# How to Enable Free Shipping in WooCommerce: A Beginner’s Guide
Offering free shipping is a powerful tool to boost sales and attract new customers. It’s a well-known fact that seeing “Free Shipping” can be the deciding factor for many online shoppers. This guide will show you how to easily enable free shipping in your WooCommerce store, even if you’re a complete beginner.
Understanding WooCommerce Shipping Options
Before diving into the setup, it’s important to understand how WooCommerce handles shipping. WooCommerce allows you to create multiple shipping zones and methods. A shipping zone defines a geographical area (e.g., United States, Canada, Europe). A shipping method is how you’ll deliver the products within that zone (e.g., Flat Rate, Free Shipping, Local Pickup).
Think of it like this: you might have one shipping zone for the US, offering free shipping for Explore this article on How To Install Woocommerce In WordPress orders over $50, and another for Canada with a flat rate shipping fee.
Method Learn more about How To Add Shortcode In Woocommerce 1: Using WooCommerce’s Built-in Free Shipping Option
This is the easiest way to set up free shipping. It doesn’t require any plugins Explore this article on How To Add Financing To Woocommerce or coding.
Steps:
1. Navigate to Shipping Settings: In your WordPress dashboard, go to WooCommerce > Settings > Shipping.
2. Add a Shipping Zone: Click “Add shipping zone” and define a geographical area. For example, you can start with “United States” and add specific states later if needed.
3. Add a Shipping Method: Click “Add shipping method” and choose “Free shipping”.
4. Configure Free Shipping: You can now configure the free shipping method:
- Method Title: This is what customers will see (e.g., “Free Shipping”).
- Cost: Leave this as “0”. This ensures it’s free!
- Requires “x” items: Set a minimum quantity of items for free shipping (optional).
- Minimum order amount: This is crucial. Set a minimum order value (e.g., $50) to qualify for free shipping. This is how you control the cost and profitability Discover insights on How To Use Woocommerce Rest Api In Php of offering free shipping.
- Tax Status: Choose whether to tax the shipping cost (although it’s 0 in this case, you still need to select a setting).
- Calculate shipping based on: Choose “Cart weight” or “Cart total” based on your preference. Using “Cart total” is generally recommended for simplicity.
- WooCommerce Table Rate Shipping: Allows for complex shipping rules based on various factors.
- Flexible Shipping: Provides a wide array of shipping options and customizations.
5. Save Changes: Click “Save changes” to apply your settings.
Example: Let’s say you want to offer free shipping on orders over $75 within the US. You’d set the “Minimum order amount” to $75 in your free shipping method settings.
Method 2: Using a WooCommerce Shipping Plugin (for Advanced Options)
While the built-in option is sufficient for many, plugins offer more flexibility. For instance, you might want to offer free shipping based on weight, product category, or even specific coupons. Popular plugins include:
These plugins usually have their own configuration interfaces, making the setup relatively straightforward. Refer to the plugin’s documentation for specific instructions.
Method 3: Customizing with Code (For Advanced Users)
If you’re comfortable with PHP, you can customize your free shipping rules further. Caution: Incorrect code can break your website, so back up your files before making any changes.
This example shows how to add free shipping for orders over $100 using a WooCommerce action hook:
add_action( 'woocommerce_package_rates', 'add_free_shipping', 10, 2 ); function add_free_shipping( $rates, $package ) { $total = $package['contents_cost']; if ( $total > 100 ) { $free_shipping = array( 'id' => 'free_shipping', 'label' => 'Free Shipping', 'cost' => 0, 'calc_tax' => 'per_item' ); $rates['free_shipping'] = $free_shipping; } return $rates; }
This code snippet needs to be added to your `functions.php` file or a custom plugin. This is an advanced technique and requires a good understanding of PHP and WooCommerce.
Conclusion
Enabling free shipping in WooCommerce is achievable regardless of your technical skill level. Start with the built-in option for simplicity and explore plugins or custom code for advanced features as your needs grow. Remember to always carefully consider the impact on your profit margins when setting your minimum order value for free shipping. Find the sweet spot that maximizes sales without sacrificing profitability.
