TRIAL PRODUCTS FOR BLESTA
Free trials on any Blesta package, converted or canceled automatically.
Trial Products is a Blesta free trial plugin that lets you offer a free trial on any package. When the trial ends, the service moves to a paid term or cancels on its own, with no staff time and no surprise charges. It stops clients from taking the same free trial twice, warns them before they try, and gives them a page to keep or cancel their trial themselves.
One-time license · first 12 months of updates & support included
Tested on Blesta 6.0.4 · Convert to paid or cancel per package · One trial per client · 8 editable Blesta email templates
Why Hosts Add a Blesta Free Trial Plugin
More signups
A free trial removes the risk of trying you. Visitors who would never pay up front will happily take a 14-day trial, and many of them stay once their site is running.
No manual follow-up
Blesta has no built-in trials, so most hosts fake them with a $0 term and a calendar reminder. Trial Products ends every trial on time, converts or cancels it, and emails the client at each step.
No trial abuse
Each client gets one trial per package. A repeat order is canceled with no charge, held for your review, or billed at the paid price. You choose, per package.
How a Blesta Free Trial Works With Trial Products
1. Add a $0 trial term
Add a term like 14 Days @ $0.00 to any package, next to its normal paid terms, then map it to a paid term in Trial Products and choose what happens at the end.
2. The client orders it
Blesta issues a $0.00 invoice, closes it and sets up the service as normal. The moment it’s active, the plugin takes over and sends a “trial started” email.
3. It converts or cancels
Convert trials move to the paid term and Blesta invoices it before the trial ends. Cancel trials end on the last day, with no charge. Either way, the client is reminded first.
Because this Blesta free trial plugin moves a convert trial to its paid term as soon as it starts, a stopped cron job can never leave a service renewing for free. The worst case is that the client is billed on schedule.
One Trial Per Client, Enforced
With the one-per-client limit on, a client who already used a package’s trial can’t take it again. Choose what happens to a repeat order for each package:
- Cancel it with no charge (the default). The order is canceled automatically, before it’s set up on your server whenever possible, and the client gets an email explaining why.
- Hold for review. The service is suspended and flagged in your Trials list with a Bill Paid Term button, so you decide.
- Bill the paid term. The service moves to the paid price and is invoiced straight away.
The Blesta free trial plugin emails your staff about every repeat trial order, and logged-in clients see a warning on the order form before they order a trial they’ve already used, so nobody is surprised at checkout.
Clients Manage Their Own Trials
A banner on the client’s Dashboard and Services pages shows each running trial and when it ends. Their My Free Trials page shows the end date and days left, and lets them change their mind without opening a ticket:
- Cancel at End of Trial on a convert trial. They keep the service free until the end, then it’s canceled and they’re never charged.
- Keep It on a cancel trial. The service carries on at the paid price from the day the trial ends.
Built the Blesta Way
Trial Products isn’t a script that edits Blesta’s billing behind its back. It’s a Blesta free trial plugin built on Blesta’s own building blocks, so it behaves like the rest of your install:
Blesta’s own invoicing
Trials use normal package terms, and the paid term is billed by Blesta’s own invoice run, with your usual reminders and suspend-for-nonpayment rules.
Never billed twice
Blesta sends the paid invoice a few days before a trial ends. If the trial then changes, the plugin voids that unpaid renewal invoice and puts the renew date back where it belongs.
Runs on Blesta’s cron
A Blesta automation task every 5 minutes starts trials, sends reminders and closes ended trials. No extra cron job to add.
8 Blesta email templates
Trial started, ending soon, converted and canceled, three repeat-trial emails and a staff notification. Reword or switch any of them off under Settings → Company → Emails.
Multi-company ready
Trial terms, trials, settings and the one-trial rule are kept separate for each company in your Blesta install, and email links use each company’s own domain. One license key covers every company on the install.
Fails safe
Trial logic can never block an order, an invoice run or the cron. If the license ever lapses, trials already running keep working; only adding new trial terms pauses.
Who This Blesta Free Trial Plugin Is For
- Shared and reseller hosts who want more signups from visitors who aren’t ready to pay up front.
- SaaS, license and add-on sellers on Blesta who want a try-before-you-buy period that ends cleanly, without anyone watching a calendar.
- Hosts moving from WHMCS who relied on free trials there and need them in Blesta. Our WHMCS to Blesta migration guide covers the rest of the move.
Want clients to keep logging in after the trial too? Caddie for Blesta adds 24 website, DNS, email and monitoring tools to the same client area. Browse all our Blesta plugins and guides.
Install This Blesta Free Trial Plugin in Three Steps
1. Install
Upload the trial_products folder to Blesta’s plugins/ folder, then click Install under Settings → Company → Plugins → Available. Tables, email templates and the cron task are created automatically.
2. License & settings
Open Packages → Trial Products, enter your license key, add your staff notification email and choose how many days before the end to remind clients.
3. Add a trial
Add a $0 term to a package, map it to a paid term, and make sure the package is on an order form. Trials run with your existing Blesta cron job.
New to Blesta plugins? Our step-by-step guide on how to install a Blesta plugin covers every click.
Requirements:
- Blesta: 6.0 or newer (tested on 6.0.4)
- PHP: 8.3
- System: ionCube Loader v15, plus PHP cURL
- Cron: Blesta’s cron job running (Settings → System → Automation)
Trial Products, the Blesta free trial plugin
One price. Every feature.
- Unlimited trial terms on any package ✅
- Convert to paid or cancel at the end, per package ✅
- One trial per client, with your choice for repeat orders ✅
- Client banner and My Free Trials page ✅
- Staff Extend, Convert Now and Cancel Now ✅
- Automatic renewal invoice cleanup ✅
- 12 months of updates and support included ✅
$29.99 one-time. After the first year, updates & support renew at $19.99/year. If you don’t renew, Trial Products keeps working; you just stop receiving updates.
Questions Blesta Admins Ask First
Doesn’t Blesta have free trials built in?
Not as of Blesta 6. You can add a $0 term, but nothing ends it, converts it or stops a client ordering it again. That’s what this Blesta free trial plugin adds.
Do clients need a card on file to start a trial?
No. The trial order goes through on a $0.00 invoice like any other free order. For convert trials, Blesta invoices the paid term before the trial ends, and your normal payment and suspension rules apply.
What stops someone taking the trial again?
The one-trial-per-client limit, checked per package. A repeat order is canceled with no charge, held for review or billed, whichever you choose. The limit is per client account, so someone who creates a brand-new account can still get a trial.
What if the client changes their mind after the invoice is sent?
If a client cancels at the end of the trial after Blesta has already sent the paid renewal invoice, the plugin voids that unpaid invoice automatically. An invoice that’s partly paid or includes other services is left alone and flagged so you can adjust it.
Can I extend a trial for one client?
Yes. Click Extend on the trial in the staff Trials list and enter the number of days. The renew date, and any scheduled cancellation, move with it.
Will it work with my server modules?
Yes. Trials created by the Blesta free trial plugin are normal Blesta services, so cPanel, DirectAdmin, VPS and any other module provision them as usual. The plugin changes the term and dates, not the account on your server.
Can I reword the trial emails?
Yes. The Blesta free trial plugin installs them as normal Blesta email templates in the Trial Products group under Settings → Company → Emails.
What happens if my license lapses?
Trials already running keep working, so no client is stranded on a free service or billed wrongly. Only adding new trial terms pauses until the license is valid again.
Also from K & K: Caddie for Blesta, the free Blesta forum plugin and our Blesta guides. Trial Products is a Blesta free trial plugin by K & K Web Services. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Phillips Data, Inc. or Blesta.
