Set Up Free Shipping in WooCommerce: A Complete Guide (No Plugin Required)

This article will cover everything about offering free shipping in WooCommerce—from the benefits of free shipping to configuring free shipping coupons using WooCommerce’s built-in features.

Did you know customers make extra non-essential purchases just to qualify for free shipping? It is one of the most popular promotion incentives incorporated by eCommerce stores across the globe.

Extra costs during checkout are a leading cause of cart abandonment. Often, customers only discover shipping charges when they reach the checkout page, making their total seem unexpectedly high. No matter how small or large, such charges can be a barrier to completing the purchase and contribute to cart abandonment.

So, what is the solution? Offering free shipping, that is. Free shipping in WooCommerce allows you to offer delivery without any additional cost.

Free shipping is a proven tactic to grow your eCommerce business and is highly effective in encouraging repeat purchases. However, while free shipping can drive sales, offering it on every WooCommerce order may not be sustainable for small and mid-sized businesses.

Therefore, it’s essential to decide strategically when to offer free shipping (more on this in the following sections).

Here is a step-by-step process for setting up WooCommerce free shipping for all store products.

Step 1: Configure the WooCommerce Shipping Settings

• Go to WooCommerce > Settings > Shipping. Here, you can access all settings for shipping zones, shipping options, and shipping classes.

Step 2: Add a Shipping Zone and Assign Free Shipping For WooCommerce

Shipping zones define specific geographic regions where particular shipping methods and rates apply. A zone can cover a single country, multiple countries, states, or even zip codes.

• Click on Add shipping zone.
• Provide a Zone name and select the regions to include in this zone. You can choose multiple regions and group them under a single zone.

• Next, select Free shipping from the available shipping methods for customers within this zone, then click Add shipping method.

• Click the Save changes button to save your shipping zone customizations.

Now, free shipping is available on all products for customers in the specified shipping zone. But what if you want to allow free shipping only for selected products in your WooCommerce store? The following section will show you how to do it.

WooCommerce, by default, allows you to set free shipping for specific products using shipping classes.

Shipping classes are categories used to group products with similar shipping requirements, such as heavy or fragile items. Grouping such items together makes it easy to apply specific shipping rates or methods to those products.

For instance, your store may sell both lightweight and heavy products. You can group all the lightweight ones into one shipping class and all the heavyweight ones into another. This way, WooCommerce can dynamically change the shipping rates based on the products in the cart.

Let’s walk through setting up a new shipping class for free shipping:

Step 1: Add A New Shipping Class

• Go to WooCommerce > Settings > Shipping > Shipping classes to access the shipping
• Click on the Add shipping class button. Provide a Shipping class name, Slug, and Description. Let’s go with ‘Free shipping’ and ‘Shipping charge’ for this example.
• Click to save shipping classes.

Step 2: Add a Shipping Zone and Shipping Method

• Open the Shipping zones tab in the Shipping settings.
• Provide a Zone name and select the regions to include in this zone.
• Next, select Flat-rate shipping, then click on the Add shipping method button.
• Then, hover over the flat rate shipping method and click on Edit to access the settings.
  • Change the Method title to ‘Shipping Costs.’
  • “Free shipping” class cost: 0
  • “Shipping charge” shipping class cost: $20 (or your preferred flat rate).
  • Click on Save changes.
• Also, make sure the shipping method is enabled.

Step 3: Assign the Shipping Classe to Specific Products

• Open the product edit page of the product you want to offer free shipping.
• Go to the Shipping tab and select free shipping from the Shipping class dropdown.
• Click update to save changes.

This is how you can easily set up free shipping for certain products using WooCommerce’s built-in features.

Offering free shipping on every order, regardless of its value, can become costly. Setting a minimum order requirement for free shipping is a simple yet effective way to encourage higher purchases and protect your profits at the same time.

Let’s go through the steps:

Step 1: Add the Shipping Zone

You can either choose the shipping zone you created earlier or create a new shipping zone. To do so, go to WooCommerce > Settings > Shipping > Shipping zones.

Step 2: Configuring Minimum Order Amount for Getting Free Shipping

• In the preferred shipping zone settings, add the Free Shipping method.
• Next, click on the Edit option to access ‘free shipping’ settings. You’ll find an option labeled Free shipping requires… – set this to Minimum order amount from the dropdown.
• Provide the minimum total order value that qualifies for free shipping in the corresponding field. This amount is the threshold your customers need to reach to enjoy free delivery.
• Click on Save Changes to update.

Suppose you want to offer free shipping on all orders over $100 within Europe and apply a fixed rate for regions outside of Europe. In this case you use a combination of minimum order amount and shipping methods for the same. Here’s how:

Step 1: Configuring Free Shipping for Orders Above $100 in Europe

• Add a shipping zone (Europe) and shipping method (free shipping).
• Next, in the free shipping settings, set the minimum order amount to $100.
• Click on save to activate changes.

Step 2: Setting Flat-rate Shipping for Regions Outside Europe

• Next, add another shipping zone (Outside Europe) and shipping method (flat rate).
• In the flat rate settings, add your preferred flat rate value in the cost field.
• Click on save changes.

This way, you can create different shipping rates for different geographical locations.

So far, we have looked at how to set up WooCommerce free shipping for all products, specific products, specific regions, and minimum order amounts to qualify for free shipping. Now, let’s look at another useful feature: free shipping coupons.

Free shipping coupons are discount codes that allow customers to receive free shipping on their orders. When applied, it removes the shipping charges from the final price and makes it easier for customers to complete their purchases without added expenses.

And you can create a free shipping coupon in WooCommerce using its default features, without any external tool.

Step 1: Create A Free Shipping Coupon

• Go to Marketing > Coupons in your WordPress admin console.
• Click on Add coupon and provide a coupon code.
• In the Coupon data panel General tab, enable the checkbox Allow free shipping.
• Click on Publish to create the coupon.

Step 2: Configure Free Shipping With A Coupon

• Go to WooCommerce > Settings > Shipping > Shipping zones.
• Add the shipping zone (US) and shipping method (free shipping).
• Click on Edit corresponding to the Free Shipping method.
• Next, select the ‘Free shipping requires A valid free shipping coupon‘ option.
• Click on Save changes.

Thats it! Customers who use a US shipping address can apply this coupon at the checkout to access free shipping.

This is just the beginning of what you can achieve with free shipping coupons. By using an advanced coupon plugin, you can add discount rules, giveaways, and much more. One such plugin is the Smart Coupons for WooCommerce plugin, which encompasses everything you need with regard to coupons. Advanced discount rules, BOGO deals, and shipping coupons will take coupon functionality to a whole new level. So, when you need smart coupon solutions, you know where to look.

Here is more detailed information on how a WooCommerce store benefits from offering free shipping to its customers.

Reduces Cart Abandonments

According to a study done by Baymard Institute, a top reason for cart abandonment is high shipping costs. 48% of users abandoned their carts to avoid paying the extra shipping charges. This shows you how important it is to offer free shipping or, at a minimum, to reduce shipping fees.

Increases Average Order Value

A common method used by online retail stores is to offer WooCommerce free shipping when the cart satisfies a minimum spend. Customers must pay the shipping cost if they don’t purchase for that amount. Another effective approach is recommending relevant upsells and cross-sells to encourage customers to reach the minimum spend and qualify for free shipping.

This strategy motivates shoppers to add more items to their carts to meet the WooCommerce free shipping conditions (Eg, Purchase for $300 to qualify for free shipping), which in turn increases the average order value for your store.

Improve The Competitiveness

If your competitors offer WooCommerce free shipping already, it’s high time you do the same. Once the shopper has information about your free shipping or has benefited from that program, your store will first spring into their minds. This might influence them to give your site a chance before considering the other major players.

Boosts Sales And Revenue

If your WooCommerce free shipping offer is well drafted and offers real advantages, it will definitely reflect on your sales and revenue. If you sell physical items, there is no easier strategy to increase your WooCommerce store’s sales.

Now that we know a lot about free shipping and how to set it up, the next question is when you should offer it. As we’ve established, offering free shipping on every order can cut into profits. However, there are strategic times to consider it.

Offering free shipping during limited-time promotions or to clear out inventory can be effective. Additionally, setting a minimum purchase amount or providing free shipping on specific combinations of products, or even on high-margin items, can help you maximize the benefits of free shipping in WooCommerce without impacting your bottom line.

Even if your WooCommerce store provides a state-of-the-art checkout experience, you will lose sales if you are unable to reduce their shipping costs. No amount of coupons or discounts can fully counter the impact of these charges. However, using the WooCommerce free shipping opportunities mentioned above can potentially improve your sales figures.

Try out the basic version of the Smart Coupons plugin. The dedicated Pro version also offers advanced features for creating WooCommerce discount coupons.

I hope this article provided a clear understanding of the benefits of offering free shipping in WooCommerce. Share your thoughts in the comments below, and keep watching this space for more WordPress and eCommerce updates.