Deliver it, and say what it costs

Without a delivery method an order cannot be completed. This is the step skipped most often, and the store looks broken for a reason nobody can see.

Zones and rates

A zone is where you deliver. A rate is what it costs there. Start with the destinations the owner actually wants to serve — not every country on the list.

A rate can be flat, by weight, or calculated by a connected courier. A flat rate is the honest place to start: you can see immediately whether it covers what you pay.

Free delivery over a threshold

A threshold raises the average order, but only if the numbers line up. Two things to watch:

• Check what the threshold does to your margin on the smallest order that just clears it.
• If you also run a basket discount, check that the discount cannot push a cart back under the threshold. A customer who loses free delivery to save a little is worse off and will notice.

Sub-zones

Within a country, a sub-zone can carry a different rate, a different lead time, or nothing at all when you do not deliver there. Say "we don't ship there" explicitly rather than quoting a price you cannot honour.

What to check

• A test address in each destination returns a delivery option and the price you decided.
• An address in a place you do not serve is refused at checkout, not after the order.
• The lead times you show are ones you can meet on a bad week, not a good one.

A rate that appears at checkout is not proof that a courier will collect. Until a parcel has actually gone out, the route is untested.