Purpose: Understand the link between Sendcloud and your shop's checkout process. How can you ensure the chosen shipping method is displayed in your Sendcloud panel?
How does integrating Sendcloud affect your checkout
With Sendcloud, you have two options to connect your webshop to the Sendcloud panel; via an API connection or via pre-established plug and play integrations. More information about connecting your webshop, you can find here.
Plug and play integrations
With most plug-and-play integrations, the checkout process in your webshop does not have a direct connection to Sendcloud. What your customer sees and chooses in your checkout is configured in your webshop platform.
WooCommerce V2 users can also use Dynamic Checkout through the Sendcloud Dynamic Checkout plugin, which connects WooCommerce to a Dynamic Checkout configuration using a Sendcloud API integration (see article here).
However, the actual shipping methods are determined in Sendcloud. For example: in your checkout, 'standard shipping' can be mapped to 'home delivery' in Sendcloud. This mapping can be managed through default settings, shipping rules, or manual adjustments. Additionally, it's also crucial to activate all carriers or link your own contracts if the desired shipping methods are not being displayed. In addition, if you offer Service Point shipping methods, you will have to activate these separately.
Sendcloud API
If you have a custom-built web store which isn't hosted and created through an e-commerce platform, that's where our APIs come into play. An API allows developers to connect with and extract key components of our internal system and integrate them with your webshop or system. Sendcloud APIs are designed to cover every stage of the shipping journey.
Our features like Dynamic Checkout, can be used together or individually, providing you the flexibility to design and build your own workflow from start to finish. Our APIs give you access to a huge range of national and international shipping methods from the most popular European commercial and postal carriers.
Documentation and API Reference
If you're an experienced developer looking to quickly onboard with our APIs, you can head directly over to our API Reference or access our Postman documentation.
If you're new to APIs and want to view an in-depth explanation of how your order processing workflow might look, check out our API Documentation. We provide quick start guides and tutorials to guide you through the fundamentals, from Creating your first parcel with the API to creating Multicollo parcels and comparing Shipping rates.
Default Shipping Settings
Default shipping settings allow you to automate the selection of a shipping method, ensuring consistency across all your orders. By configuring these settings via Shipping > Shipping Defaults, you can save time and reduce errors by applying the same information automatically to each order. You can only designate one shipping method as the default. This system helps streamline your shipping process, making it more efficient and reliable.
However, keep in mind that these default settings are applied only in specific cases. They can be overridden by Shipping rules, the Dynamic Checkout feature, or specific order details from your webshop, such as weight and shipment type.
Shipping rules
Shipping rules enable you to fully automate your label creation process. When an incoming order is imported from your online store into Sendcloud, the order will be automatically run through all your active shipping rules. If the order matches the condition(s) of a shipping rule, the corresponding action(s) will be applied. This allows you to print all your labels without adjusting your orders. Instead of manually updating 100 orders, you can process them all instantly with a single click.
For example, you can set up a shipping rule with shipping method conditions to ensure the appropriate shipping method is selected for specific orders.
Learn more on How to create shipping rules and Shipping rules overview and application.
Service points
Service points can improve your customers' experience by allowing them to choose the delivery location for their shipment. By following the instructions below, you activate the Service Point delivery methods in your Sendcloud account.
Service Points via Integrations
After connecting your webshop to your Sendcloud account, you can add the Service Points to your shipping methods. First, enable Service Points in your Sendcloud panel by navigating to Settings > Integrations. Here, you click on the checkbox for the Service Points and select the carriers you want to add to the service point map. Once activated in Sendcloud, the necessary follow-up steps will depend on your specific integration to fully enable the service points in your webshop.
Integrations Supporting Service Points and Activation Guide Links
Bigcommerce
Ecwid
PrestaShop
Shopware5
Service points via API
Integrate a service point picker in your checkout, access a database of all available service point locations for carriers across the globe, and let your customers choose a convenient place to have their parcel delivered.
The Service Point API provides you with the information you need to drop off or ship parcels to a service point (also known as drop-off locations). The API provides four endpoints which allow you to retrieve service point locations, verify their availability, and store them in the Sendcloud platform for use during the checkout process. For detailed information, visit our Service Point API Reference. To integrate the service point picker on your checkout page, refer to our Service points for API integrations documentation.
Dynamic Checkout
Dynamic Checkout gives you full control over your customers' delivery options. This feature includes customizable delivery options like nominated day delivery, same-day delivery, and standard delivery worldwide. Enhance customer satisfaction by allowing them to choose their delivery times. For more details, refer to our How to configure Dynamic Checkout.
FAQ
I activated Carrier X in Sendcloud, but why doesn’t it show up at my webshop checkout?
Great job activating the carrier in Sendcloud! First, you may check if the carrier also needs to be activated in your integration.
My customer choose Shipping Method X, but this shipping method does not appear in Sendcloud.
When your customer chooses a shipping method in your webshop, it may not automatically appear in Sendcloud without additional settings. Set up Default Shipping Settings or Shipping Rules to ensure the correct shipping method is applied to each order.