How to Offer Shipment Tracking in WooCommerce (Step by Step)

Tracking shipments is crucial for ecommerce stores to provide transparency and build trust with customers. By letting buyers track their orders, you can reduce confusion, complaints, and requests for refunds if a package is delayed.

In fact, 87% of consumers consider delivery tracking important for online purchases according to research by Convey.

And another study found that 68% of shoppers say receiving tracking information makes them more likely to buy again from the same online store according to Stamps.com.

Clearly, offering shipment tracking should be a priority for your WooCommerce store.

In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll walk through how to add shipment tracking in WooCommerce using the free Advanced Shipment Tracking plugin.

Why You Should Offer Tracking Numbers in WooCommerce

Here are some of the top benefits of enabling shipment tracking for your WooCommerce store:

• Increases transparency – Customers can see where their order is located at any given time. This prevents customers from worrying about lost or delayed packages.

• Improves customer service – If an order is running late, you can proactively let the customer know before they contact you. Tracking also makes it easier for your support team to address delivery-related inquiries.

• Boosts customer satisfaction – According to research by Convey, 87% of consumers consider delivery tracking important for online purchases. Providing this increases happiness and loyalty.

• Less workload – Automated shipment tracking eliminates the need to manually update each customer about their order status via email or phone.

• Encourages repeat purchases – A smooth ordering experience and increased trust in your store makes customers more likely to buy from you again.

• Identify shipping issues – Shipment tracking analytics can reveal problems with particular carriers, routes, or delivery times. You can then optimize logistics.

• Works across platforms – Display tracking details in packing slips, emails, SMS, and customer account pages for consistency.

• On-brand experience – Create branded tracking pages and links that match your store‘s design.

Now let‘s get into how to actually enable tracking numbers in the WooCommerce admin dashboard.

Step 1: Install the Advanced Shipment Tracking Plugin

To add shipment tracking to WooCommerce orders, we recommend using the free Advanced Shipment Tracking plugin. It‘s one of the top-rated solutions on the market with over 100,000 active installs.

The features include:

• Automatically sends tracking info to customers via email.
• Lets you customize the order status email templates.
• Imports tracking numbers via CSV files for bulk orders.
• Supports over 300 shipping carriers like USPS, FedEx, DHL, and UPS.
• Offers partial refunds when some items in an order are out of stock.

Some additional benefits are:

• Integrations – Connects with platforms like ShipStation, AfterShip, Google Analytics, and Slack for enhanced tracking.
• Notices of delivery delays – Optionally automatically notify customers if orders are delayed.
• Tracking history – Displays a log of all past tracking updates on the order details page.
• Notes capability – Lets you add internal notes related to shipments visible to your team.
• Partial shipments – Supports tracking numbers for individual items from split shipments.

To get started, go to Plugins » Add New in your WordPress dashboard. Then search for "Advanced Shipment Tracking" and click "Install Now".

After installing the plugin, click "Activate". Now the plugin will be live on your site.

Step 2: Configure the Plugin Settings

With the Advanced Shipment Tracking plugin activated, you can now customize its settings.

Go to WooCommerce » Shipment Tracking in the dashboard menu. On this page, you‘ll find several options to configure:

General Settings

Under the General Settings tab, there are a couple of options to enable:

• Add Tracking Order Action – Choose which order statuses should display the shipment tracking fields. I recommend ticks for at least "Processing" and "Completed".

• Order Emails Display – Select which order emails will include the shipment tracking info and link. You‘ll want to enable this for "Processing", and "Completed" at minimum.

For the order status email notifications, be sure to customize:

• Email subject line
• Header text
• Order tracking info section
• Buttons or link formatting
• Brand colors and fonts

This allows you to match the branding of your regular store emails for consistency.

Order Statuses & Notifications

Next, navigate to the Order Statuses & Notifications section.

• If you want the order status emails to say "Shipped" instead of "Completed", enable the Rename the "Completed" order status label setting.

• Click the gear icon to customize the naming, content, and design of the status notification emails using the built-in Email Customizer.

For example, you can change the header to say "Your Order Has Shipped" in your brand‘s colors and fonts.

Add shipping details like the carrier name and expected delivery date.

Use buttons for links styled to match your store.

This creates professional, on-brand emails customers love receiving.

Shipping Carriers

Under the Shipping Carriers tab, you can view and manage the supported delivery services.

Click "Add Shipping Carrier" and search for your chosen carrier like USPS, FedEx, or DHL to add them to your list.

Now your chosen shipping companies will appear as options when adding tracking numbers to orders.

API

The REST API section allows developers to integrate external platforms with WooCommerce for tracking.

For example, you can connect solutions like:

• AfterShip – Automates tracking and proactive updates for customers.
• ShipStation – Manages order fulfillment and adds tracking across channels.
• Google Analytics – Displays shipment tracking analytics on your dashboard.

Leveraging the API expands what you can do beyond the core plugin.

Once you‘ve customized the settings, click "Save & Close" to finish the configuration.

Step 3: Add Tracking Numbers to Your Orders

With the plugin installed and configured, it‘s time to actually add shipment tracking details to your WooCommerce orders.

You have two options for this:

Add Tracking to Individual Orders

For small stores, you can manually insert tracking info into each order one by one:

1. Go to WooCommerce » Orders to view your orders list.

2. Click an order number to open its details page.

3. Scroll down to the "Shipment Tracking" section and click "Add Tracking Info".

4. Enter the tracking number, shipping provider, and shipment date.

5. Check the box if the order has been shipped.

6. Click "Save Tracking" to add it to the order.

Import Tracking Numbers in Bulk

For larger stores, importing tracking info via a CSV file is quicker than manually adding it.

First, create a spreadsheet with columns for Order ID, tracking number, shipping provider, delivery date, and shipped status.

Then go to WooCommerce » Shipment Tracking and click the "CSV Import" tab.

Upload your CSV file here. You can choose to replace existing tracking data or append to it.

Click "Import CSV" and the tracking info will be added to your orders.

Now that the tracking details are imported, customers will automatically get shipment notifications.

Recommended Process

The most seamless process is to use fulfillment software that integrates with WooCommerce and automatically imports tracking data.

Platforms like ShipStation and Shippo will send tracking information to customer emails, SMS, packing slips, and your WooCommerce admin.

This eliminates the need to manually enter or upload tracking numbers after shipping items. It all happens automatically.

Step 4: Test Order Tracking Emails

To ensure everything is working smoothly, you should test the automated shipment tracking emails.

The easiest way is to place a test order yourself. Use a tracking number from your shipping provider‘s sandbox account if they offer one.

Or you can add a fake tracking number to the test order for now.

Then mark the order as "Shipped" or "Completed". This will trigger the email with the shipment tracking link.

Click the link and make sure it leads to your shipping provider‘s tracking page.

This confirms the emails are being sent out correctly with the tracking functionality working.

If you run into any trouble, double check the plugin settings and shipping carrier details.

Additional Tips for Improving the Tracking Experience

Beyond the basics, here are some pro tips for further optimizing shipment tracking in WooCommerce:

Use Tracking Analytics

View tracking analytics within the plugin or connected platforms like Google Analytics.

Monitor metrics like:

• Average delivery time by shipping provider and method. Identify consistently late carriers.
• Shipping zones with high rates of delays. Consider cutoff times for certain regions.
• Shipping errors triggering refunds and exchanges. Spot problem product types.

With insights from analytics, you can fine-tune your shipping for optimal deliverability.

Proactively Notify Customers of Delays

If an order is running late, use the Advanced Tracking plugin to automatically email buyers with an expected new delivery date.

You can also manually send delay notifications by enabling:

• WooCommerce Shipment Tracking Pro
• Aftership‘s Automated Tracking Updates
• Zapier to connect WooCommerce and email services like Mailchimp

Being proactive improves the customer experience.

Create Branded Tracking Pages

When customers click your tracking link, send them to a branded tracking results page that matches your store‘s design instead of the raw carrier site.

You can do this with:

• AfterShip‘s Branded Tracking Pages
• ShipStation‘s Branded Tracking Pages
• Redirects and landing pages using SeedProd‘s page builder

Branded tracking pages keep customers engaged with your store.

Add Tracking Info Across Platforms

Include the tracking number across multiple touchpoints:

• Email confirmations and shipping notifications
• Customer account pages and order history
• Mobile order tracking apps
• Packing slips and receipts
• SMS shipping alerts

Consistency increases convenience for shoppers across devices.

Optimizing Other Parts of Your WooCommerce Store

Enabling shipment tracking is just one part of optimizing the customer journey. Here are some other areas you may want to improve:

• Page builder – Use a drag and drop page builder like SeedProd to customize your product pages, cart, and checkout.

• Design – Make sure your store follows best practices for ecommerce design. Use high-quality images, minimalist layouts, and clear CTAs.

• Product detail pages – Include sufficient info like images, descriptions, sizes, and reviews. Make key details easy to find.

• Checkout process – Reduce checkout abandonment by minimizing required fields, offering guest checkout, and displaying trust badges.

• Shipping rates – Show accurate rates in real-time during checkout based on the customer‘s address.

• Customer support – Provide multiple contact options like live chat, email, contact form, and phone.

• Speed – Optimize page size and enable caching to improve site speed. Faster stores convert more visitors.

Focusing on all these aspects will help you reduce friction during the ordering process, boost conversions, and keep customers happy.

Conclusion

Offering shipment tracking in WooCommerce is an easy way to increase transparency in your store. Customers will feel more confident in their purchases knowing they can monitor the delivery status.

The Advanced Shipment Tracking plugin makes the entire process hassle-free. After installing it, you can easily customize the settings, add tracking info to orders, and even import data in bulk.

By providing this level of convenience and communication with your customers, you can expect greater satisfaction, retention, and revenues over the long-term.

Implementing the tips in this guide will help you take your WooCommerce shipment tracking to the next level. Let me know if you have any other questions!