Learn How to Hide Flat Rate When Free Shipping Is Available in WooCommerce

How to Hide Flat Rate When Free Shipping Is Available in WooCommerce
Author Bartosz Gajewski
Updated:
2024-06-23
Reading time:
5 minutes read
Category:
Blog

Offering free shipping in e-commerce is a well-known and proven way to increase sales. How to configure shipping in WooCommerce to hide the flat rate shipping method when free shipping is available? Find out in our guide.

Why Hide Flat Rate Shipping?

When free delivery is offered, hiding WooCommerce flat rate shipping can greatly enhance the customer experience. Consumers want checkout procedures that are clear and simple. Offering a variety of delivery options, both free and paid, can confuse customers and encourage them to abandon their carts. Customers may easily finish their purchases by streamlining the checkout process and concealing the flat rate shipping option when free delivery is offered.

Benefits of Free Shipping in WooCommerce

It may sound bizarre, but customers actually prefer the shipping cost to be hidden in the price and love to receive free shipping. The research data does not lie. Let’s take a look at some interesting facts:

  • 96% of people surveyed by Lab42 said that they would be more likely to make a purchase online if a shop offers free shipping.
  • 93% of participants in a Return Customer survey chose free shipping when given a choice between discounted items or a bonus good with their purchase, assuming the same value for each. People prefer free shipping over discounts!
  • According to One Marketing Land’s survey, 90% of customers think that free shipping is the best incentive to shop online. That is most surely a huge percentage.

Research Data Behind Free Shipping

Clearly, free shipping is by far the best tool to boost your sales and attract potential customers. Real money lies over there. Thousands of shops offering weird discounts are actually missing the key to increase the conversion rate. What is most interesting, all the research data points out an astonishing tendency. Online users would still prefer to select an item with free shipping rather than a discounted item with shipping costs, even if the total value of the cart is still the same!

As simple as it is, people really hate shipping costs. High delivery charges are the number one reason causing consumers to abandon online purchases, according to a survey by PayPal and comScore. A shocking 43% of those surveyed didn’t pay for items in their shopping carts because shipping fees were too high. Nobody likes extra costs. It is quite understandable why free shipping would make customers feel safe about no additional fees. To put it simply – it makes the cost calculation steady from the product page to checkout.

Additional Benefits

  1. Increased Sales: Customers are more likely to complete a purchase if free shipping is offered, driving higher sales volume.
  2. Customer Loyalty: Free shipping can encourage repeat purchases, fostering customer loyalty and long-term relationships.
  3. Competitive Advantage: Many customers compare shipping costs before making a decision. Free shipping can set you apart from competitors who do not offer this perk.
  4. Higher Average Order Value: Customers often add more items to their cart to qualify for free shipping, increasing your average order value.

Offering free shipping in WooCommerce can provide these significant benefits to your online store, ensuring you stay ahead in the competitive e-commerce landscape.

Steps to Hide Flat Rate Shipping

To hide the flat rate shipping method when free shipping is available in WooCommerce, you can use custom code or a plugin. It is definitely more convenient to use a plugin, so I will focus on this method in this tutorial.

Here are the steps:

Step 1. Install the free version of the Flexible Shipping Plugin

Step 2. Add a Flexible Shipping method to your WooCommerce Shipping Zone

Step 3. Configure the free shipping threshold

We will go through all the steps individually so that you can quickly implement a free shipping progress bar in your WooCommerce store. In the end, I will show you the effect of these steps. Let’s get started!

Step 1. Install free version of the Flexible Shipping Plugin

The Flexible Shipping plugin’s free edition will serve as the foundation for the whole lesson. Online businesses frequently use this free table rate shipping plugin, which has over 100,000 active installations globally. Beyond what is possible with regular flat rate shipping, it provides a number of sophisticated capabilities, such as the capacity to design unique shipping circumstances depending on a number of variables. Flexible Shipping is an effective tool for controlling shipping costs and increasing customer happiness since it makes it simple to set up conditional shipping rules for your WooCommerce site.

Flexible Shipping WooCommerce

The best Table Rate Shipping for WooCommerce. Period. Create shipping rules based on weight, order totals or item count.

Download for free or Go to WordPress.org
100,000+ Active Installations
Last Updated: 2024-07-01
Works with WooCommerce 8.7 - 9.1.x

You will do the whole configuration in one shipping method. What’s more, the plugin has a built-in Free Shipping label option. If free shipping is applied, you can display additional information for your customer. It’s a small thing, but it works great as a UX touch, and it will also reduce abandoned shopping carts. All in this WooCommerce table rate shipping plugin. 

Most importantly, by using one shipping method, you will avoid the problem that occurred when using the default shipping methods – two shipping methods in cart.

Step 2. Add a Flexible Shipping method to your WooCommerce Shipping Zone

First, go to WooCommerce → Settings → Shipping. There, edit the shipping zone in which you want to free shipping bar. Next, click on Add shipping method button.

Add Flexible Shipping method

Then, select the type of your shipping method. Pick the Flexible Shipping.

new Flexible shipping method

Having the Flexible Shipping method added, it’s time to manage WooCommerce shipping method.

Step 3. Configure the free shipping threshold

In General Settings section, you can set Method Title and Description.Flexible Shipping method titla and description

Then, go to Shipping Cost Calculation Rules and configure the shipping cost for that method. It can be Flat Rate or you can use conditional shipping available in the Flexible Shipping plugin or other WooCommerce shipping customizable rates plugins. In my example, I set the shipping cost as a flat $10 rate for shipping.

Flexible shipping flat rate configuration

After that, it’s time to configure the free shipping threshold. In the Free Shipping Threshold field, enter the amount that will become the free shipping level. If you want to offer free shipping over $100, just enter 100 in that field.

free shipping threshold in Flexible Shipping plugin

And that’s basically it. You can additionally change the free shipping label or display the free shipping bar. Save changes and you have a configured shipping method with a fixed cost, which turns into free shipping once you exceed $100. Everything happens automatically!

Troubleshooting Common Issues

While configuring your shipping methods, you may encounter some common issues. Here are a few troubleshooting tips:

  1. Free Shipping Not Appearing: Ensure that the conditions for free shipping are correctly set. Check the minimum order amount and any applicable coupon codes.
  2. Flat Rate Still Visible: Double-check your custom code or plugin settings. Make sure the code is correctly added, or the Flexible Shipping plugin settings are properly configured.
  3. Conflict with Other Plugins: Some plugins may interfere with your shipping settings. Deactivate other shipping-related plugins to identify any conflicts.
  4. Theme Compatibility: Ensure your theme is compatible with WooCommerce and does not override shipping settings.

By following these steps and troubleshooting tips, you can successfully hide the flat rate shipping method when free shipping is available in WooCommerce. This not only enhances the customer experience but also optimizes the checkout process, leading to increased sales and customer satisfaction.

In conclusion, configuring your WooCommerce store to hide flat rate shipping when free shipping is available is a strategic move that can greatly benefit your business. Whether you choose to use custom code or a plugin, the process is straightforward and can significantly improve the user experience on your online store.

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