Woo IW Express Plugin - User Guide

The Woo IW Express plugin integrates WooCommerce with the IW Express shipping service, enabling store owners to calculate shipping rates, create consignments, generate shipping labels, and provide tracking information to customers. This guide provides instructions for regular users on installing, configuring, and using the plugin.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Requirements
• Installation
• Video Tutorial
• Configuration
  • Setting Up the Plugin
  • Managing Orders and Shipping
  • Customer Tracking
• Troubleshooting
• License

Features

• Shipping Rate Calculation: Fetches real-time shipping rates from IW Express based on store origin, destination, and order items.
• Consignment Creation: Automatically or manually creates consignments for orders using IW Express.
• Shipping Label Generation: Generates downloadable PDF shipping labels for orders.
• Order Tracking: Provides tracking numbers and URLs in customer emails and account pages.
• Custom Order Status: Adds a wc-shipped status for orders fulfilled via IW Express.
• Admin Interface: User-friendly settings page to configure API key, development mode, auto-ship, and allowed shipping countries.
• Multilingual Support: Includes support for translations.

Requirements

• WordPress: Version 6.8.1 or higher
• WooCommerce: Version 8.0 or higher
• PHP: Version 8.2 or higher
• MySQL: Version 8.0 or higher

Installation

1. Download the Plugin:

   • Obtain the woo-iw-express.zip file from the plugin developer or repository.

2. Install the Plugin:

   • Log in to your WordPress admin panel (http://your-site.com/wp-admin).
   • Navigate to Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin.
   • Upload woo-iw-express.zip and click Install Now.
   • Activate the plugin.

3. Install WooCommerce (if not already installed):

   • Go to Plugins > Add New, search for “WooCommerce,” install, and activate it.
   • Complete the WooCommerce setup wizard to configure store details (address, currency, etc.).

4. Verify Permalinks:

   • Go to Settings > Permalinks in the WordPress admin panel.
   • Ensure the permalink structure is set to “Post name” or another non-plain option (e.g., /%postname%/).
   • Save changes to enable REST API functionality.

Video Tutorial

To help you understand how to set up and use the Woo IW Express plugin, watch our step-by-step video tutorial:
Watch the Woo IW Express Plugin Tutorial

Configuration

Setting Up the Plugin

1. Access the Settings Page:

   • Navigate to WooCommerce > IW Express in the WordPress admin panel (or access directly via http://your-site.com/wp-admin/admin.php?page=wc-admin&path=/woo-iw-express).
   • The IW Express settings page will load.

2. Configure API Key:

   • Obtain an API key from the IW Express Admin Panel.
   • Enter the API key in the “API Key” field.
   • Click Check Key to validate. A green “✅ Valid Key” message indicates success; a red “❌ Invalid Key” message indicates an issue.

3. Enable Development Mode (Optional):

   • Toggle Dev Mode to ON if using the IW Express development API (https://dev-b2b.iwexpress.com:5001/iwexpress/).
   • Leave it OFF for production (https://prd-b2b.iwexpress.com/iwexpress/).

4. Enable Auto Ship (Optional):

   • Toggle Auto Ship to ON to automatically create consignments when orders are marked as paid.
   • Leave it OFF to manually create consignments.

5. Select Allowed Countries:

   • Use the “Allowed Countries” multi-select dropdown to choose countries where IW Express shipping is available.
   • Ensure at least one country is selected to enable the shipping method.

6. Save Settings:

   • Click Save to store your settings. A success notice will appear.

Managing Orders and Shipping

1. View Orders:

   • Go to WooCommerce > Orders in the WordPress admin panel.
   • For orders using IW Express (selected at checkout), you’ll see action buttons: Fulfill and Ship or Generate Label.

2. Create Consignment:

   • Click Fulfill and Ship to create a consignment with IW Express.
   • The order status will change to Shipped, and a tracking number and URL (if available) will be added to the order notes.

3. Generate Shipping Label:

   • If a consignment exists, click Generate Label to download a PDF shipping label.
   • The label URL will be saved in the order’s metadata and added to the order notes.

Customer Tracking

• Customer Emails:
  • When a consignment is created, customers receive an email with the tracking number and URL (if available).
• My Account Page:
  • Customers can view tracking information in their account under Orders.

Troubleshooting

• 404 Errors on REST API:

  • Symptom: API endpoints like /wp-json/iw-express/v1/auth/check return 404.
  • Solution:
    • Ensure permalinks are set to “Post name” in Settings > Permalinks.
    • Go to Settings > Permalinks and click Save Changes to flush rewrite rules.

• Invalid API Key:

  • Symptom: “❌ Invalid Key” appears in the settings page.
  • Solution:
    • Verify the API key in the IW Express Admin Panel.
    • Ensure “Dev Mode” matches the API environment (development or production).

License

This plugin is licensed under the GPL-3.0+. See the LICENSE file for details.