When you set up a WooCommerce store, you’ll need to decide how to charge shipping. There are four main options:
Free shipping
This is the simplest option, and it’s what most customers expect. You can offer free shipping in a number of ways:
- Set a global flat rate
- Offer free shipping on specific products or product categories
- Use a plugin to offer free shipping based on certain conditions
Flat rate shipping
With flat rate shipping, you charge a single price for shipping, regardless of the customer’s location or the number of items they purchase.
This is the most common type of shipping charge, and it’s what most customers are expecting to pay.
The reason for this is that customers are often put off by high shipping fees, and may decide to go elsewhere if they feel like they are being overcharged. This can lead to lost sales and revenue, which can outweigh the extra money you make from charging shipping per item.
It’s important to weigh up the pros and cons of charging shipping per item before making a decision. If you do decide to go ahead with it, make sure that you clearly display the shipping fees on your product pages so that customers are aware of them before they make a purchase.
Per item shipping
With per item shipping, you charge a separate shipping fee for each item in the order. This is useful if you have a large number of small items, or if your items vary greatly in size and weight.
Weight-based shipping
This method charges shipping based on the total weight of the order. It can be combined with other methods, such as flat rate or per item.
There are four main options for charging shipping in WooCommerce: free shipping, flat rate shipping, per item shipping, and weight-based shipping. Of these, flat rate and per item are the most common.
To charge per item, you’ll need to set up a separate shipping fee for each item in the order.
