WooCommerce Shipping Rates – Both Fixed and Dynamic [Step by Step Guide]

WooCommerce Shipping Rates
Author Bartosz Gajewski
Updated:
2019-06-01
Reading time:
3 minutes read

WooCommerce offers you a few options to configure shipping rates.

By default, you can’t set automatic shipping cost calculations. However, it is possible to extend WooCommerce’s features with a plugin.

Do you want to know how? You’re in the right place. You’ll learn all about shipping rates in WooCommerce in just 5 minutes. Ready, set, go!

If you want to set shipping rates in WooCommerce, you need to go to WooCommerce settings.

You’ll find the section there: WooCommerce → Settings → Shipping.

WooCommerce Settings: Shipping Settings

As you see, I have two shipping zones there (the UK and the US). Also, I have already configured shipping methods for each shipping zone.

If you want to configure a shipping method, you need to click on the shipping zone’s name (the one to which you want to add a shipping method).

Once you click it, you’ll see the configuration screen of the shipping zone. You can enable or disable a shipping method or add a new one.

WooCommerce Shipping Zones - configuration screen

There are a few types of shipping methods. Let me talk you through them.

Fixed Shipping Rate

The most popular shipping rate is the Flat Rate. It is a fixed shipping rate such as $5 for every shipment.

Well…

That’s all about the Flat Rate I could say. There is nothing more to configure. It’s simple as that.

In the configuration screen, you can also configure if this shipping method is taxable in your store or not:

Flat Rate in WooComerce Shipping settings

In WooCommerce you configure shipping methods per shipping zone. It means that for each shipping zone, you need to configure shipping methods. The pro is you can set different shipping methods or vary shipping rates across the shipping zones.

So, you can add a Flat rate shipping method to every shipping zone in your store. Then, you can set different shipping rate to each Flat rate shipping method.

That’s not all.

You may want to offer free shipping to your customers. Let’s say you want to configure $5 shipping cost but free shipping for orders over $200.

Easy-peasy!

Just add a ‘Free shipping’ shipping method to a shipping zone.

Free Shipping in WooCommerce - settings

However, this shipping method has a few configuration options:

WooCommerce Free shipping settings (screenshot)

As you see, you can use coupons there. Read our guide if you want to know more: Free Shipping in WooCommerce [Complete Guide]

Shipping Rates Based on Shipping Classes

What if I tell you that it’s not everything that Flat Rate offers?

Let’s begin with some theory:

WooCommerce lets you configure shipping classes. It means that you can group products in your store based on some shipping attributes.

Let’s say you have a few heavy products in your store. So, you can create a ‘heavy’ shipping class and assign the products to it.

WooCommerce Shipping Classes

When you create your first shipping class, the new options will appear in Flat rate’s configuration:

WooCommerce Flat Rate: Shipping Classes

This way you can add additional cost if a customer orders at least one product from e.g. “Heavy items” shipping class.

Do you want to know more? Check out: How to use shipping classes in WooCommerce? [Shipping Guide]

Dynamic Shipping Rates in WooCommerce

Flat Rate for a lot of stores is just not enough!

Shipping classes help but it doesn’t solve all the problems. You can’t configure complex shipping rates calculation this way.

That’s why we created Flexible Shipping.

Now, you need to know two things.

First, you can create virtually any shipping scenario. Check out the examples:

The second thing is over 241,789 stores use Flexible Shipping on a daily basis and they love it!

Flexible Shipping - Review

Flexible Shipping uses a table rate method. That’s why it’s both easy to configure and powerfully. You can create virtually any shipping scenario.

Flexible Shipping WooCommerce

The best Table Rate Shipping for WooCommerce. Period. Create shipping rules based on weight, order totals or item count.

Download for free or Go to WordPress.org
100,000+ Active Installations
Last Updated: 2024-03-13
Works with WooCommerce 8.4 - 8.7.x

Afterword

As you see, WooCommerce can be very powerful in terms of shipping rates configuration. You just need the table rate plugin. How do you like this article and methods I’ve just shown you? Let me know in the comments section below.

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