Shipping Editor

Properties

The Properties tab enables you to specify which products may be shipped, either via all Shipping Codes or a combination of Shipping Codes. It is advisable to have a global shipping method that is compatible with all Shipping Codes, enabling orders with multiple Shipping Codes to be shipped. A global shipping method may be set as a catch-all, meaning that it will remain hidden unless it becomes the first shipping method available.

The Threshold Type determines how a customer might qualify for each level of charges. The two threshold types are weight and order value. For weight-based shipping methods, a further threshold to qualify for Free Shipping can also be defined based on the order value, along with minimum and maximum thresholds to qualify for the method.

You are able to indicate under which conditions the shipping method should attract VAT. You may define a Minimum Charge for using the method, along with an optional Charge per Item which will override the use of thresholds. A Charge per Additional Item can be used to adjust the charge for items other than the first.

Any shipping method may be marked as requiring collection by the customer. As well as ensuring that the shipping method appears for selection, regardless of whether a charge has been assigned, the setting will also inform the customer that their order must be collected manually.

Should you decide to Prevent Free Shipping for a particular shipping method, it will always incur a charge, irrespective of discounts. If there is no charge associated with the shipping method, then it will be removed from the list of available options.

In the case of express-type deliveries, you can choose to hide the shipping method when any of the items in an order can't be shipped immediately.

Fulfilment

The Fulfilment tab enables you to specify more advanced shipping options. By setting the Fulfilment Days, you indicate how long the fulfilment will take from the despatch date to the delivery date. Setting this to 1 means that fulfilment will take 1 day, therefore this counts as next day delivery.

The Named Day setting allows you to specify a window during which the customer can request their own delivery date. The first available date is dependent on the number of Fulfilment Days specified. The Cut-Off Time determines whether the despatch date will be moved forward 24 hours.

If the number of Fulfilment Days has been specified, but the delivery is neither next day nor named day, you can indicate whether the Fulfilment Days are Worst Case (delivery BY) or Accurate (delivery ON). This will affect the wording used in the Shopping Basket.

You are able to Exclude Shipping Dates via the field provided, specifying a combination of full dates and 3-letter days of the week. These excluded dates will override the ones specified in Settings.

An optional Advisory Message may be specified for the shipping method, this will be displayed in the Shopping Basket. However, it should be noted that this will override the default shipping messages such as up-selling next day delivery, free shipping, and informing the customer of their delivery date.

The Safe Place field, for customer comments regarding delivery, can be enabled or disabled per shipping method, with an optional line of help text and a character limit for each. The Safe Place field appears directly beneath the shipping method selector during checkout.

The Tracking Address is an optional URL which can be used by the customer to track shipments sent via this method. The Tracking Number can easily be inserted into this URL, which will be appended to any email correspondence sent to the customer.

Despatch notes generated by the site already have their own default HTML template. This can be edited by supplying your own custom HTML code. Copy and paste the default HTML template to get started.

Countries

You are able to toggle whether each of the countries in the list qualifies to use the shipping method. The Select All and Deselect All buttons make the task of field selection easier. You may also select EU and non-EU countries automatically.

If less than 10 countries have been selected, it is possible to further refine the shipping method by adding Partial Postcodes. Separated by commas, these may take any of the following 3 formats:

EC, SW1, W1-8

In the example given above, postcodes beginning with EC or SW1 will constitute a match. In addition, any postcode beginning with W1 through to W8 will also constitute a match. You may indicate whether Partial Matches should be either Required or Excluded.

States

If the United States has been selected as the only qualifying country, you are also able to toggle whether each of the US states in the list qualifies to use the shipping method.

Thresholds

Multiple thresholds may be added up to the number required. Simply specify the From value, and the To value will be added automatically. Shipping charges should be added in the column provided.

The Invalidate Last Threshold setting can be used to remove the shipping method from the list of options if a specific weight or value threshold is met.