Woocommerce How To Manually Send Completed Order Email

WooCommerce: How to Manually Send Completed Order Emails (The Easy Way)

So, you’re running a WooCommerce store and sometimes you need to resend that “Order Completed” email? Maybe a customer claims they never received it, or perhaps you just updated the order status manually and the email wasn’t triggered automatically. Don’t worry, it happens to the best of us! This guide will walk you through exactly how to manually send that “Completed Order” email in WooCommerce, even if you’re a complete beginner. We’ll keep things simple and practical, with real-life examples.

Why Manually Send Order Completion Emails?

Before we jump into the *how*, let’s understand the *why*. The “Order Completed” email is crucial for a good customer experience. It confirms that their order is finalized, often includes tracking information (if available), and provides a sense of closure. Here are a few common scenarios where you might need to manually resend it:

* Customer never received the original email: Email can be finicky! It might end up in spam folders, be blocked by their email provider, or get lost in the digital ether. Resending ensures they get the information they need.

* Manual order status updates: You might manually change an order’s status to “Completed” after a physical pickup or delivery. WooCommerce might not automatically trigger the email in these cases, so you need to do it yourself. Imagine a customer picks up their order in your physical store. You mark it as “Completed” in WooCommerce *after* they leave. You’ll definitely want to send them a confirmation email!

* Testing and debugging: During development or troubleshooting, manually sending emails helps you verify your email setup and ensure the right information is being sent.

* Customization updates: After making changes to your WooCommerce email templates, sending a manual email ensures the changes are displaying as you intended.

Step-by-Step: Manually Triggering the “Completed Order” Email

Okay, let’s get down to business. Here’s the simple process:

1. Log in to your WordPress Dashboard: Head over to your website’s admin area (usually `yourdomain.com/wp-admin`).

2. Navigate to WooCommerce Orders: In the left-hand menu, find “WooCommerce” and click on “Orders”.

3. Find the Order: Locate the specific order you want to resend the email for. You can use the search bar or filter by order number or customer name.

4. Edit the Order: Click on the order number or the “Edit” button to open the order details.

5. Order Actions (Important Step!): Look for a dropdown menu labeled “Order Actions” (often found in a box on the right side of the screen, usually under “Order details”). This is where the magic happens!

6. Choose “Resend order completion email”: Click on the “Order Actions” dropdown and find the option that says “Resend order completion email”. (The exact wording may vary slightly depending on your WooCommerce setup and installed plugins, but it will be very close to this.)

7. Click the “Update” Button: This is the key to activating the “Order Actions”. Click the “Update” button (usually located near the top or bottom of the order details page). WooCommerce will then queue and send the “Order Completed” email.

That’s it! WooCommerce will now send the “Order Completed” email to the customer associated with that order.

Troubleshooting: What If It Doesn’t Work?

Sometimes, things don’t go according to plan. Here are a few common issues and their solutions:

* “Resend order completion email” option is missing:

• Check Order Status: The “Resend” option only appears if the order status is already “Completed.” If it’s not, change the status to “Completed” first and then save the order.
• Plugin Conflicts: A poorly coded plugin can sometimes interfere with WooCommerce functionality. Try deactivating plugins one by one to see if any are causing the problem. Reactivate them one at a time until you find the culprit.
• Theme Issues: Less likely, but possible. Temporarily switch to a default WordPress theme (like Twenty Twenty-Three) to see if the problem persists. If it does, the issue isn’t your theme.

* Emails aren’t being delivered:

• Check the Spam Folder: Ask the customer to check their spam or junk mail folder.
• Email Delivery Issues: WooCommerce uses the `wp_mail()` function, which relies on your web server’s mail configuration. Often, it’s not set up correctly for reliable email delivery. Consider using an SMTP plugin.
• SMTP Plugins: Install an SMTP plugin like WP Mail SMTP, Post SMTP, or Easy WP SMTP. These plugins allow you to send emails through a dedicated SMTP server (like Gmail, SendGrid, or Mailgun), which significantly improves email deliverability.

Here’s how to set up WP Mail SMTP (a popular choice):

1. Install and activate the WP Mail SMTP plugin.

2. Go to “WP Mail SMTP” -> “Settings” in your WordPress dashboard.

3. Choose your “Mailer” (e.g., Gmail, Outlook, SendGrid, Mailgun, etc.).

4. Follow the on-screen instructions to connect your chosen mailer. This usually involves authorizing the plugin to send emails on your behalf.

Advanced: Programmatically Triggering the Email (For Developers)

If you’re a developer and need to trigger the “Completed Order” email programmatically (e.g., from a custom plugin or function), you can use the following code snippet:

<?php
// Get the order object.  Replace 'ORDER_ID' with the actual order ID.
$order_id = 'ORDER_ID';
$order = wc_get_order( $order_id );

if ( $order ) {

// Send the order completed email.

do_action( ‘woocommerce_order_status_completed_notification’, $order_id, $order );

} else {

error_log( ‘Order not found: ‘ . $order_id ); // Log an error if the order doesn’t exist

}

?>

Explanation:

* `wc_get_order( $order_id )`: This function retrieves the order object based on the order ID. Important: Replace `’ORDER_ID’` with the actual ID of the order. You can find the order ID in the WooCommerce Orders section.

* `do_action( ‘woocommerce_order_status_completed_notification’, $order_id, $order )`: This line is the magic! It triggers the `woocommerce_order_status_completed_notification` action, which WooCommerce uses to send the “Order Completed” email. It passes the order ID and the order object to the email template.

* `error_log()`: This is good practice. It logs an error to your server’s error log if the order ID is invalid, making debugging easier.

Important Considerations:

* Use with Caution: Programmatically triggering emails should be done carefully, especially in production environments. Make sure you have proper error handling and logging.

* Order Status: Ensure the order’s status is already set to “Completed” *before* triggering this action. Otherwise, the email might not be sent correctly, or it may send incomplete information.

Conclusion

Manually sending “Completed Order” emails in WooCommerce is a simple but important skill for any store owner. By following these steps, you can ensure your customers receive the necessary order confirmation and tracking information, leading to a better overall shopping experience. And if you encounter any problems, remember to check the troubleshooting tips and consider using an SMTP plugin for reliable email delivery. Good luck!