen in the settings, the plugin view details screen displays information as would be displayed for any plugin from wordpress.org, so it will look familiar to the customer. Learn more about how to get a copy of the Kestrel API Manager PHP Library for Plugins and Themes.

How to Get Started

1. Buy this extension. 🙂
2. Download, install, and activate the Kestrel API Manager in your WooCommerce store.
3. Read our extensive documentation to get started on the right path.
4. That’s it! Sit back and enjoy more revenue using API Keys to control API Resources for your site!

Need any more reason to buy? When you purchase a Todd Lahman LLC developed extension, you’re getting the highest quality extensions for your WooCommerce store. Rest assured that when you purchase our products, your store’s performance is as important to us as it is to you.