Product shipping is an integral part of any WooCommerce-powered eCommerce store. For eCommerce store owners, the cost of delivering a product to a customer depends on where the customer is located (or their zip code). Therefore, eCommerce companies must focus on improving WooCommerce shipping by zip code.
Among all cost-effective methods, WooCommerce shipping zones are the best determinant of how to charge your customers for product deliveries. Effectively, shorter distances incur lower shipping costs, while longer distances attract higher costs.
What is WooCommerce shipping by zip code and how can you configure it using the WooCommerce plugin? Let’s discuss.
What is Zip Code Shipping?
As you know, a zip code is used to pinpoint the exact location within a country, city, or geographical location. WooCommerce shipping by zip code (or zip code shipping) is all about identifying the exact location where a product needs to be delivered. Besides, zip code shipping is also useful for eCommerce stores that offer in-store pickup facilities to their customers by determining which physical store would be closest to the customer’s postal address.
A WooCommerce shipping zone is identified as a location (or group of locations) where you need to ship your product. In eCommerce, a shipping zone can be a group of zip codes, provinces, or even countries. By using the WooCommerce plugin, eCommerce companies can determine the customer’s shipping zone based on the shipping address that they provide and then calculate the shipping time and costs.
Next, let us see how you can configure a shipping zone in WooCommerce.
How Do I Set Shipping Zones in WooCommerce?
Using WooCommerce, you can add as many shipping zones as you need along with shipping methods and rates specific to each zone. For instance, you can charge a flat rate for shipping your products to any US state or charge a fixed local rate for shipping anywhere within California.
Every customer’s address can only be associated with one shipping zone while each shipping zone can have many shipping methods for customers to choose from.
Here is how you can add and configure a shipping zone in WooCommerce:
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From your WordPress dashboard, go to the WooCommerce Settings page. Use the “Shipping location(s)” field to specify the countries where you can ship your products. Alternatively, you can sell your products to specific countries such as the United States.
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Once you have specified the shipping location, you need to add the shipping zone within that location. To do this, navigate to the Shipping tab in the WooCommerce settings and add the shipping zone by entering the zone name and zone region. For example, “USA” as the zone name and select “California” as the zone region. For each zone, you can add multiple zone regions where you can ship your products.
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Next, you need to add shipping methods to each shipping zone. Shipping methods can be flat-rate shipping, free shipping, or local pick-ups. For each shipping zone in the “Shipping Zones” section, enable or disable the shipping methods. You can also add a different shipping method to each zone.
- Save all the changes for your added shipping zone.
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How Do I Restrict Shipping Location in WooCommerce?
As an eCommerce store owner, you can also restrict shipping locations to exclude those locations where you do not want to ship. For each defined zone region, you can either ship products to the entire region or limit them to selected zip codes.
Here is how you can restrict the shipping locations using the WooCommerce plugin:
(1) When you are defining the zone region on the WooCommerce settings page, as explained in the previous section, click the “Limit to specific ZIP/postcodes” link below the “Zone region” field.
(2) In the text area field that appears, you can specify the zip or postcodes to be included in your shipping locations. Here is how you can configure the same:
- Type the entire zip or postcode individually on each line.
- Define the range of zip codes (example, 90210 to 92000), which will cover all the zip codes within this range.
- Enter wildcards using the * sign. For example, AB1* will cover all the postcodes starting with AB1.
(3) Save the changes.
Can WooCommerce shipping plugins simplify the process of implementing WooCommerce shipping by zip code? Let’s see next.
What is the Best Shipping Plugin for WooCommerce Sites?
You can also use WooCommerce shipping plugins to easily configure shipping zones and locations for your eCommerce stores. WooCommerce shipping plugins help in streamlining your product deliveries and making them smooth and efficient. For example, a weight-based shipping plugin is useful for calculating your shipment’s rates based on the order weight.
Similarly, a WooCommerce zip code checker tool or plugin can be used to check the availability of a product for the specified zip or postal code. This elevates customer satisfaction as they can check the availability of a product for their zip code before placing the order in the eCommerce store.
You can install and configure a WordPress zip code plugin on your WooCommerce store and use it to:
- Add the pin codes of the places where you can ship your orders.
- For each pin code, you can configure the delivery time, which is then notified to your customers when they place the order.
- Customers can now specify their location pin code to check availability before making any purchase.
- Customers that are based outside your shipping zone or region are notified about not being served.
- Add multiple pin codes to the WooCommerce store by creating a list of pin codes using MS Excel or Google Sheets, and then importing this list as a CSV file on your WordPress dashboard.
While they are multiple Zip Code WordPress plugins to choose from, here is what you should look for to choose the best one for your WooCommerce site:
- It should offer flexibility in terms of shipping rates and methods based on your business needs.
- It should support both domestic and international shipping.
- It should allow a logistical tracking facility where shoppers can now track their product deliveries online.
- It should be easy to install and configure for any novice WordPress user.
One such efficient WooCommerce plugin is the WooCommerce Delivery Area Pro plugin where online shoppers can confirm the product delivery location before placing the order.
Here are some of the features that make this WooCommerce shipping plugin worth investing into:
- Product delivery areas can be defined using multiple methods including zip code, Google Map, or store location.
- Delivery areas can be presented visually using Google Maps.
- Customizable forms for verifying delivery areas on WooCommerce pages.
- Prevents customers from placing orders when the specified zip code is not listed in delivery areas.
Conclusion
Zip code shipping is a vital part of any eCommerce business strategy, as it can directly impact customer satisfaction levels and how you can manage costs of product deliveries to your customers. For WooCommerce sites, you can easily configure shipping-related information including shipping zones and where you want to restrict shipping.
At Flipper Code, we enable our eCommerce customers to develop customized plugins for WooCommerce development. We can assist you to transform your WooCommerce shipping by zip code. Request a quote today.
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