How to Create, Expand, and (De)Activate Shipping Zones

Shipping zones are specific geographical areas to which you can ship your products. These zones allow you to set shipping rates and delivery options based on the destination and create different shipping rates and options for different zones.

For Swap Global, these Shipping Zones should be created within both Shopify and the Swap Dashboard.

Creating a New Shopify Shipping Zone

You can set up new Shopify Shipping Zones to create shipping rates and options for specific countries. To add countries to Shopify Shipping Zones, they must already be in an active market. This article explains Shopify Markets and how to set them up.

This guide assumes the countries you want to add to a Shopify shipping zone are already part of an active Shopify Market.

1. In Shopify Admin, go to Settings → Shipping and Delivery, and under “General shipping rates,” click on “General.”

   

2. Under “Shipping origins,” click on “Create zone.”

3. Name the zone and click on countries or regions to select them. When finished, click “Done” at the bottom of the pop-up.

4. Find your new Shopify Shipping Zone in the list and click “Add rate.”

   

If you are not using Swap Global yet (e.g. first setting up)

1. Add a rate. These rates will then be replaced by the rates calculated by Global. If Global is disabled for any reason, these are the rates Shopify will fall back on.
2. Click “Done” on the bottom of the pop-up.
3. On the top right of the screen, click “Save.”

If you are already using Swap Global

1. Select “Use carrier or app to calculate rates” and select Swap.
2. Click “Done” on the bottom of the pop-up.
3. On the top right of the screen, click “Save.”

Migrating the Shipping Zone to Swap

You do not have to manually set up the shipping zone in Swap; instead, you can simply migrate to the new shipping zone.

1. Select ‘Shipping zones’ from the menu on the left. Then click ‘Migrate Shipping Zones.’

   

2. Select the new Shipping Zones to migrate it to Swap. Swap Global will be the carrier for these zones and calculate the shipping, taxes, and duties.

3. Click ‘Migrate Zones To Swap’ to start the migration of the Shipping Zones.

   

   • If a zone has already been migrated, it will be greyed out.

     

4. Ensure you understand Swap will take over the shipping carriers currently within your shipping zones. You can still ship to these zones, but Swap will now provide the shipping methods and rates.

5. The shipping zones in Shopify and Swap should now be updated. The newly imported Shipping Zones in Swap will be inactive. You must activate them if you wish to have the rates within these Shipping Zones controlled by Swap Global.

Expanding Shipping Zones by Adding Countries

If you are expanding sales to a new country or region and the shipping rates and options are the same as those of an existing shipping zone, you can add the new country to the existing shipping zones. This way, you avoid creating a new zone and keep your zones organised.

To add a country to an existing Shipping Zone, follow these steps:

1. In the Swap Dashboard, go to Global → Shipping.

   

2. Click on the zone you wish to edit.

   

3. Open the drop-down menu by clicking on the arrow.

   

4. Start typing the name of the country you wish to add. Click on it to select it. Do this for every country you wish to add.

   

5. On the bottom-right corner, click ‘Save’ to save your changes to your Shipping Zone. This will also edit the Shipping Zone in Shopify.

Activating and Deactivating a Shipping Zone

If you wish to seize sales to a Shipping Zone, you can deactivate it. When you wish to continue sales to a deactivated zone, you can (re)activate it. This prevents having to create and delete zones. When activating or deactivating a Shipping Zone, the changes take effect immediately. After activating, Swap will be offered as a shipping method. When deactivating a zone, the default Shipping Zone will provide a shipping rate.

To activate or deactivate a Shipping Zone, follow these steps:

1. In the Swap Dashboard, go to Global → Shippin.

   

2. Select the Shipping Zone you wish to activate or deactivate by ticking the box in the top-right corner and clicking ‘Activate’ or ‘Deactivate’ on the top-right corner.