How to Create Custom Shipping Labels for WooCommerce?

Custom shipping labels in WooCommerce are branded versions of standard shipping labels that allow businesses to add logos, brand colors, custom messages, and layout adjustments to their packages. You can create custom shipping labels in WooCommerce using a WordPress plugin such as the WooCommerce Shipping Labels plugin. The plugin allows you to enable custom labels, define a custom label size, and decide how many labels appear on a sheet right from the settings panel. Once activated, you can access the create and customize shipping label settings under Invoice/Packing > Shipping Label.

This guide provides a complete walkthrough on how to set up custom shipping labels in WooCommerce using the plugin.

Shipping labels do more than move a package from point A to point B. They carry routing data for carriers, order details for warehouses, and, often overlooked, brand signals for customers. The label on the box is one of the few physical touchpoints a customer interacts with, which makes it surprisingly influential.

At a functional level, shipping labels include essentials like the destination address, return address, tracking barcode, and carrier instructions. When generated correctly, they keep fulfillment fast, reduce carrier rejections, and limit manual fixes during dispatch. When designed thoughtfully, they also reinforce trust. That matters, especially when research shows that 41% of consumers are more likely to purchase again when packaging reflects consistent branding. The label is part of that experience.

Default shipping labels usually come with constraints that store owners feel as they scale:

• Fixed dimensions that do not match all packaging
• No room for handling notes or internal references
• Generic layouts that ignore brand identity
• Poor alignment with different printers or label sheets

These limitations rarely cause problems on day one. They surface when order volume grows, product types diversify, or printing shifts between devices. That’s usually when store owners start looking beyond basic label generation and consider custom shipping labels that adapt to how their business actually ships.

This leads to the next question: when does customization stop being optional and start becoming practical?

Custom shipping labels start to matter when fulfillment stops being uniform. As soon as your store handles variation, products, packaging, printers, or branding, fixed labels become friction points instead of helpers. This is where customization turns from a “nice-to-have” into an operational advantage.

Here are the situations where custom labels for shipping make a measurable difference.

You Ship Using Different Packaging Types

Boxes, padded mailers, tubes, and flat packs all demand different label dimensions. A one-size label often wastes space or forces awkward scaling. With custom label size options, labels fit the package instead of the other way around, improving scannability and presentation.

You Print Labels on Different Paper Formats or Printers

Not every store prints from a single setup. Thermal printers, A4 sheets, label rolls, and shared office printers behave differently. Custom size label printing helps match shipping label layouts to the exact sheet or roll format, reducing misalignment and reprints. Even details like “how many labels on a sheet” matter when you’re printing in batches.

Your Products Require Clear Handling Instructions

Fragile items, temperature-sensitive goods, or regulated products need visible instructions. Customizable labels let you add handling notes, internal references, or product cues without cluttering carrier information. This reduces fulfillment mistakes while keeping labels carrier-compliant.

You Want to Reduce Printing Errors and Wasted Paper

Default templates often force trial-and-error printing. Slight misalignment leads to clipped barcodes or unreadable addresses. Custom shipping labels lets you define exact dimensions and spacing upfront, which cuts paper waste and saves time.

Your Branding Needs Consistency Across Shipments

Shipping labels may look functional, but they still represent your brand. Custom shipping labels with logo placement, typography control, and layout consistency help reinforce professionalism. They also align the unboxing experience with the rest of your store, which subtly improves repeat purchase intent.

Taken together, these use cases highlight an important shift. Shipping labels are no longer just logistical artifacts. They are flexible tools that support accuracy, branding, and efficiency.

WooCommerce handles orders well, but it does not offer native tools for creating custom shipping labels. By default, store owners are limited to rigid layouts or carrier-generated labels that leave little room for flexibility. That gap is usually filled with a shipping label plugin that gives control over size, layout, and customizations.

This is where a dedicated WooCommerce shipping labels generator, such as WebToffee’s WooCommerce Shipping Labels, Dispatch Labels, and Delivery Notes plugin, becomes useful. It lets store owners create shipping labels that align with their packaging, printers, and fulfillment workflow.

Used by 70,000+ WordPress users, the plugin focuses on features that solve common shipping label limitations without adding unnecessary complexity. Its core features include:

• Automate shipping label generation and printing right from WooCommerce orders
• Create multiple shipping labels to support bulk shipments
• Define a custom label size that matches your packaging or printer setup
• Customize labels using built-in templates instead of starting from a blank layout
• Add store details, logos, order information, and handling notes where required
• Print custom shipping labels individually or in bulk
• Generate related documents such as dispatch labels and delivery notes alongside shipping labels.

Once the basics are in place, setting up custom shipping labels in WooCommerce is straightforward. The steps below walk through enabling label generation, defining custom label size, customizing layouts, and printing shipping labels without disrupting your order fulfillment flow.

Prerequisites

Ensure the free PDF Invoices, Packing Slips and Shipping Labels plugin is installed and activated in your WordPress dashboard. You will be able to access the premium plugin settings only if the free version is active.

Step 1: Install and Activate the WooCommerce Shipping Labels Plugin

After purchasing the plugin, you can download the plugin zip file from the My account section. You will also receive an email with the link to download the plugin file.

Next, open your WordPress dashboard and go to Plugins > Add New Plugin. Click on Upload Plugin to upload the plugin file. Then, install and activate the plugin to automate and create shipping labels.

Step 2: Create Custom Shipping Labels

To enable shipping label generation settings, go to Invoice/Packing > Shipping Label. You can access all shipping label settings, such as custom size labels, deciding how many labels on a sheet, customizing labels, and more.

• In the General tab, enable Multiple labels option to create multiple shipping labels per page.
• In the Set number of labels in one row option, enter the number of labels per row. This lets you control how many labels appear on a single sheet.
• Set the Shipping label size option to Custom. This enables the plugin to set up and print custom size labels in WooCommerce.
• In the Custom size field, enter the required height and width for your shipping labels.
• If you want to add order-related information, you can include it using the Order meta fields option.

Step 3: Print Custom Size Labels

• In the Show ‘Print Shipping Label’ button for selected order statuses setting, choose the order statuses for which the Print Shipping Label button should appear.

• After reviewing the settings, click Update Settings to activate the changes.

Step 4: Customize Shipping Labels

To customize labels in WooCommerce, switch to the Customize tab to access shipping label customization settings.

• By default, a basic shipping label template will be enabled. To use premium features, switch to a premium shipping label template.
• Click Change template. In the popup window, you can access premium shipping label layouts. Choose a template that supports your requirements.

• If you want to add important notes such as Fragile, Keep dry, or This side up, you can use Pro Layout 4 or customize the template using the code editor.

• Once a template is selected, customize labels using the visual editor options on the right-hand side. For advanced changes, you can use the code editor.

• After updating the template, give it a name and click Save and activate to apply the shipping label template across all orders.

That’s it. You have successfully set up custom shipping labels in WooCommerce and automated the shipping label generation process.

Once an order reaches the configured status, the Print Shipping Label button will be enabled. You can:

• Bulk print shipping labels from WooCommerce > Orders by selecting orders and choosing Print shipping label from the Bulk actions dropdown, or
• Print shipping labels individually by opening an order and clicking the print icon in the Invoice/Packing meta box.

You have now successfully set up custom size shipping labels, automated shipping label printing, and customized labels to include important information such as handling instructions. For stores that ship daily, that consistency saves time and avoids fulfillment errors.

Shipping labels rarely get the attention they deserve, yet they sit at the intersection of logistics, branding, and customer experience. Fixed templates often work only until product types, packaging, or order volume change. That’s when the limitations begin to show.

Custom shipping labels give store owners the flexibility to match labels to real-world shipping needs. The ability to control custom label size, adjust layouts for different printers, add handling notes, and maintain brand consistency reduces errors and improves how orders leave your warehouse.

It’s also important to keep carrier requirements in view. Customization should support clarity and scannability, not interfere with it. Well-designed labels balance brand elements with carrier-compliant formatting, ensuring packages move smoothly through delivery networks.

When implemented thoughtfully, custom shipping labels are no longer just operational details. They become reliable fulfillment tools and subtle brand touchpoints that support repeat purchases and smoother shipping workflows.

Thanks for reading!