WooCommerce Shipping Control: Master Targeted Delivery & Boost Conversions

Shipping is critical for e-commerce; mastering how to conceal WooCommerce shipping methods can significantly improve your store.

For instance, universally providing complimentary delivery appears generous, but it can quickly erode profits. Displaying irrelevant shipping choices for a specific location can also lead to customer dissatisfaction and abandoned purchases.

Furthermore, during peak periods, temporarily deactivating certain shipping choices might become necessary to ensure reliable fulfillment.

Consequently, we often suggest that WooCommerce store managers conceal shipping methods to safeguard profitability while ensuring customer satisfaction. The goal is to balance business needs with shopper preferences.

This tutorial will guide you through controlling the WooCommerce shipping methods displayed to customers and their display conditions.

When might you want to suppress particular shipping options within your WooCommerce store environment?

Let’s explore frequent scenarios where concealing shipping methods proves beneficial for your online shop.

We frequently observe that store owners implement this tactic to address specific business obstacles and, quite often, enhance conversion rates.

• Profit ProtectionPerhaps extending free shipping to smaller purchases isn’t viable. Hiding that choice until orders reach a satisfactory value is acceptable.
• Configuring shipping options contingent on customer location.Serving a global customer base? Present only the applicable shipping methods for each region. Unusable options are unnecessary.
• Peak Season ManagementDuring seasonal promotions, you may need to briefly conceal expedited shipping to guarantee timely order fulfillment.
• Simplified Checkout ProcessClarity often wins. Presenting fewer, pertinent shipping alternatives may decrease cart abandonment and boost conversion metrics.

Beyond concealing shipping options, consider a free shipping progress bar on your site; it’s an easy way to inform shoppers about available shipping choices and requirements for better rates.

That being said, we’ll show you 2 proven methods to hide WooCommerce shipping options. You can use the quick links below to skip to your preferred section:

Method 1: Configure Free Shipping Settings in WooCommerce (Quick and Simple)

For this method, you don’t need any special WooCommerce extensions or plugins to hide the free shipping method based on minimum order requirements.

It’s perfect if you only want to hide the ‘Free Shipping’ option until a customer qualifies for it.

Keep in mind that it will not automatically hide your other paid shipping options (like ‘Flat Rate’) once a customer qualifies for free shipping. To do that, you will need to use Method 2.

Let’s start by accessing your shipping settings. Head over to your WordPress dashboard and click WooCommerce » Settings. Once there, look for the ‘Shipping’ tab at the top of the page.

You’ll see two options for setting up your shipping zones. You can either create a new zone by clicking ‘Add zone’ or modify an existing one.

For this guide, we’ll walk you through creating a new zone.

Now, give your shipping zone a meaningful name that describes the area it covers. You might call it something like ‘US Mainland,’ ‘Latin America,’ or ‘Europe.’

Then, add your zone regions by selecting specific countries, states, or even cities.

Once you’ve set up your zone, scroll down to find the ‘Add shipping method’ button.

Go ahead and click it to see your available options.

WooCommerce will now show you a simple choice between free shipping and flat-rate shipping.

Select ‘Free shipping’ from the options and click ‘Continue.’ This opens a new window where you can customize when free shipping appears for your customers.

Now comes the important part: choosing how customers can qualify for free shipping.

WooCommerce offers several options in the dropdown menu, including no requirements, coupon codes, minimum order amounts, or combinations of both.

Let’s say you want to hide the free shipping discount until customers reach a specific order value. To do this, select ‘Minimum order amount’ and enter your target amount. For example, you might set it to $50 or $100.

You can also check the ‘Apply minimum order rule before coupon discount’ option if you want the minimum amount calculated before any discounts.

Once done, click ‘Create and save.’

Your free shipping method will now automatically hide itself from customers who haven’t met the requirements. It will only appear as an option when they’ve qualified by meeting your conditions.

Method 2: Use Hide Shipping Method for WooCommerce (More Customizable)

While the built-in WooCommerce settings work for basic needs, they don’t offer much flexibility.

In that case, this method is for you. It will help you hide specific shipping methods based on product categories or cart content using a dedicated plugin.

The Hide Shipping Method for WooCommerce plugin gives you more control over your shipping options. This freemium plugin lets you create custom rules for showing or hiding different shipping methods at checkout.

We’ll use the free version for this tutorial since it covers the most common needs. However, if you need advanced features like hiding specific shipping methods when free shipping is available or creating rules based on product SKUs, you can check out the premium version.

Let’s get started by installing the Hide Shipping Method for WooCommerce plugin. If you’re new to this process, check out our beginner’s guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Once you’ve activated the plugin, go to WooCommerce » Hide ShippingNow, let’s proceed with the plugin setup.

Choose a Condition to Hide WooCommerce Shipping Methods

Within the ‘General Settings’ area, you’ll find several options to manage how shipping methods are displayed. These settings allow you to determine the conditions under which shipping methods appear.

Here’s what each setting accomplishes:

• Hide all other shipping methods when Free Shipping is available: This is a popular choice. It automatically hides paid options like ‘Flat Rate’ as soon as a customer qualifies for free shipping.
• Hide all other shipping methods when Free Shipping or Local Pickup is available:This functions similarly to the setting above but includes cases where local pickup is available to the customer.
• Hide specific shipping method when Free Shipping is available (Premium): This gives you more control, letting you hide some paid options but keep others (like express shipping) visible.
• Custom Shipping Method Disabling Rules: This is the most powerful option. It lets you create your own custom rules to hide shipping methods based on products, categories, location, and more.
• Hide all shipping methods: This turns off all shipping options. It’s useful if you only sell digital products.

After picking your preferred option, just click ‘Save Settings’ to make your changes live.

For this guide, ‘Conditional Hide shipping method Rules’ is the suggested option due to its versatility.

Once you select it and save your settings, a new tab called ‘Manage Rules’ will appear.

Configure Rules to Hide Shipping Methods

After navigating to the ‘Manage Rules’ section, locate and click the ‘Add New’ button.

Click it to start creating your first shipping rule.

Preparing your rule is straightforward. Locate the ‘Status’ toggle and activate it; this enables the rule.

Next, name your shipping rule. Pick a descriptive name to easily recall its function.

For example, you might call it ‘Hide Same-Day Shipping for X Items.’

Next, find the shipping method dropdown menu. This will display your shipping zone name along with available shipping methods.

Scroll down until you find the ‘Basic Hide Shipping Rules’ section.

That’s where you begin tailoring methods. Build conditional rules which auto-hide methods based on specific criteria.

The rule constructor operates in three segments, akin to a simple sentence’s structure.

The leftmost selection contains many choices. Pick your conditions using location (like a country, city, or postcode), product details, or even by user.

The middle field is your formula. Choose ‘Equal to ( = )’ when you want an exact match or ‘Not equal to ( != )’ when you want to exclude something.

Think of it as telling WooCommerce ‘show this’ or ‘don’t show this.’

The rightmost selection dynamically adapts based on your selection on the left.

For example, if you choose ‘Cart contains product,’ then the right field will let you pick from a list of your products.

But if you choose ‘Cart contains category’s product,’ it will show your product categories instead.

Consider a practical use case: you might like to hide overnight shipping for custom printed products.

You would select ‘Cart contains product,’ then ‘Equal to ( = ),’ and finally choose your printed product from the list.

To refine your constraints, tap ‘+ Add Rule’ to introduce supplementary conditions.

This lets you manage more complex requirements, such as filtering methods based on order volume, total cart value, or any relevant value.

As another example, you could hide ‘Local Pickup’ for customers outside your state. You would set the rule to: ‘State,’ then ‘Not equal to ( != ),’ and then enter your state’s name. This ensures only local customers see the pickup option.

When satisfied with your constraints, just hit ‘Save Changes’ to activate your selections.

Your shipping methods will now automatically hide or show based on the conditions you’ve set. Here’s an example using the ‘Cart contains product’ + ‘Equal to ( = )’ + product names rule, which hides the same-day shipping option.

Bonus Tips to Optimize WooCommerce Cart and Checkout

Managing shipping methods is just one piece of creating a successful online store.

Here are some of our most helpful WooCommerce guides that can take your store to the next level:

• How to Optimize the Customer Journey for Your WooCommerce Store – Create a smoother shopping experience that turns browsers into buyers.
• How to Set Up Delivery Time Slot in WooCommerce – Let customers choose their preferred delivery times, reducing failed deliveries and improving satisfaction.
• How to Prevent Fraud and Fake Orders in WooCommerce – Protect your store from fraudulent purchases and save money on shipping costs.
• How to Add Express Checkout Buttons in WooCommerce – Speed up the checkout process and reduce cart abandonment rates.
• How to Skip the WooCommerce Cart Page & Redirect to the Checkout Page – Increase conversions by sending customers straight to the checkout page.
• How to Upsell Products in WooCommerce – Boost your average order value by showing relevant product recommendations.
• How to Create a Custom WooCommerce Cart Page – Design a cart page that matches your brand and encourages purchases.
• How to Offer Shipment Tracking in WooCommerce – Keep customers informed about their orders and reduce support queries.
• How to Auto-Apply Coupons in WooCommerce – Make it easier for customers to save money and complete their purchases.
• How to Create an Order Bump in WooCommerce – Increase sales by offering relevant add-ons during checkout.

We hope this article has helped you learn how to hide WooCommerce shipping methods. You may also want to check out our complete guide on WooCommerce SEO made easy and our expert picks of the best WooCommerce dropshipping plugins.

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