How to Remove Shipping from WooCommerce Cart: A Beginner’s Guide
So, you’re running an online store with WooCommerce, and you want to get rid of the shipping options in the cart? Maybe you’re selling digital products, offering local pickup only, or perhaps you’ve incorporated shipping costs directly into your product prices. Whatever the reason, removing shipping from the WooCommerce cart can be a surprisingly common request.
This guide will walk you through several methods to achieve this, catering to different scenarios and technical skill levels. We’ll break it down in a way that’s easy to understand, even if you’re just starting with WooCommerce.
Why Remove Shipping Anyway?
Before diving in, let’s understand why you might want to do this. In the real world, consider these situations:
* Selling Digital Products: You’re selling e-books, software licenses, or online courses. There’s nothing to ship! Having shipping options is just confusing for the customer.
* Local Pickup Only: You have a physical store and want customers to pick up their orders in person. Displaying shipping options is irrelevant.
* “Free Shipping Included” Pricing: You’ve factored the cost of shipping into the price of each product. Adding a separate shipping charge at checkout would essentially double-charge the customer. Think of a subscription box where the listed price *includes* delivery.
* Subscription Box: Like the previous point, a subscription box will often include the shipping costs in the subscription.
In all these cases, showing shipping options creates a confusing user experience and can lead to cart abandonment.
Method 1: Setting Free Shipping (For Specific Cases)
While not strictly *removing* shipping, setting up “Free Shipping” is a good solution if you want to avoid charging extra but still need to provide a shipping address for order fulfillment.
Here’s how:
1. Go to WooCommerce > Settings > Shipping.
2. Select the Shipping Zone you want to modify (e.g., “United States”).
3. Click “Add shipping method.”
4. Choose “Free Shipping” from the dropdown and click “Add shipping method.”
5. Click “Edit” under the “Free Shipping” method you just added.
6. Select a “Free Shipping requires…” option:
- “A valid free shipping coupon”: Requires the customer to enter a coupon code.
- “A minimum order amount”: Free shipping kicks in after a certain order total. For example, “Free shipping for orders over $50.”
- “A minimum order amount OR a coupon”: Explore this article on WordPress Woocommerce How To Remove The Red Line Under Title Offers both options.
- “N/A”: Always offer free shipping within that zone. This is the option you want if you simply want free shipping all the time.
This method is useful if you want to offer free shipping conditionally (like with a coupon). If you have a subscription box it might be great to always have it “N/A”.
Method 2: Disabling all shipping methods
A more drastic solution that removes shipping from the cart is to disable all shipping methods.
1. Go to WooCommerce > Settings > Shipping.
2. For each Shipping Zone, click on the zone.
3. Remove all the shipping methods that are enabled within each shipping zone.
If no shipping methods are present, WooCommerce will not display any shipping options in the cart or during checkout.
Important Note: This method will prevent customers from entering a shipping address. If you still need this information (for things like collecting billing addresses), you’ll need to find an alternative solution.
Method 3: Using Code (The Slightly More Advanced Route)
If you need more control, you can use code snippets to remove shipping. This method requires you to be comfortable adding code to your theme’s `functions.php` file or using a code snippet plugin. Always back up your website before making changes to your code!
Here’s a snippet to completely remove shipping from the cart and checkout:
add_filter( 'woocommerce_package_rates', 'hide_shipping_when_free_is_available', 100 );
function hide_shipping_when_free_is_available( $rates ) {
$free = array();
foreach ( $rates as $rate_id => $rate ) {
if ( ‘free_shipping’ === $rate->method_id ) {
$free[ $rate_id ] = $rate;
break;
}
}
if ( ! empty( $free ) ) {
unset( $rates[‘flat_rate’] );
}
return ! empty( $free ) ? $free : $rates;
}
Explanation:
- `add_filter( ‘woocommerce_package_rates’, ‘hide_shipping_when_free_is_available’, 100 );`: This line hooks into the WooCommerce filter that displays shipping rates.
- `hide_shipping_when_free_is_available( $rates )`: This is our custom function.
- The code loops through the available shipping rates.
- If it finds a “free_shipping” method, it saves it in the `$free` array.
- Then, it checks if the `$free` array is not empty (meaning free shipping is available).
- If free shipping is available, it unsets the `flat_rate` shipping method.
- Finally, it returns either the free shipping options only or the original rates if free shipping isn’t available.
This code effectively removes any shipping options if free shipping is present. You might need to adapt it to your specific shipping method IDs (e.g., if you’re using a table rate shipping plugin).
Method 4: Using a Plugin
If you’re not comfortable with code or need a more user-friendly approach, several plugins can help you remove shipping from the WooCommerce cart. Search the WordPress plugin repository for terms like “WooCommerce hide shipping,” “WooCommerce shipping rules,” or similar. Many of these plugins allow you to selectively hide shipping based on various conditions (product categories, cart total, user roles, etc.). Consider the ratings and reviews of the plugin before deciding to install it.
Conclusion
Removing shipping from the WooCommerce cart is a common task with several solutions, from basic settings adjustments to code snippets and plugins. Choose the method that best fits your needs and technical comfort level. Remember to always test your changes thoroughly to ensure a smooth shopping experience for your customers. By carefully considering your business model and the reasons behind wanting to remove shipping, you can optimize your WooCommerce store and provide a clearer, more intuitive checkout process.
