By default, Shopify does not provide a way to pre-select subscription plans on product templates. This is because templates are designed to work across all of your products, and Shopify treats subscription options as an additional layer on top of regular purchase options.
With Instant, however, you can automatically pre-select the first available subscription plan for any product that offers both a one-time purchase and a subscription option. This ensures that when customers view your product page, the subscription option is highlighted by default, helping encourage recurring sales.
How to Make Subscriptions the Default
Open your product template in Instant
Open the layout panel
Select the product template you want to update.
Proceed by opening the Shopify content panel
Switch the default selection
Change the setting from One-time purchase to First available selling plan.
This will ensure the subscription option is automatically selected when customers land on the product page.
Save and publish your template
Once you’ve updated the setting, click Save and publish the template to apply changes across products using that template.
Notes & Best Practices
If a product only has a one-time purchase option, this setting will have no effect.
If a product has multiple subscription plans, Instant will always default to the first available plan.
Consider pairing this with clear subscription benefits (e.g., savings, convenience) to maximize conversions.