Product shipping is an often neglected aspect of setting up a WooCommerce store.
What is the big deal? I’ll just have a single rate for shipping and be done with it!– seems to be the attitude of most online retailers. However, with this policy, you either end up overcharging your customers or undercutting your own profits.
43% of shoppers abandon their carts because of high shipping prices. Hence, it is important to set fair shipping prices, based on location, quantity, and expected delivery times, to ensure maximum customer satisfaction.
This is where a table rate shipping plugin can help.
What is Table Rate Shipping?
Table Rate Shipping is a unique concept that allows store managers to optimize shipping, and add rule-based methods to calculate the final shipment fee.
It involves customized pricing and is categorically divided to take into account every aspect of the order. Unlike flat rate shipping, which will charge all to their customers $X, table rate might have a shipment fee less than $X or at times, more than that, depending on the parameters of the order.
With thousands of products online, having flexible shipping rates is a must. The reason is simple – products differ in category, shape, size, dimensions, and price. Further, the products are shipped to different regions; where a few might be next-door delivery, some could be in the far-away cities. As a result, having a flat shipping rate is unfair to your customers.
A shipment calculated as per table rate shipping would be different and possibly more than the standard fee. Table rate shipping, therefore, provides:
- The flexibility to add one or more shipping methods/rates depending on various factors.
- As the name suggests, all of the rules are created on a table. Hence, you can easily understand, edit, or remove them as and when needed.
- Create one or more shipping methods for the same shipping zone. Set one shipping zone and then assign multiple rules to the same.
- Leverage weight-based shipping methods. Configure rules in a way that fee changes with an increase/decrease in weights.
- Improve sales by offering free shipping beyond a threshold value.
Key Differences between Flat Rate Shipping and Table Rate Shipping
The primary difference between the two shipping methods is the level of customization. Flat rate shipping keeps everything sorted and simple. Irrespective of the type of product, the location of delivery, the cart value, or the user type, this will have a standard shipping fee for all.
On the other hand, table rate shipping is customized and relies on several factors. That is to say, table rate shipping is categorically divided and takes into account every aspect of the order. Unlike flat rate shipping, which will charge all to their customers $X, table rate might have a shipment fee less than $X or at times, more than that.
Either be the case, table rate shipping is a better way for calculating shipment fees. Also, it is beneficial for the customers and the business as a whole.
5 Best WooCommerce Table Rate Shipping Plugins
1. Flat Rate Shipping Plugin For WooCommerce by The Dot Store
One of the best table rate plugins is the Advanced Flat Rate Shipping Plugin. It offers an economical way to customize and configure shipment rates for your online store. It helps you,
- Set the conditional rules that set conditions to allow/restrict shipping methods, payment gateways, etc.
- Configure shipping fees based on various dynamic variables.
- Fix shipping charges based on country, state, zip code, and zone
- Configure WooCommerce flat rate shipping options for simple and variable products
- Ensure that your shipping rules are understood across the geographical spectrum with WPML compatibility
- Set shipping cost per product, per quantity and per weighted unit and optimize your revenue by enforcing shipping rates dependent on minute details.
- Make visible only specific shipping depending on diverse variables such as product weight, quantity, cart total and more.
Irrespective of whether you want to create location-specific rules, product-driven, cart-based, etc, the Flat Rate Shipping plugin can help you do it all.
Flat Rate Shipping Plugin For WooCommerce
$119
Full-featured and Highly Flexible Shipping plugin for creating different shipping methods with different shipping rules and maximize earnings from the shipping methods on offer.
2,12,329+ Active Installations
12,032+ Active Premium Customer
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How to Set Up Advanced Flat Rate Shipping for WooCommerce
2. Table Rate Shipping by WooCommerce
Another top shipping plugin is the Table Rate Shipping. When looking for a plugin that allows you to modify your store shipping methods, Table Rate is the best bet.
In one way, it adds to the traditional shipping methods, helping you improve the way you serve your customers. Irrespective of whether you want to set rates based on the cart weight, quantity, value, or class, the table rate shipping method has tons of features that cover all.
Additionally, the plugin offers a holistic view of all the rules created, so that you can modify them as and when needed.
3. Table Rate Shipping for WooCommerce by Bolder Elements
Increase and improve the pricing model for your WooCommerce store with Table Rate Shipping for WooCommerce. As one of the leading table rate shipping methods, this has 15+ rules, each of which enables the store manager to create conditional shipping methods. This adds to the flexibility of the WooCommerce store.
Let’s say you have a customer who has added delicate items to the cart. Shipment and delivery of the same will cost you more. It is important to add rules and a fee for a handle with care. Similarly, if the user wants to express delivery, the shipment fee will be more. The table rate shipping for WooCommerce will allow you to do the same.
4. WooCommerce Table Rate Shipping Plugin by JEM Plugins
The WooCommerce Table Rate Shipping plugin by JEM is another top-rated plugin. It is designed to keep in mind the flexibility and ease of use, eliminating the need to hire IT professionals, every time you need to set a different rule for shipping.
The plugin incorporates all of the different rules that might be needed to configure shipment methods.
Recommended for You –
How to Set Up Advanced Flat Rate Shipping for WooCommerce
5. WooCommerce Advanced Shipping by Sormano
Rule-based shipping is an entirely new concept and an important one too. The WooCommerce advanced free shipping plugin presses on the fact that a store must have variable shipping rates for different situations.
Whether you wish to set a base rate or a $0 fee, a percentage of the cart value, or a fixed amount, with the WooCommerce Advanced Free Shipping plugin, you have the power to create as many rules as you want.
You can also set priorities for the rules, determining which rule supersedes others in the table.
Endnote
Table rate shipping is a fair and scalable method of charging shopping costs to your customers, without burning through your own pockets. As shipping has many variable costs, having a table rate shipping plugin can save you the bother of individually setting up shipping rules and ensuring that they are properly enforced.
The Advanced Flat Rate Shipping plugin, by the DotStore, is one of the most user-friendly and efficient plugins and offers a variety of features to set up custom shipping rates for your WooCommerce store with its conditional rules and capability to add multiple rules.
Which of these is your favorite? Have any other recommendations? Drop a comment to let us know!
