WooCommerce Hide Shipping Method: Customize Shipping Options Based on Conditions

Shipping plays a vital role in the customer’s shopping experience and expectations. Offering too many shipping methods can confuse buyers, while irrelevant or inappropriate methods can reduce trust and increase cart abandonment. That’s where the WooCommerce Hide Shipping Method plugin comes in handy.

This plugin allows store owners to conditionally hide specific shipping options on the cart or checkout page based on a wide variety of rules—ensuring that only the most appropriate and streamlined shipping options are shown to each customer.

In this blog, we’ll explore the key features of hiding shipping methods in WooCommerce, use cases, configuration options, and the benefits of using this smart shipping logic.

???? Why Hide Shipping Methods in WooCommerce?

By default, WooCommerce displays all available shipping methods configured under your shipping zones. But that doesn’t always offer the best user experience.

Here’s why you might want to hide certain shipping methods:

• You offer free shipping over a certain cart amount, and want to hide flat-rate or local pickup options.

• You want to restrict certain shipping methods for specific products, categories, or shipping classes.

• You want to show or hide shipping based on postal codes, countries, or regions.

• You need to manage B2B vs B2C shipping differently.

• You use multiple carriers (like UPS, FedEx, DHL) and want to dynamically choose which one is visible based on conditions.

???? Key Features of WooCommerce Hide Shipping Method Plugin

Here’s what you can do with a powerful WooCommerce shipping control plugin:

✅ Hide Shipping Methods Based on:

1. Shipping Classes
   Hide shipping methods for products belonging to specific shipping classes (e.g., large items, heavy furniture).

2. Product Categories or SKUs
   Restrict a shipping method if a particular category (e.g., fragile items) is in the cart.

3. User Roles
   Hide certain shipping methods from wholesale customers, logged-out users, or specific user roles.

4. Postal Codes or Regions
   Target or exclude shipping methods by customer’s ZIP code, state, or country.

5. Order Weight
   Hide shipping methods when the cart weight is too high or too low.

6. Cart Subtotal or Quantity
   For example, show free shipping only when subtotal exceeds $50 or there are 3+ items in the cart.

7. Shipping Zones
   Configure per zone which shipping options should be available.

8. Shipping Methods Priority
   Choose to hide certain methods when a higher-priority method (like free shipping) is available.

???? Real-Life Use Cases

Here are some scenarios where this plugin is extremely useful:

????️ Example 1: Hide Free Shipping for Heavy Items

You sell furniture and offer free shipping on orders above $100, but don’t want to offer free shipping for bulky items.
Solution: Hide the free shipping method when the cart contains a product with the “bulky” shipping class.

???? Example 2: Local Pickup for Specific ZIP Codes Only

Local pickup is only feasible for customers within ZIP codes 10001 to 10010.
Solution: Show local pickup only if the customer's ZIP code matches that range.

???? Example 3: Restrict Courier Shipping for International Orders

You use FedEx only for domestic orders.
Solution: Hide FedEx shipping method when the customer’s country is outside the US.

???? Example 4: Offer Free Shipping for Logged-in Users

To encourage signups, you offer free shipping for registered customers only.
Solution: Hide free shipping for guests and show it only to users with a “customer” role.

⚖️ Example 5: Show “Freight” Shipping Only When Cart Weight Exceeds 25kg

Freight delivery is only required for large, heavy orders.
Solution: Hide all other shipping methods and only show “Freight” shipping if total cart weight > 25kg.

⚙️ How to Configure It (Step by Step)

Let’s break down how to hide shipping methods using a plugin like WooCommerce Hide Shipping Methods:

Step 1: Install the Plugin

You can use a dedicated plugin like:

• Hide Shipping Methods for WooCommerce by WPFactory

• Conditional Shipping and Payments by WooCommerce

• Advanced Shipping Rules by PluginHive

Install and activate from the WordPress dashboard.

Step 2: Create a New Rule

Go to the plugin’s settings (usually under WooCommerce > Settings > Shipping > Hide Shipping) and click Add New Rule.

Step 3: Set Your Conditions

Choose what conditions must be true for the hiding action to trigger. You can set:

• Cart subtotal or item count

• Products or categories in the cart

• Customer location (country, state, ZIP)

• Shipping classes

• Weight range

• User roles

Step 4: Select Shipping Methods to Hide

Choose one or multiple shipping methods (Flat Rate, Free Shipping, Local Pickup, FedEx, etc.) that should be hidden when the condition is met.

Step 5: Save and Test

Click Save and then test your checkout with different product combinations, user roles, and addresses to confirm it’s working as expected.

???? Compatibility and Considerations

Make sure your plugin is compatible with:

• Multi-carrier plugins (DHL, UPS, FedEx, etc.)

• Table Rate Shipping or Zone-based pricing plugins

• WooCommerce Subscriptions or Bookings

• Caching plugins (to avoid stale shipping rates)

It’s also a good idea to clear your cache and test the checkout as both a logged-in and guest user.

???? Pro Tips

• Combine this plugin with Shipping Icons to display better visuals on cart/checkout.

• Use shipping method labels smartly (e.g., “Free Shipping - Orders Over $50”) so customers understand why a method is not shown.

• Group rules together to minimize overhead and streamline shipping settings.

???? Benefits of Using Shipping Rules

Final Thoughts

Shipping is one of the most critical elements of an eCommerce store. With the WooCommerce Hide Shipping Method plugin, you can take full control of which shipping methods are displayed based on highly customizable conditions.