Created as an open-source platform for people to create online stores easily, WooCommerce has now evolved to a mobile-friendly app. This allows people worldwide to start or manage a store using the main platform or via their mobile devices.
However, is it actually a viable option for modern-day businesses that may yearn for extra customization or require flexible integration features? That’s exactly what we’re going to cover today.
Sit tight and learn all you need to know about WooCommerce, the best benefits of using the platform, and whether or not you should use WooCommerce shipping API for your business.
What is WooCommerce?
Founded in 2011, WooCommerce works as a free WordPress-based platform that provides site-building features to users. While the platform itself is free to use, there are paid extensions that you can use to add extra elements and services to your online store.
As of now, WooCommerce is held by Automattic who acquired it in 2015 along with WooThemes, a WordPress theme shop. It also offers multiple hosts you can choose for your brand such as WordPress, Bluehost, or Pressable.
The software follows a simple no-code editing style that enables you to create and edit your store’s design with a visual editor. This lets you design different parts of your website such as product pages and menus. Users have the option to choose from various themes and create a block-based store. With block-based layouts, you don’t need a dedicated developer to make visual updates and can easily use the platform’s visual editor.
Modular blocks used from themes are pre-designed and allow more customized editing such as changing their size and color. WooCommerce also supports a wide range of international fonts and styles to help you bring out a design that best aligns with your brand. These customization features also extend to your cart and checkout page and let you design blocks to display multiple shipping and payment options.
Businesses that are growing and want to explore ecommerce marketplaces like Amazon or eBay can further sync their store details. This lets you open a store on such platforms and directly all your products, prices, and inventory from WooCommerce.
One of the biggest advantages of WooCommerce is that it allows you to market and build online stores on platforms like Facebook, Google, and Pinterest. Online stores also have the option to use automated email campaigns and follow up with customers. This is especially true for situations when customers abandon their cart or when you’ve started a newsletter.
Using customizable triggers and rules, you can easily segment customers and visitors to send specific emails to the right audience. This online store builder supports generating discount coupons and lets you decide their amount and expiry date. For shipping in particular, you can easily print shipping labels directly from the main dashboard with USPS and DHL.
Overall, WooCommerce is an easy-to-use platform that enables new ecommerce entrepreneurs to start online stores quickly. Mobile support further ensures that you can manage your site from anywhere in the world or even on the go.
3 Ways to Boost Consumer Experience With WooCommerce Shipping API
We hope you’ve now got a basic idea of the kind of features WooCommerce provides and how you can use it. Let’s now explore the top 3 benefits of using it to improve your consumer experience.
1. Estimated dates of delivery
Customers prefer to know when exactly they can receive an item from your store on the product page. This helps them schedule any upcoming trips or events accordingly. Estimated dates of deliveries also help them during urgent orders or products sent as gifts on special occasions.
Providing customers with transparent information before they make a purchase also reduces your cart abandonment rate. Buyers won’t consider adding a product to their cart that won’t be fulfilled when they want.
2. Carrier allocation
Another benefit of using WooCommerce Shipping API is automatically assigning the best carrier for all shipments. Shipping rates keep changing at different times of the year and day.
This feature will enable you to set rules and automatically switch courier companies who specialize in cost-effective shipping or quick fulfillment.
3. Live tracking updates
Instead of letting your support team face hundreds of WISMO calls, use real-time tracking to keep customers updated on their parcel’s location.
You can even add your brand logo or theme for personalization and recommend more products on a tracking page. Overall, it’s a great way to provide consistent tracking information while upselling extra products.
Prerequisites for Using WooCommerce Shipping API
Using the latest version of WooCommerce (9.1.2) will let you prevent facing any bugs or security concerns. Once you’ve checked the version you’re using, pick the carrier(s) that you want to integrate.
Courier partners like FedEx, DTDC, and BlueDart differ in the types of services they provide. When it comes to quick international shipping, you might want to use FedEx. Similarly, DTDC can be a better option for more cost-effective shipping. It’s best to integrate multiple courier partners to make the most of each one’s services.
Setting Up the Shipping API in WooCommerce
The most basic way of using WooCommerce is going to the “Shipping” tab. Here, you’ll be able to add the regions you want to ideally ship to. You can edit the level of shipping you provide in certain regions.
WooCommerce provides three basic services: Flat-rate, free, and local pickup. Under “WooCommerce Shipping & Tax,” you’ll also find “Shipping Labels” which will let you print shipping labels for any order by entering its details.
Once you’re done with these formalities, download a multi-carrier plugin for WooCommerce. This allows you to benefit from the services of multiple carriers simultaneously. Once you activate it, you’ll be able to view an API key which will be displayed as “Activated.”
Next, go to “Settings” of your multicarrier plugin to configure different carriers, rules, and shipping areas. These will help you automatically display the delivery fee for any product on the checkout page itself.
Using the “Debug” mode will further enable you to test and find any errors such as your customers not being able to see the delivery rate. You can also set up custom REST APIs under “Advanced.”
Simply click on “Add” to create a new API, copy your Consumer Key and Consumer Secret, and test your API requests (on localhost) using a platform like Postman. If needed, you can also integrate third-party shipping solutions via the WooCommerce marketplace.
Should Businesses Use WooCommerce Shipping API?
So far, WooCommerce has proven to be a great option for anyone who’s starting in the ecommerce industry and wants to visually manage carriers.
But is it enough for businesses to use WooCommerce Shipping API? Absolutely! With a wide range of plugins, the platform enables you to connect with various third-party solutions and hosts multiple visual editors.
Further, once you connect to a carrier, you can display accurate estimated dates of delivery and live shipping rates on the checkout page to instill trust in customers. This coupled with the ability to create robust tracking pages will let buyers view the location of their parcel anytime they want.
In the future, WooCommerce may support more in-built carriers and provide more personalized services to help you make the most out of your ecommerce store.
Conclusion
WooCommerce is one of the best free platforms that provide both hosting and store-building services. From marketing to a wide range of design layouts, the open-source software lets you handle every aspect of your site. Browse through other posts of D2CIntelligence to find more about integrating shipping APIs with your online store with our range of guides.
