After weeks of hard work, creating concepts, and testing, we can now present the Flexible Shipping 2.0. The main change is the new table rate interface that will make it easier to configure shipping scenarios. I’ll show you what exactly has been changed and what additional features are now available.
On December 15th 2020, we published new versions of our three plugins: Flexible Shipping (version 4.0), Flexible Shipping Pro (version 2.0), and Flexible Shipping Locations (version 2.0).
The first thing that certainly stands out is the new table rate interface. We have been working on that case for a long time. We also have consulted it with users to make it as clear and functional as possible. While working on the new look, we have also made smaller changes that will make the plugin easier to use.
The most important thing is that the update won’t affect the functioning of the plugin in any way. We have run long tests to make it work without any issues and make sure that all previously configured scenarios will work as before the update.
The most important change is the new table rate interface. With the great help of our new UX Designer, we refreshed and improved it. We strongly believe that it will make it easier to configure even advanced shipping scenarios, especially for beginners.
For comparison, an old table with an identical configuration:
As you can see, there are a lot of differences. I will try to describe them one by one.
In order to make the rules easier to understand, we rearrange them into simple sentences:
This rule can simply be read as: When the price is from 0 PLN to 100 PLN, the rule cost is 10 PLN. That arrangement should be much simpler and easier to understand than the previous table look.
Shipping classes are no longer a regular part of the table. You can now select a shipping class in the dropdown field When.
The additional cost is also hidden in the new design of the Flexible Shipping PRO table rate. It can be easily activated with a plus button in the cost field.
We replaced the last two fields from the ‘old’ table with a simple dropdown. It is now called Special Action and allows you to stop calculating rules or cancel the shipping method. This works exactly the same as before the update.
The Flexible Shipping plugin also has a paid extension – the Flexible Shipping Locations. It allows you to set the shipping cost based on location. In the old interface, the location selection option appeared on the right side of the table. Now the location is one of the available conditions. Exactly the same as for the shipping classes.
We have been collecting feedback from our customers for a long time, and we are adding our own ideas for new features. New design of the rule table makes it much easier to expand the plugin with new functionalities in the future.
We didn’t just stop at the new table rate interface. We have also made some smaller changes to make Flexible Shipping easier to use.
The relocation of shipping classes and locations made it necessary to enable the possibility of adding more than one condition to shipping rules. With this change, you can add a rule based on weight and shipping class at the same time. It works exactly like before.
What is new is that the Flexible Shipping PRO plugin allows you to add any other combination of shipping conditions to your rules. For example, you can add a rule that will offer free shipping if the client’s cart exceeds both a certain weight and price. All in one rule. Please, have in mind that in this case the rule will be called only if both conditions are met.
An important change is also the new format of imported and exported files. We have replaced the problematic CSV with the JSON format, which has many possibilities. For some time, files in CSV format will still be supported and imported by the plugin without any issues.
A small but extremely useful new feature is the possibility to duplicate rules. Simply select the rules that you want to duplicate and use the Duplicate selected rules button. This will make adding similar rules much easier and faster.
We have prepared a special onboarding for our inexperienced users. It explains how to add and configure Flexible Shipping rules. To enable it, just click the Check how the rule table link above the calculations rules. The tutorial shows you how Flexible Shipping rules work and how to add them in four simple steps.
We believe that this will be a great functionality for Flexible Shipping beginners.
The new version of the Flexible Shipping plugin is a big step forward. We hope that all the changes and new ones will simplify the configuration of shipping scenarios. Be sure to let us know what you think about the changes in the comments!
And if you do not have the Flexible Shipping PRO plugin yet, you can buy it here:
The best Table Rate Shipping for WooCommerce. Period. Create shipping rules based on weight, order totals or item count.
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