How to Print Shipping Labels WooCommerce

Consumer behavior has been altered in multiple ways as a direct result of the pandemic, and one particular group of people who have benefited from these shifts are online retailers.

According to the findings of the Ernst & Young Future Consumer Index, 60% of consumers in the United States are currently going to brick-and-mortar stores less frequently compared to before the pandemic, and 43% prefer to shop online more frequently for products that they would have previously purchased in physical stores.

However, despite the fact that this points to a significant shift in the industry toward eCommerce and a larger customer base for online stores, it also means that competition is intensified.

Therefore, you have no space for errors. Just like you invest in your online business development and marketing, you also need to put your best efforts into order fulfillment.

Because if your customers don’t receive the products in your promised time or don’t receive them at all, then all your efforts will go in vain, and your business will never be able to fly.

One incredibly important element of the order fulfillment process is the shipping label. In this article, we will talk in detail about what are WooCommerce print shipping labels and how to print shipping labels from WooCommerce.

What is a shipping label?

The document or sticker affixed to the outside of a package during transit is the shipping label. Transportation companies and carriers can use the information on the label to locate the correct shipment details and monitor its progress.

You can find a variety of information about your shipment, including its origin, its final destination, its weight, the name of the carrier, and more, on the shipping label or package label. Both humans and machines can read the labels to figure out the package’s origin and destination, as well as any intermediate stops it made.

Due to the volume of goods transported on a regular basis, transport and shipping companies require complete and accurate information on all shipping labels and supporting documentation.

Since inaccuracies on the label can cause the shipment to be misplaced, misidentified, or even destroyed, it is crucial that they be correct.

Your package may go missing or into the wrong hands if the shipping label is inaccurate or becomes damaged during transit. If the package is returned to you, you must either resend it at your expense or issue a refund.

As a result, you will suffer a loss of products, customers, income, and reputation. Therefore, it is crucial for a WooCommerce store to have accurate shipping labels in order to avoid the aforementioned financial claims.

How do WooCommerce shipping labels work?

Labels on packages show where they need to go, how to keep track of them, and what kind of service they need. Shipping labels are standardized and follow a similar format for each service.

In order to be understood by both humans and computers, they must be written in a straightforward fashion. Since each shipping company has its own unique system for sorting and delivering packages, it is essential to use their respective shipping label templates.

Elements of print shipping labels WooCommerce

Depending on the shipper, the carrier, or the transport agent, a shipping label may have different information on it. We will talk about what is usually on a shipping label.

Sender Name & Address

You need to put your company or stores name along with your address or your warehouse’s address. This address will act as a returning address in case the customer or shipping company needs to return the box to you.

Recipient’s name

You need to mention your customer’s name or the recipient’s name who will receive the package. Customers may choose to deliver the shipment to a different address.

If the recipient is different or the address is different, then most likely, the buyer will fill up the billing address section on the WooCommerce checkout page.

Recipient’s address

In a shipping label, this is the most crucial piece of information. Each and every one of your packages’ labels need to have the customer’s or recipient’s address on it. There should be no typos or incomplete addresses.

Tracking number, barcode / QR code

The shipping and transport companies make use of this internal tracking number in order to move and keep tabs on the shipment. When it comes to scanning, some of the more forward-thinking carriers make use of both a barcode and a QR code.

They are able to determine the location of the origin or destination, as well as the flight numbers, ETD/ETA and cargo/shipment status or events, and data that they need for shipment planning by using this information.

Package weight

It’s a good practice for you to print the package weight on the print shipping labels WooCommerce.

Shipping priority

This is the standard method for indicating the importance of an airfreight shipment. Generally, normal delivery, express delivery, and emergency delivery are the three tiers of service available.

Delivery instructions/customer notes

Customers can leave notes or instructions for delivery in the checkout process, and you should include those in the shipping label for the carrier to follow.

Include any special instructions left by the customer, such as a request to call ahead of time, on the shipping label. The delivery service can then instruct the courier to call the recipient before making the delivery.

Why do you need to print shipping labels WooCommerce?

Shipping labels are an integral part of the order fulfillment process.

Customer retention and growth are directly tied to how well an online retailer meets its clients’ demands. In order to draw in more customers and keep the ones you have happy, you need to make sure orders get processed quickly and accurately.

When a customer places an order with you, they want to know that it will arrive as soon as possible. Greater customer satisfaction increases the likelihood that they will select your products over those of competitors.

Having a clearly defined order fulfillment procedure can also reassure your clients that they will receive their purchases promptly and undamaged. Therefore, they will be more eager to continue doing business with you.

Therefore, you need to make sure you print accurate shipping labels and attach them to your packages. Now, let’s find out more reasons why you need to print shipping labels from WooCommerce.

Easy transportation

Packages are processed through an automated sorting system with the aid of the shipping label attached to the package. Because of the efficient sorting system, packages are freed from the queue in the quickest time.

Packages with accurate and proper shipping labels have an easier time getting to their recipient. It improves productivity and client happiness while cutting costs for businesses as a whole.

Helps customers to track

Customers constantly seek out simple and uncomplicated shipment tracking options. A shipping label allows you to provide your customers with an easy way to monitor the delivery status of their packages.

You can easily trace your online order by using the tracking number found on the shipping label. As a result, you can update customers at each step of the delivery process.

Quicker delivery

When all the important information is on the shipping label, the courier service has less work to do. All they have to do is scan the label to find out everything they need to know about the customer.

Printed shipping labels are less likely to have mistakes than ones that were written by hand. This helps the package get there on time and saves time.

How to create shipping labels?

Order processing is the typical time when shipping labels are made. It’s important to adhere to the specifications laid out by your chosen carrier when designing your shipping labels.

Unfortunately, making your own label template or manually filling one out is not an option. A shipping label must be made in accordance with the guidelines provided by the shipping company.

You can either choose to go to the post office and buy a label or arrange the labels yourself. When you buy shipping labels at the post office, you are actually buying postage at retail rates, which are the most expensive.

There are more benefits to arranging your own shipping labels, such as saving money on postage and avoiding wait times at the post office by scheduling package pickups. Even better, there are ways to automate the process to eliminate or greatly reduce the need for human intervention.

Here are some ways you can arrange your own shipping labels.

Creating shipping labels through a carrier

Using your carrier’s website, you can generate a shipping label manually. It’s not the quickest option, but it’ll do if you only have a few packages to send.

The carrier’s website should feature a shipping label template; after filling it out, you can download and print the file.

Creating shipping labels with automated tools

If you are running a WooCommerce store, then you have the luxury of installing WooCommerce shipping labels plugins to automate the label creation process.

You won’t need to worry about manually creating shipping labels for every order. These plugins can generate accurate shipping labels for you, collecting the necessary information from the order details.

Why should you automate your shipping label process?

Do you still need more convincing to automate the creation and printing of shipping labels? Learn about these three advantages:

Avoid going through any sites that belong to third-party carriers

It takes a lot of time and introduces the potential for error when using a third-party carrier site. Manual data entry increases the risk of making mistakes and leaving out important details, which can result in frustrated customers who haven’t received their orders.

Also, you can only print 20 labels at a time from carrier sites like USPS. This is a major hassle if you have, for example, 100 urgent orders.

Lessen your task anxiety

As a store owner, your daily activities involve wearing many different hats. You’re more likely to lose concentration and squander time if you have to switch back and forth between multiple tasks.

By using shipping label automation software, you can free up time to focus on more important, non-automatable tasks.

Avoid going to the post office

Through the use of shipping automation, you are able to leave your packages in a dropbox or arrange for the United States Postal Service (USPS) to pick them up at your door.

If you print your shipping labels at your home or place of business, you can put off driving into town and avoid waiting in line at the post office, both of which are time-consuming activities.

How to print shipping labels from WooCommerce?

There are three essential documents you will need to create and share with your customers and shipping company along with the package to fulfill an order. They are:

1. Invoice
2. Packing slip
3. Shipping label

Unfortunately, WooCommerce doesn’t offer the tools to create any of these. However, there’s no shortage of plugins that can do the tasks for you. In this article, we will use the Challan plugin.

WooCommerce print shipping labels free with Challan

Challan is a freemium plugin that has a very popular free version in the WordPress repository. You can create and print shipping labels WooCommerce with the help of this plugin.

In addition to the WooCommerce shipping labels, this plugin also lets you automatically create invoices, packing lists, and credit notes. Moreover, Challan automatically generates and attaches the invoice to the order confirmation email as soon as a customer completes their order.

You don’t need to worry about creating WooCommerce shipping labels for every order manually. Challan will do the task for you, and all you have to do is to click on the download button.

Additionally, Challan Pro also lets you bulk download your shipping labels, packing lists, and invoices.

Customization with Challan

As we have mentioned already, you won’t need to manually design the documents every time you receive an order. Challan offers you to modify a custom invoice template as well as a packing slip template, and once you are done, the plugin will follow your template settings and generate the documents according to that.

Challan offers a number of pre-made invoice templates for you to choose from. Packing slips will also follow the same templates once you set one.

In addition to the pre-made templates, both Challan-free and pro versions have loads of options to personalize and customize the document templates. You can display your brand elements, such as your logo, company details, signature, etc.

As a marketing element, you can display a custom footer along with your messages or popular product links to increase your sales. You can also display a paid stamp and an authorized signature to increase trust and professionalism.

Challan lets you add a number of custom fields to include more helpful data in your documents. You can also customize your template using CSS.

Moreover, you can add a bar code, QR code, payment method, and shipment rate details to your documents. Challan also lets you add tax information to your invoices and packing slips.

Challan also allows you to add static files, such as your terms and services page and any other document file of your choice. The plugin also lets you customize your invoice numbers and order numbers sequence as well.

Furthermore, you can set a custom background image for the documents. Overall, Challan is a complete solution when it comes to creating documents to efficiently operate the order fulfillment process.

Key features

• Automatically creates shipping labels for every order.
• Allows you to WooCommerce bulk print shipping labels.
• Automatically generates invoices and attaches them to the order confirmation email.
• Allows you to download packing slips and credit notes as well.
• Offers you to create a custom invoice template.
• Allows you to add your brand elements to your documents.
• Lets you display paid stamps and authorized signatures.
• Allows you to add tax info as well as QR and bar codes.
• Supports adding background images.
• Allows you to customize your template using CSS.
• Offers a number of pre-made templates.
• Allows you to add static files along with your invoices.
• Enables you to add different custom fields related to the orders.
• Allows you to extensively modify the product table in the invoice.

Price

The pro version of Challan comes in the following packages-

Annual cost –

Single Site – $29.00

Five Sites – $59.00

Ten Sites -$129.00

Lifetime cost –

Single Site – $119.00

Five Site – $229.00

Ten Site – $457.00

How to print shipping labels WooCommerce with Challan

First, you need to install the plugin. Go to your WordPress admin panel and go to Plugins and click on Add New button to start the process.

In the search box, type in the plugin name. Once you find it, install and activate the plugin.

Challan will now automatically generate shipping labels, invoices, and packing slips for your next orders. You can download the documents for your previous order as well.

Let’s jump to the WooCommerce menu in the back panel and go to Orders. Click on any previous order.

You will find a dedicated Challan panel now on your order pages. It will be on the right side of the page.

You can go ahead and click on the shipping label button to download your shipping label for that particular order.

To bulk download WooCommerce shipping labels, you need to first go to Challan’s settings page. After you install the plugin, it will create a separate menu in your menu panel on the left.

Hover your mouse over it and then click on settings. You will see Challan’s different tools and settings there.

Now click on the Bulk Download tab.

From the Bulk Type drop-down, select the shipping label option. You can filter your search by a date range and order status.

WooCommerce shipping label bulk download in Challan pro

Challan pro adds a plethora of new settings and opportunities for you to personalize and customize your documents. Most importantly, it has a dedicated menu tab for invoices, packing slips, and shipping labels.

To bulk download print shipping labels WooCommerce using Challan pro, you need to click on the Shipping Label tab. Here you will find a bunch of options to filter your bulk download file.

You can set the number of columns per row and the total number of rows. From the settings, you can also set the date range as like you could do in the Challan free version.

You can set the font size for the document. You can also set the paper size for the document.

In the Buyer Details Layout, you can put a number of parameters you can display in the document.

Available parameters are:

{{billing_company}}

{{billing_address_1}}

{{billing_first_name}}

{{billing_last_name}}

{{billing_address_2}}

{{billing_city}}

{{billing_state}}

{{billing_postcode}}

{{billing_country}}

{{billing_phone}}

{{billing_email}}

{{shipping_first_name}}

{{shipping_last_name}}

{{shipping_company}}

{{shipping_address_1}}

{{shipping_address_2}}

{{shipping_city}}

{{shipping_state}}

{{shipping_postcode}}

{{shipping_country}}

{{shipping_phone}}

{{shipping_email}}

Challan Pro also allows you to add order meta to the shipping labels. Click on the Add Order Meta link.

You need to first give your order meta a name and then select what you want to display from the dropdown.

Shipping Label Best Practices

Some additional details about print shipping labels WooCommerce for transport are as follows:

Label placement

If there is a “This Side Up” instruction on the label, it should go on top of the package. Be sure that the label is not folded over the edges, as this could make the information on it unreadable or impossible to scan.

In addition, smooth out any bumps left behind after sticking it down, as these could render the code unreadable. If you want to protect your label by covering it with clear tape or placing it in a plastic wallet, make sure the entire label can still be read.

The industry standards for shipping label sizes are:

• 4×6 inch
• 6×3 inch
• 4×4 inch

Special instructions

Make a note on the package if the contents need special handling. It may need to be marked as such if it is fragile, easily damaged, or flammable (carriers will often ask this as well). It’s also a good idea to specify which side of the package must be facing up.

Keeping in mind these specifics will increase the likelihood that your shipment will reach its destination unscathed.

Packing slips

In the online retail world, a reliable vendor will always supply packing slips (also known as a “waybill”). The document acts as a receipt and should be placed inside the package (or on the outside, in a plastic wallet).

All pertinent information, such as your company’s contact details, the customer’s address, the order date and number, the items included in the package and the quantity, a customer service number, and any additional comments or information about returns, refunds, etc., should be included on the slips.

Wrap up

When it comes to running an eCommerce business, shipping labels are an absolutely essential component. They are the public’s first impression of your packages and the key to a trouble-free shipping and delivery experience.

Since you are now aware of how crucial shipping labels are, you should give some thought to having them printed so that your company can benefit from the enhancements and improvements.

The plugin we recommended in this article can save you ample time and effort by automating the print shipping labels WooCommerce process. Let us know in the comments if you have questions on the topic.