How To Set Minimum Order Price In Woocommerce

How to Set a Minimum Order Price in WooCommerce: A Comprehensive Guide

WooCommerce is a powerful and flexible e-commerce platform that allows you to sell almost anything online. However, sometimes you need to implement specific business rules to optimize your operations and profitability. One common requirement is setting a minimum order price. This prevents you from processing small, low-value orders that might not be worth the time, effort, and resources required to fulfill them. In this article, we’ll walk you through various methods to implement this feature in your WooCommerce store.

Why Set a Minimum Order Price?

Before we dive into the “how-to,” let’s quickly cover the “why.” Setting a minimum order price can bring several benefits to your business:

• Increased Profit Margins: Focus on processing orders that generate more revenue and profit.
• Reduced Handling Costs: Minimize the time and resources spent on packaging and shipping small orders.
• Encourages Larger Purchases: Motivates customers to add more items to their cart to reach the minimum threshold.
• Improved Efficiency: Streamlines order fulfillment and reduces operational overhead.

Methods to Implement a Minimum Order Price in WooCommerce

Now, let’s explore different ways to set a minimum order price in your WooCommerce store. We’ll cover methods ranging from simple plugins to custom code solutions.

#### 1. Using a Dedicated WooCommerce Minimum Order Plugin

The easiest and most common approach is to use a dedicated plugin specifically designed for this purpose. Several excellent options are available in the WordPress plugin repository. Here’s how to use one:

• Search and Install a Plugin: Go to your WordPress dashboard and navigate to “Plugins” -> “Add New.” Search for terms like “WooCommerce Minimum Order” or “Minimum Order Amount.” Popular choices include “WooCommerce Minimum Amount” and “Order Minimum for WooCommerce.” Choose a plugin with good ratings, recent updates, and positive reviews.
• Activate the Plugin: Once installed, activate the plugin.
• Configure the Plugin Settings: Most minimum order plugins have a dedicated settings page. Typically, you’ll find this under “WooCommerce” -> “Settings” or a similarly named menu item. Look for settings like:
• Minimum Order Amount: The minimum price (e.g., $20) required for checkout.
• User Roles: Apply the minimum order rule to specific user roles (e.g., guests, subscribers).
• Message to Display: A customized message to show customers when their order doesn’t meet the minimum requirement (e.g., “Your order needs at least $20 to proceed to checkout.”).
• Apply to Taxes/Shipping: Decide if the minimum order amount should include taxes and shipping costs.

Example:

Let’s say you install and activate the “WooCommerce Minimum Amount” plugin. You might configure it like this:

• Minimum Order Amount: 25
• User Roles: All roles
• Message to Display: “A minimum order of $25 is required to complete your purchase.”
• Include Taxes: Yes
• Include Shipping: No

With these settings, if a customer adds items to their cart totaling less than $25 (excluding shipping but including taxes), they’ll see the customized message and won’t be able to proceed to checkout.

#### 2. Using a Code Snippet (Custom PHP)

For those comfortable with coding, you can implement the minimum order price using a custom PHP code snippet. This method offers more flexibility and control. Always backup your site before adding custom code.

• Add the Code Snippet: You can add the following code snippet to your theme’s `functions.php` file or, even better, use a code snippet plugin like “Code Snippets” to avoid directly modifying your theme.

add_action( 'woocommerce_check_cart_items', 'minimum_order_amount' );
function minimum_order_amount() {
// Set minimum order amount
$minimum = 20;

// Get current cart total

$cart_total = WC()->cart->subtotal;

// Check if cart total is less than minimum

if ( $cart_total < $minimum ) {

// Display error message

wc_add_notice( sprintf( ‘A minimum order of %s is required to complete your purchase. Your current order is %s.’,

wc_price( $minimum ),

wc_price( $cart_total )

), ‘error’ );

// Disable checkout button

remove_action( ‘woocommerce_proceed_to_checkout’, ‘woocommerce_button_proceed_to_checkout’, 20 );

}

}

add_action( ‘woocommerce_proceed_to_checkout’, ‘woocommerce_button_proceed_to_checkout’, 20 );

• Explanation:
• `add_action(‘woocommerce_check_cart_items’, ‘minimum_order_amount’);`: This line hooks the `minimum_order_amount` function into the `woocommerce_check_cart_items` action, which is triggered during cart validation.
• `$minimum = 20;`: This sets the minimum order amount to $20. Change this value to your desired amount.
• `$cart_total = WC()->cart->subtotal;`: This retrieves the cart subtotal (excluding taxes and shipping). You can use `WC()->cart->total` to include taxes and shipping.
• `if ($cart_total < $minimum)`: This checks if the cart total is below the minimum.
• `wc_add_notice(…)`: This adds an error message to the WooCommerce notice system, displaying the required minimum amount and the current cart total.
• `remove_action( ‘woocommerce_proceed_to_checkout’, ‘woocommerce_button_proceed_to_checkout’, 20 );` and `add_action( ‘woocommerce_proceed_to_checkout’, ‘woocommerce_button_proceed_to_checkout’, 20 );`: This is a simple way to hide the checkout button if the minimum is not met, though this solution has limitations, and a more robust solution would be preferred in a production environment.
• Customize the Code:
• Change the `$minimum` variable to your desired minimum order amount.
• Modify the error message using the `sprintf()` function to tailor it to your brand.
• Adjust the `WC()->cart->subtotal` to `WC()->cart->total` if you want to include taxes and shipping in the minimum order calculation.
• Modify the `remove_action` and `add_action` blocks to more reliably disable checkout buttons if needed.

#### 3. Using WooCommerce Settings (Limited Functionality)

WooCommerce itself doesn’t have a built-in option to directly set a minimum *order* amount. However, you can leverage shipping zones to achieve a similar, albeit less precise, result.

• Create a Shipping Zone: Go to “WooCommerce” -> “Settings” -> “Shipping” -> “Add Shipping Zone.”
• Set Zone Name and Region: Give the zone a name (e.g., “Low Order Fee Zone”) and select the relevant regions.
• Add Shipping Method: Add a “Flat Rate” shipping method to this zone.
• Set Flat Rate Cost: Configure the flat rate to be a high enough amount that it discourages orders below your desired minimum. For example, if you want a minimum order of $20 and a typical shipping cost is $5, you could set the flat rate to $15. This effectively makes orders below $20 unattractive to customers.

Limitations:

• This method doesn’t explicitly prevent orders below the target amount. It just makes them less appealing due to the high shipping cost.
• It’s not very user-friendly as customers will see a high shipping cost rather than a clear message about a minimum order requirement.
• It is not an ideal solution for many use cases.

Conclusion

Setting a minimum order price in WooCommerce is crucial for optimizing profitability and operational efficiency. While WooCommerce doesn’t offer this feature natively, you can easily implement it using dedicated plugins or custom code snippets. Plugins are generally the simplest and most user-friendly option, while custom code provides greater flexibility and control for developers. While technically possible using shipping zones, this workaround is not recommended for most scenarios. Choose the method that best suits your technical skills and business requirements, and remember to always test your implementation thoroughly to ensure it functions as expected. By strategically using minimum order pricing, you can improve your bottom line and streamline your WooCommerce operations.