How to set up ShipStation for WooCommerce?

Regarding shipping, Consumer Expectations and the eCommerce experience will clash. While Small and Medium Enterprises (SMBs) benefited from the online shopping boom, most struggled to meet the additional responsiveness accompanying growth. This is where easy-to-use Shipping Software like ShipStation can come to your rescue. It can save you time and resources by allowing you to ship efficiently once customers finish the payment process.

On the other hand, WooCommerce is an industry leader that helps users easily set up their online stores. It is one of the most widely used eCommerce Store Builders that work on WordPress. Therefore, ShipStation for WooCommerce can bring many benefits.

This article will show you how to set up ShipStation for WooCommerce. It will give you a quick overview of the main features of ShipStation and WooCommerce.

So, without further ado, let’s get rolling!

What is WooCommerce ShipStation?

WooCommerce ShipStation is a multi-carrier shipping solution for eCommerce businesses that are aimed to save time and money during the order fulfillment process. ShipStation for WooCommerce offers a uniform set of sophisticated tools for managing orders from development to fulfillment, anywhere your business needs to ship.

The plugin allows store managers to keep track of all orders, generate mailing labels automatically, and handle the entire order fulfillment process.

ShipStation automates everything for online retailers, from order import and batch label design to customer communication, expediting the order fulfillment process. Furthermore, ShipStation’s comprehensive customization tools enable it to be tailored to enterprises with any number of users or locations.

Key features of WooCommerce Shipstation

• Comprehensive Order Management: The Order Management capabilities of ShipStation enable eCommerce enterprises to spend less time on small activities and more time on more important elements of their business.
• Automation: You may automate repetitive activities, remove manual data entry, and limit the potential of human errors by using ShipStation’s Customizable Shipping Presets.
• Mobile-Friendly: ShipStation now includes a mobile app that lets you see order details and track information in real-time from your smartphone or tablet.

What can you do with WooCommerce ShipStation?

• Handle various carriers: ShipStation works with a variety of carriers to help you avoid logistical hassles. It allows you to track delivery, fulfill orders, and make labels.
• Order Management: ShipStation can import order data from over 40 different sales channels. The application applies pre-configured shipping options to each order automatically. Specifications, special packaging slips, and branding labels are also employed.

• Integration: ShipStation is compatible with a wide range of marketplaces, online carts, eCommerce systems, and carriers. If your platform does not support it, you can import orders using the Custom Store Integration option.
• Provide custom views: This tool allows you to customize the user interface to your liking. You can choose what you want to see and set it through the Display option with this function. You may also customize your default page by selecting from a range of interface sizes and menus.
• Customize order fulfillment processes: Customizing order fulfillment procedures with ShipStation’s automation capability will help you save time and money on delivery. It employs automation rules, which are actions you want to take on a set of orders.
• Report data: Among the analytical options provided in ShipStation’s reporting tools are data exports, default reports, barcode scans, hotkeys, charts, and graphs.

Benefits of setting up ShipStation for WooCommerce 

• It reduces the need for human data entry. It also prevents errors caused by misunderstandings between administrators and team members during order fulfillment.
• It delivers real-time updates on order status to keep clients informed of tracking information.
• Online merchants can also save time by automating order fulfillment by combining WooCommerce with ShipStation. With this integration, you will no longer have to manually enter tracking numbers into your online store or manually dispatch your customers’ orders.

What requirements do you need to use ShipStation for WooCommerce?

As previously said, ShipStation is a shipping plugin that will connect to your WooCommerce database to transfer, import, and export orders. As a result, before utilizing the plugin, you must explain some connection and order import requirements.

The following are the connection requirements::

• A WordPress domain with an authenticated URL;
• WooCommerce authentication key;
• An active WooCommerce account.

The following are the order import requirements:

• A database or list of shipping addresses;
• Each shipping order must include at least one physical good.

How to Integrate ShipStation and WooCommerce?

This section will guide you through the steps of configuring a ShipStation WooCommerce integration. To integrate ShipStation for WooCommerce, start by creating a WooCommerce account.

Step 1: WooCommerce Setup

The first step in configuring ShipStation for WooCommerce is to download and activate the plugin in your WordPress dashboard.

• Log in to the WooCommerce dashboard. 
• Go to Plugins > Add New and start installing the WooCommerce ShipStation Integration plugin on your store. 

• Click on the Upload option, then browse to and select the plugin zip file from your computer. You can then click on Install Now.

• After finishing the installation, click the Activate button.

• Navigate to the WooCommerce menu and then go to Settings.

• Navigate to the Integrations section.

Step 2: Configure Settings for ShipStation

You’ll need to update WooCommerce’s default settings after installing ShipStation.

To begin, go to the Integration page and choose ShipStation. Your screen should now display the ShipStation setup page.

To connect your ShipStation properly, you must first grasp the following components:

• Authentication key: The authentication key is the first item you see on the setup screen. This is produced for you automatically and cannot be modified. It is a unique key that will be used to connect your online store to ShipStation.
• Order Statuses for Export: Choose which WooCommerce orders with different statuses to send to ShipStation. Only paid-for orders, such as Processing, Completed, and maybe, should be sent. On-Hold/Canceled.
• Shipped Order Status: The status should be updated once the order has been designated as shipped in ShipStation. Completed is an excellent option because it usually means the order has been completed, and no more action is necessary.
• Logging: Enable logging here if you’re having problems. This could come in handy during troubleshooting. WooCommerce > System Status > Logs contain the logs. Then, from the Logs menu, select the relevant ShipStation log files.

This is how your ShipStation settings page will appear:

As you can see, there are various possibilities for configuring settings here. The authentication key comes first, followed by four predefined export-order statuses: processing, on-hold, done, and canceled. You may add additional if desired.

Then there are the shipped-order labels, which look like this:

You can also choose whether to log in or not. It is advised, however, that logging be utilized strictly for debugging purposes and that logs be destroyed once completed.

Finally, before you leave the page, remember to click Save changes.

Step 3: Connect ShipStation to WooCommerce

After installing and configuring the plugin, you must link your store to your ShipStation account. Create an account if you don’t already have one.

Then you’ll be asked to select a “Selling Channel” to link to your WooCommerce store. Navigate to the Account Settings page in your prior ShipStation account. Select Selling Channels from the sidebar on the left. Scroll down and choose the Store Setup option.

Then, on the right side of the Stores page, click the Connect a Store or Marketplace option, and then select WooCommerce.

Once the new Connection box appears, fill in the Authentication Key and Store URL from the WooCommerce setup page in step 2. Examine your data before pressing the Test Connection button.

Allow a few seconds for ShipStation to validate the connection. If the test passes, click the Connect button to finish the process.

It’s time to edit your online store’s Shipped Orders after successfully linking your ShipStation for WooCommerce. When using ShipStation, make sure the “Notify Marketplace?” option is selected.

This is necessary so that ShipStation may notify your business when the order status is changed to Shipped Order Status and add a customer comment with carrier and tracking information.

Field data can now be imported and exported to ShipStation. You can add up to three custom fields to your order before submitting it to the orders field in ShipStation. In an order, Custom Field 1 retailer promo coupons are used. By default, this option is enabled. Custom Fields 2 and 3 can be customized by inserting a snippet that specifies the name of the exported info

That about sums up ShipStation for WooCommerce! Now, let’s look at some popular blocks you might come across along the road.

Conclusion

As you can see, ShipStation for WooCommerce is a fantastic shipping solution for both small enterprises and large corporations, shipping thousands of units. It includes a simple admin interface for comparing shipping prices and may be integrated with a variety of eCommerce systems.