Different online stores have different shipping needs. Some may provide shipping based on the location, while others may opt for weight based shipping rates. Moreover, store owners may change the way they provide shipping on a timely basis. By default, WooCommerce doesn’t allow store owners the flexibility to have their own customized rules for shipping. Either it is too complex or simply not possible to have this flexibility. What you need is a robust shipping calculator that provides unlimited flexibility while calculating shipping rates. WooCommerce Table Rate Shipping Pro is one such flexible WooCommerce shipping calculator. This article focuses on the flexibility this plugin provides and shows you how simple it is to use. So, at first, let’s check out what makes it the most advanced and customizable shipping calculator for your WooCommerce store.
The Power Of Shipping Rules
The default way of creating shipping options in WooCommerce is with the help of shipping zones. First, you create a shipping zone, and then you provide shipping options. WooCommerce allows you to set up Free and Flat Rate shipping for each zone. So, let’s say, if you want to have 4 different shipping rates for 4 different zones, you would have to repeat the same process 16 times. The result is, an inconvenient and a very time-consuming process. Besides, there is no way to customize these shipping options. These shipping options would not provide you with the flexibility of calculating shipping rates dynamically based on product weight, location, quantity and other factors. WooCommerce Table Rate Shipping Pro, on the other hand, lets you configure the shipping rules for your store. You can set these rules based on your requirements. It gives you the option to set free shipping, flat rate shipping based on location, weight-based shipping, etc. You can set any number of shipping rules and the plugin will get you what you want. It first identifies the shipping rule that matches the conditions and then based on that rule, calculates the shipping rates. These shipping rates are visible on the cart page with the name of your choice.
Weight-Based Shipping Rates
Almost every shipping carrier charges shipping rates based on the weight of the package. However, for those store owners who are not using dedicated shipping plugins, there is no other option but to calculate shipping rates based on weight. WooCommerce Table Rate Shipping Pro has weight-based shipping covered. The plugin provides a simple mechanism to calculate shipping rates based on the total weight of the products in the cart. The plugin adds the weight of all the products and then checks whether there is a dedicated rule for the calculated weight. Whatever shipping calculation is set for that weight, the plugin will calculate the final shipping rate and display it on the cart page. One more interesting thing worth noticing is that the plugin not only provides a flat rate calculation for a dedicated weight but also a per unit weight shipping calculation. This way if you want to charge your customers for every unit increase in weight, you can easily do so.
Free Shipping Based on Cart Value
WooCommerce does provide an option to set up Free Shipping. However, the basic idea behind providing a free shipping is to make sure the customers buy more. In other words, let’s say you are a WooCommerce store owner who wants their customers to have free shipping. However, to make up for the shipping expenses, you would want the customers to spend more in your online store. With the default setup, you simply can’t. On the other hand, with WooCommerce Table Rate Shipping Pro, you can. The plugin provides a more flexible way to provide free shipping. Using this plugin, you can charge your customers standard shipping until the total cart value reaches your desired value. Let’s say $450. So all you need to do is set a rule that says,”Provide Standard Shipping for all the purchases below $450″, and now you can create another rule providing Free Shipping for all the orders above $450.
Shipping Rates Based on Product Quantity
Another way WooCommerce store owners tend to customize the shipping rates on their website is, by the number of products that their customers purchase. If you are an online business owner, you can easily relate to this. Shipping rates vary from package to package. However, you may choose to ship different products in a different way. For example, for cheaper products like the gift cards, you can provide a cheaper shipping for a single gift card. Afterall, the standard letter mail services are more than enough to ship a single gift card. However, in the case of a bulk order, the shipping rates can vary drastically. Moreover, your order may exceed the weight limits of a standard letter mail service. And you may end up shipping it via some other shipping service. With WooCommerce Table Rate Shipping Pro, you can make sure all your products are shipped with the desired shipping service. And most importantly, you will be able to charge shipping rates based on the number of products that your customers are purchasing. Similar to the weight and price based shipping, the plugin also supports shipping rate calculation based on the increase in unit product quantity. This way you can have custom shipping rates for every unit the customer purchases from your store.
Different Shipping Rates for Different Locations
Domestic shipping is cheaper and most of the times you don’t require many shipping services. Mostly, ground services are more than enough to ship domestically. On the other hand, international deliveries require different shipping services based on various factors. These factors can include the weight of the package, its urgency or whether it requires additional care, especially in case of chemicals, etc. Based on all these factors, you may choose to charge different shipping rates based on whether the delivery is domestic or international. WooCommerce Table Rate Shipping Pro makes use of WooCommerce Shipping Zones to calculate shipping rates for different locations. Not only can you provide different shipping rates but also similar shipping rates for a combination of different shipping zones. You don’t need to create dedicated shipping rules for each zone. The plugin allows you to create a single shipping rule and map it with more than one shipping zones.
Categorizing Different Products and Charging Shipping Rates For Them
One of the most important features that help in categorizing the way you ship your products is the WooCommerce Shipping Class. It allows you to combine different products that may have similar properties when it comes to shipping. It can be the weight of the products, dimensions, or even color. You can club these products together virtually by assigning them a similar shipping class. WooCommerce Table Rate Shipping Pro makes full use of the powerful tools that shipping classes are. With the help of this plugin, you can have a dedicated shipping rate for all the products in a shipping class. No more shipping rules, no more calculations. One shipping class with 100 products. Only a single rule to define how you would want to calculate the shipping rates for your products.
Handling Bulk Shipping Rules
Talking about the number of shipping rules, there may be one question you want to ask. How can I modify the shipping rules when there are so many of them..? Well, the answer to this question is simpler than you think. WooCommerce Table Rate Shipping Pro has the capability to calculate shipping rates for thousands of rules. You don’t need to worry about the way it manages these shipping rules. You can easily export a CSV file with all your shipping rules. In case, you need to have any modification, to get rid of some of the shipping rules or even to add hundreds more to the existing rules, all you need to do is download the CSV file. Once you have that file, you can increase, decrease or modify the shipping rules based on your preference. After modification, you can import the same CSV file back from the plugin settings page. This will get all your shipping rules into work and you can be sure that you will get accurate shipping rates every time. Only one thing you need to keep in mind while modifying the CSV file. The file is already formatted based on the values taken by the plugin. Modifying the format in any sense may cause the file to not load properly.
Advanced Yet Simple
Among the other things, the ease of calculating shipping rates was one of the important things we aimed at discussing in this article. While calculating shipping rates, you must be sure regarding your business requirements. Once the idea of having certain shipping rates is clear, it is very easy to make that happen with the help of this plugin. Also, while creating rules for calculating shipping rates, the plugin also makes it very easy for you to understand the shipping rules. The plugin is created to translate the complex shipping rules into simple sentences. This way you will have a clear idea about your shipping rates. It also has a built-in option to choose which shipping rate to display, in case the scenario matches more than one shipping rule. This feature is very necessary while dealing with the different customer requirements. You would want to create different shipping rules for every possible scenario. However, in case of such emergencies, when one single situation triggers two different rules, you have the power to choose whether you want the minimum or maximum shipping rate on the cart page.
So, all the above-mentioned features make it possible to configure almost every shipping scenario using WooCommerce Table Rate Shipping Pro. This plugin is one of the most flexible shipping calculators and built around the idea of providing store owners with the full control over how their shipping rates are calculated. So, if you are among those who have tried many complex solutions that just make shipping rate calculation more difficult, and want to experience how easy it is to get what you really want with the shipping rates on your website, go ahead and try WooCommerce Table Rate Shipping Pro now.
