Product shipping classes are a great way to group similar products for shipping. For example, if your store sells a couple of very large, bulky items you may want to put them in their own shipping class with their own unique shipping cost.
Grouping these products together in a way that is similar to post or product categories allows you to define specific shipping costs for items. WooCommerce shipping methods such as Flat Rate Shipping and Table Rate Shipping allow you to use shipping classes to calculate their costs.
Below we will discuss:
- How to add a shipping class in WooCommerce
- How to add products to your newly created shipping class
- How to set flat rate shipping costs based on your shipping class
Creating a Shipping Class in WooCommerce
To create a new shipping class go to Products > Shipping Classes from your WordPress dashboard.
Next, enter a Name for your shipping class and add a URL friendly slug (this will automatically fill in if you leave it blank). If you are going to be using several shipping classes on your website, we would recommend using a description so it is easier for you to tell them apart.
In the example below, we have created a shipping class for bulky items on our website.
Repeat this process for all of the shipping classes you will need on your website. Now you are ready to add your products to your shipping class!
Adding Products to Shipping Classes
Now that you’ve created a shipping class, it is time to add some products!
To assign a shipping class to a product, go to the Shipping tab on one of your products and select your shipping class from the drop-down list.
If you have a lot of products you need to add to a shipping class, you can add them in bulk. From your products dashboard, select all of the products you would like to add to the shipping class and select Edit under Bulk actions.
Then, under shipping class, select your shipping class from the drop-down list and click Update. Now all of the products you selected have been assigned to that shipping class!
Now that you have added a shipping class and added products to that shipping class, it is time to use that class to define your rate. Below we will cover how to set flat rate shipping costs based on your shipping classes.
Learn more about adding products in WooCommerce.
Flat Rate Per Shipping Class
To access your shipping options go to WooCommerce > Settings > Shipping.
Then, if you would like to charge a flat rate per shipping class select Calculation Type > Per Class – charge shipping for each shipping class in an order.
Then, you can define the flat rates per shipping class.
Then, you can define the flat rates per shipping class. In the example below, we are charging $5.25 for all products that are in the “Over 10 lbs” shipping class we created and $2.25 for all products in the “Under 10 lbs” shipping class we created.
So if a customer had 1 product that is in the “Over” shipping class and 1 product that is in the “Under” shipping class in their cart they would pay $7.50 for shipping.
Related: 60 Tips To Increase Ecommerce Sales Today
Learn more about how to use WooCommerce flat rate shipping. Or, check out WooCommerce: The Ultimate Guide.
Do you need help setting up your WooCommerce store?
Having trouble setting up shipping options for your WooCommerce store? Modern Marketing Partners has helped many ecommerce business owners launch their online store with WooCommerce and WordPress. Contact us today for a free quote at 630-868-5060 or email us here.
WooCommerce Shipping Plugins (affiliate links)
WooCommerce Table Rate Shipping Pro Plugin – helps you set up rules in order to calculate the shipping rates for a combination of conditions. If the user’s cart matches the conditions in the rule, the shipping cost you have defined in that rule is applied.
WooCommerce UPS Shipping Plugin with Print Label – helps you completely automate UPS shipping by displaying real-time rates in cart/checkout page, pay postage & print label from within your WooCommerce store, choose boxes automatically and enable tracking.
WooCommerce FedEx Shipping Plugin with Print Label – helps you completely automate FedEx shipping by displaying shipping rates in cart/checkout page, pay postage & print labels from within WooCommerce, automatically identify boxes to pack the items and enable tracking.
Multi-Carrier Shipping Plugin for WooCommerce – combines the power of table rate shipping with real-time rates from shipping companies like FedEx, UPS, USPS, DHL Express & Stamps.com (USPS) to give you a complete shipping solution for your business.
WooCommerce Shipment Tracking Pro – helps to integrate Order tracking functionalities to the WooCommerce shops worldwide. By using this WooCommerce Order tracking plugin, you provide your customers with an easy way to track their shipments for various shipping carriers worldwide.
