Generate a custom WooCommerce shipping rate plugin by zone
WooCommerce built-in flat rate shipping covers the basics. The gap appears the moment your real rules involve weight tiers that differ per region, partnerships with specific couriers in specific countries, or live rate lookups from an external API. Plugins like Table Rate Shipping (WooCommerce extension, around €79/year) handle this, but they impose a specific spreadsheet-style UI that does not always match the way shipping teams actually think.
A generated shipping plugin is modelled after your logistics rules, not the other way round. You describe: "For EU orders under 2 kg, use Seur standard. For 2-10 kg, Seur 24h. Over 10 kg or outside EU, call our API at xyz.com with the cart JSON and return the quote." We write the WC_Shipping_Method subclass that does exactly that.
Why generate it instead of installing an existing plugin?
Table Rate Shipping is a reasonable fit when your rules map cleanly to a row-by-column spreadsheet. Once you need "if the customer is a wholesale user, apply 15% discount on top of the Seur quote" or "skip shipping entirely if the cart contains only digital products", you are patching around the UI. Every edit is a reviewer saying "wait, which row was I meant to update?".
Shipstation and other marketplace-oriented solutions assume a fulfilment workflow that is overkill for a shop picking ten orders a day. Their monthly fee (starts around €25) pays for features you do not need when your warehouse is your living room.
Real API integrations (DHL, Packlink, MRW, SEUR) are always one step removed in public plugins. When we generate your shipping plugin we can plug in the exact endpoint, the exact auth scheme, the exact caching strategy (Redis or transients). No adapter layer added by the plugin vendor that you then fight.
Example prompt
This is the kind of description that generates this plugin. You can start from it and tweak whatever you need before hitting generate.
Plugin name: Acme Smart Shipping
Register a new WC shipping method "acme_smart" that appears in every shipping zone.
Rules (evaluated in order):
1. If cart_total > 100 EUR and destination country is ES, free shipping.
2. If destination is EU (list of ISO codes), use a weight-based table:
- 0-2 kg: 5.95 EUR
- 2-10 kg: 9.95 EUR
- 10+ kg: 14.95 EUR
3. If destination is outside EU, call our API at https://shipping.acme.com/quote (POST, JSON body with destination + items + total weight). Timeout 3s. On timeout, fall back to a flat 25 EUR.
4. If customer role is "wholesale", apply -20% on the final cost.
Cache quotes by a hash of (country + weight + subtotal rounded to integer) in a transient for 1 hour.
Admin: settings page under WooCommerce > Settings > Shipping > Smart Shipping with the free-shipping threshold, the weight table editable, and the external API URL + auth header.
HPOS-compatible. Does not require any other plugin.What the generated plugin typically includes
- WC_Shipping_Method subclass registered via woocommerce_shipping_methods
- Zone-aware evaluation respecting the standard WC zone matching
- External API calls via wp_remote_post with timeout + retry + graceful fallback
- Transient-based cache for repeated quotes within the same session
- Admin settings using the WC settings API (integrates cleanly with existing shipping tab)
- Logging hook so Monolog or WC_Logger can capture decisions for troubleshooting
- HPOS compatibility declaration
Weight vs volume vs price rules, real-time quotes from any courier, custom per-product handling — all customisable.
Frequently asked questions
Can it call my courier partner API?
Yes — paste the endpoint, the request format and the response shape in the prompt, and the plugin wires it up with retries and a sensible cache. We have seen integrations for SEUR, Packlink PRO, DHL Express and internal ERP APIs done this way.
Does it work with the WooCommerce Cart Block?
Yes. Because we subclass WC_Shipping_Method and return rates through the standard channel, the Cart and Checkout blocks pick it up automatically. No extra Store API glue needed.
Can different user roles see different rates?
Yes. The plugin can apply discounts, surcharges or entirely different rate tables based on user role or membership. The rule goes in the prompt; the plugin checks it server-side in calculate_shipping().
What happens if the external API is down?
The plugin defaults to the fallback you specify (a flat rate, the last cached quote, or blocking checkout with a friendly message). Describe your preference and it is the default behaviour.