Online Shipping Calculators & Debug Mode

Modified on Mon, 7 Jun, 2021 at 9:53 AM

If shipping costs provided by your WooCommerce installation are higher or lower than what you expect, we recommend enabling the debug mode within the shipping plugin settings section that you are using.

Once this option is enabled, add a product to cart and in most cases you will see useful information on the cart page and/or on the checkout page that explains why shipping costs are different from what you expect, or why they are simply not displayed at all.

We also recommend comparing shipping costs displayed on your WooCommerce site to shipping costs from the carrier’s online rate calculators. Nearly all shipping companies provide such a tool, but it is important that you use the exact same values as what is enabled in the shipping method settings (as they can modify the rates) and ensure that the package(s) used and total weight and dimension are correct.

Common Issues

When you experience an issue, make sure that:

Weights and dimensions need to be entered for all products, as they are required for the API to successfully return rates. You can read more about how to add shipping info to products the Adding Dimensions and Weights to Products for Shipping document.
Packaging being used is correct. Debug will show the package weight and dimensions, and some plugins will also have a “Packed” line in the Debug output for further clarity. More info about how box packing can be found in the Understanding Box Packing Calculations document.
Currency is correctly set. Some plugins require the shop to use a specific currency. If this is the case, it will be specified in the specific plugin’s documentation and you can confirm or change the shop currency on the WooCommerce > Settings > General settings page.
Shop base location is correct. Some plugins require the shop to have a specific base location. Confirm or change shop location at: WooCommerce > Settings > General.
API keys are correct. If not, an “Authorization failed” error message will be displayed in the API Response section.
wp_remote_get() function is enabled on your server. You can verify that there is a checkmark next to the “Remote get” section of the site’s System Status Report on the WooCommerce > System Status > Server Environment page. If this is not the case, contact your host and ask for assistance.
SOAP is installed and enabled on your server. You can verify that there is a checkmark next to the “SoapClient” section of the site’s System Status Report on the WooCommerce > System Status > Server Environment page. If this is not the case, contact your host and ask for assistance.