With this guide, we’ll discuss about WooCommerce Composite Products and how to use them using WooCommerce shipping plugins. We’ll also show how to fulfill the orders, print labels, and offer order tracking.
What are WooCommerce Composite Products?
WooCommerce Composite products are those products that can be used to create complex products by grouping products (simple/variable) together. Using WooCommerce Composite products, you can sell customizable products such as computers, skateboards, cameras, gift boxes, etc., on your WooCommerce store.
What are the advantages of using WooCommerce Composite Products?
Composite products are designed for the reason that store owners can:
- Create product kits that consist of multiple configurable components
- Create multiple configuration paths
- Apply discounts on specific components
- Set a Min and Max limit for each component
- Provides multiple configuration flows, layouts, and appearances for the composite products created
- Support complex pricing and shipping
WooCommerce Shipping plugins help you ship the WooCommerce Composite Products
The following WooCommerce Shipping plugins are compatible with WooCommerce Composite Products, and you can use any one of them to ship your composite products easily.
- WooCommerce FedEx Shipping Plugin with Print Label
- WooCommerce UPS Shipping Plugin with Print Label
- WooCommerce Canada Post Shipping Plugin with Print Label
How to Set up WooCommerce Composite Products?
WooCommerce Composite product plugin is a good alternative to variable products which has the ability to create configurable products and kits with complicated pricing, shipping and inventory management.
- Upon installing and activating the WooCommerce Composite Product plugin, the Product Data tab under WooCommerce > Products > Product Name would include Composite Products in the drop-box. (shown below)
- Click on Components in the left panel. This selection will enable the store owner to begin configuring the product and add components (shown below)
- Click on Add Component to be able to create and add other products as components. The settings to accomplish this task are below
Important terminologies used in the plugin
- Name – Provide a name for the component to display in the store.
- Description – Provide a brief description of the component. Again, this will appear on the product page.
- Image – Select the image to display in the configuration summaries.
- Options – Now, you will select the type of products that will be offered in this particular component. The store owner is able to set either a Product category to include all associated products or can manually add products individually.
- Optional – You are able to control if a component option must be selected or not (optional or not)
- Default Option – The pre-selected component option. Must be populated when the Catalog price display method is set to Use Defaults
- Operation Style – There are 3 styles of operation, they are Drop-down; Thumbnails and Radio Buttons
- Drop-down: You can view and select the component options from the drop-down menu.
- Thumbnails: You can set the view of the component options as thumbnails.
- Radio Buttons: You can list the component options as radio buttons.
- Minimum Quantity – To set a minimum quantity for the selected Component option.
- Maximum Quantity – Enables the store owner to set a maximum quantity for the selected component option. In order to set the maximum quantity as unlimited, then leave the field blank.
- Shipped Individually – The options enable you to define if the product is shipped as a part of the composite or not.
- Priced Individually – This checkbox enables the store owner to specify if the included component options should maintain their individual prices.
Upon configuring the basic settings of the Composite product, the product page will appear inclusive of the components that have been configured within Product Data > Components.
How to configure the products?
In case the store owner would like to configure the Advanced settings they can do so by navigating to Product Data > Components > Advanced settings (shown below)
- Selection Details Visibility – Provides the store owner the ability to select the below-listed details and mark them visible in the selected component. (Title, Description, Thumbnail, and Price)
- Subtotal Visibility – Provides control over the visibility of the component subtotal. There are 3 main selections, they are:
- Composite – Controls the visibility of the component subtotal within the single-product template of the composite.
- Cart/Checkout – Controls the visibility of the component subtotal in the cart/checkout pages.
- Order details – Controls the visibility of the component subtotal in the order details and e-mail templates.
- Options Sorting – This option enables the component options to be sorted based on popularity, rating, newness, or price.
- Options Filtering – Enables layered attribute filters which is useful in narrowing down component options easily.
1. Using WooCommerce FedEx Shipping Plugin
The customer is able to add the composite products to their cart by first accessing the product page and then selecting the configuration they’d prefer. Based on the layout which has been configured in the settings tab you are able to view a different layout on the product page.
Upon adding the product to the cart, the customer will be provided with the shipping calculation based on the price that was configured.
As a result, when you place and confirm the order, the WooCommerce FedEx Shipping plugin provides you with the Shipping label for the composite product that has been purchased. (test label is shown below)
2. Using along with WooCommerce UPS Shipping Plugin
The customer is able to add the composite products to their cart by first accessing the product page and then by selecting the configuration they’d prefer. You can calculate rates based on the destination address entered and the weight of the item in the cart.
As a result, you can successfully generate the labels within the WooCommerce UPS Shipping plugin(shown below).
3. Using WooCommerce Canada Post Shipping Plugin
The customer is able to add the composite products to their cart by first accessing the product page and then by selecting the configuration they’d prefer. You are able to calculate the rates based on the destination address entered and the weight of the item in the cart.
Therefore, you can successfully generate the labels within the WooCommerce Canada Post Shipping plugin(shown below).
Conclusion
Therefore, you are able to use WooCommerce Composite Products if you sell your products either as individual items or as components that would result in making the product whole. The plugins that support Composite products within WooCommerce are,
- WooCommerce FedEx Shipping Plugin with Print Label
- WooCommerce UPS Shipping Plugin with Print Label
- WooCommerce Canada Post Shipping Plugin with Print Label
Also, if there are any queries or concerns regarding any difficulty being faced, please do Contact PluginHive Customer Support.
Happy selling!
