In this tutorial I summarize the possible ways of sending WooCommerce, one of the most complicated points in any eCommerce.
As we can see in the image above, by default WooCommerce comes with 5 shipping methods, namely: Single Price, Free Shipping, International Shipping, Local Shipping, and Local Pickup. Let’s quickly see the differences between them, and how we can take it a step further.
Now we are going to analyze them all one by one. If you also want to see it live through video tutorials with examples and more complementary information, I recommend the .
And without further ado… Let’s get started!
Single price in WooCommerce
This shipping method is a classic, and surely the most used in any WooCommerce installation. Basically it allows us to set a default shipping cost, as well as a specific cost for each type of shipping that we have configured. (if we have any configured).
As you can see, the configuration is very simple. We can put a name on it, choose the countries in which it is allowed, choose whether VAT should be added or not, and finally the cost itself, in this case, it is €5.
From here, additional things can be added, depending on some variables. These costs can be for each order, for each item, or for each class of shipment.
It is important to understand that all of these costs WILL be ADDED to the cost entered above. So, if we place €5 for “any class” of shipping, that will be added to the previous €5, making a total of 10.
We can also put the management expenses, which will be added to the total. Thus, if we put €1 cost for any kind of shipment and €1 for management expenses, the total transport will be €7 (€5 + €1 + €1).
Both the costs per class and the management costs can be established with an absolute value, or with a percentage of the amount of the purchase.
Moreover, we can set a minimum quantity for handling (management fees). This means that if the cost does not reach that minimum, it will be increased automatically. For example, if we have that the management costs rise to €3, but we have established a minimum of €5, the €5 will be added to the total order, as it is the minimum.
And finally, we can add several additional fees, so that the client can choose:
In this case we have added fast shipping, which will increase the cost of transport by €3, and super fast shipping, which will increase €6. We can see this in the cart as follows:
And with this we conclude the “Single Price” method. But do not go yet, there is still more. Let’s see what other shipping options we have:
Free shipping on WooCommerce
This form of shipping is much simpler to configure, by its very nature, since it is a zero-cost shipment. No complications, no extras:
What does let us choose are the countries to which free shipping is limited (Don’t be in case someone from Australia orders us) and also if there is a minimum amount for free shipping. This marketing technique is very useful for .
On the other hand, we can also establish that a free transport coupon is necessary or not, in order to opt for that option.
If we add this transport configuration to the previous one, we will see that the free transport option appears in the transport options that we already had established:
So, we already have the single price and free transportation covered. But what happens if they place an international order, which is much more expensive? How can we set a separate price? Easy, with international shipping.
International Shipping in WooCommerce
This type of shipping allows us to establish another shipping cost in the event that the address where we have to send the product is in another country.
In this case, we can configure the following preferences:
- Availability and countries: Countries that we want to include or exclude from this rate.
- Tax situation: If we must add VAT to transport.
- Added cost: Whether this cost is per order, product or shipping class.
- Administration fees: Amount or percentage for handling.
- Minimum amount: A minimum to be charged if the management expenses do not reach that amount.
As you can see, configuring this option, we already have one more possible shipment. The International. In this case it is the established €50, plus the minimum of €10.
But what if it’s the opposite? What if our client lives right in our city? Can we make you a special price? Of course yes, let’s see how.
Local shipping in WooCommerce
Local shipping allows us to introduce an alternative transport rate in the event that the client resides in the same city as us, or in the postal codes that we indicate.
The local transport price can be a fixed amount, or variable depending on the amount of the purchase, and it allows us to restrict by postal codes, so that if we have several stores, we can enter the postal codes close to them.
In this way, we add a new transport option to our private list. Here we have it:
Let’s note that now that we have entered the corresponding postal code, the international shipping option disappears, since it would not make sense to offer it to someone who enters their address and we know that they are in their own country.
Remember that WooCommere will only show the available shipping options. So, if the order was less than €50, free shipping would not appear either.
And now we will see the last shipping option. The “I don’t send”. That is, that they come to look for us at the store. Let’s see how it works.
Local Pickup in WooCommerce
And we come to the last of the methods that come standard with WooCommerce. Local pickup, which basically means that the customer will come to pick up the order at the store, or at one of the stores.
Some of you will wonder what is the point of this method, since if the customer has to go to the store, they will already pay for it there. But sometimes they want to reserve the product before it is sold out, or at that moment they are out of town. Or even in some cases for convenience. The fact is that if we want, we can activate this method very easily:
The only thing we can set in this case is a limit by country and by postal code, but even that is optional. It seems common sense that this option will only be selected by people from our country, close to the store. But come on, if someone from Helsinki wants to come pick up the order, no problem, we’re not going to say no.
So, with this last method we already have the 5 shipping options that go by default in WooCommerce. But that does not mean that they are the only ones. We have some more that we can achieve thanks to certain plugins. Let’s take a look at them!
Shipping costs in WooCommerce according to zones
Surely you have noticed a detail. At a geographical level we have been able to establish three types of zones: Local, national and international.
But that leaves much to be desired, since we can only list the countries that we consider “international” and that’s it, but we cannot establish expenses based on each country, which would be normal, since transport agencies do not have a single “international” rate is a mixed bag, but depends on each country and area. Well, if we want to do the same, we can do it with the plugin .
As you can see, this plugin is a joy, since it allows us to establish any zone, be it a country or group of countries, a province or groups of provinces, or even at the level of postal codes.
Thus, we can establish a price for any European country, another for Spain, another for the province of Madrid, and even another for Las Rozas. But come on, that’s just an example to give you an idea.
Each established zone has its own configuration, in which we can establish the title, if it carries taxes, the fixed handling costs, and a maximum to be applied, which will be the limit that the client will pay.
And then we can establish the costs themselves, which can also be for each order, order line, product or shipping class.
We can indicate a handling cost (in euros or in percentage)a minimum cost (that the client will pay at least even if the percentage is lower) and a maximum cost (which the client will pay as a cap even if the cost is higher).
Obviously, that makes WooCommerce’s default “Single Price”, “Free Shipping”, “International Shipping” and “Local Shipping” methods a bit of a joke, compared to this one all-encompassing method, and adds much more flexibility. In fact, this plugin can not only establish prices by geographical areas, but much more. Among other things, the dimensions and weight of the order.
Shipping costs in WooCommerce according to weight
Well yes, indeed. With the plugin each of these zones has its own rates, but it turns out that these in turn may depend on other variables. One of the most classic is according to the weight of the products to be sent.
As you can see in the example, we have established three prices depending on whether the weight of the order is between 1kg and 3kg, between 4kg and 10kg, or more than 10kg. Obviously, we could put as many as we wanted more.
Also, the price we set here can be absolute (in euros)variable (in percentage), by product, or by order. In other words, total flexibility. And that’s not all. We can also do it by price.
Shipping costs in WooCommerce according to price
You are right. With we can establish different shipping costs depending on the total amount of the order. The more money they spend, the cheaper we can leave the order (or vice versa).
In this case we have established three ranges. Up to €60, between €60 and €100, and more than €100. With respective prices of €5, €2 and free transport.
As you can see, this plugin is extremely flexible, and the best thing is that it allows you to combine all the methods, creating as many combinations as you want between zones, weights, and order amounts. And the best thing is that it will calculate everything automatically and show a single final price in the cart, without the user having to select anything.
And oddly enough, we still have one last shipping method left. Shipping per product.
Shipping costs per product in WooCommerce
Sometimes, we have a specific product that requires special transport. It is an “exception” to the rule. Perhaps because it requires cold shipping, with special insurance, or even in the case of dangerous goods.
In this case, we will need the plugin, which allows us to establish the cost in the product file itself, with the rest of the information from the “Shipping” tab:
As you can see in the image above, within the product file we can see a “Per-product shipping” option, which allows us to establish a special price (in this case €80) which will be automatically added as a cost if the order includes such a product.
We can also establish this shipping cost based on the country, state, province and even the code…
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