Shipping Method Guard for WooCommerce helps store owners clean up checkout shipping choices by showing only the shipping methods customers should choose.

It is a small, focused WooCommerce utility built for stores that already use WooCommerce shipping zones and shipping methods. Instead of creating new shipping methods or changing shipping prices, it safely controls how existing shipping rates are displayed at cart and checkout.

Use it to hide unnecessary shipping methods, show only selected methods for specific products or categories, hide paid shipping when free shipping is available, rename confusing labels, add short shipping notes, and reorder shipping choices.

Main copy:
Clean up WooCommerce shipping methods and show only the options customers should choose.

Key benefits:
- Reduce confusing checkout shipping choices
- Show cleaner shipping options based on simple rules
- Keep WooCommerce shipping zones and existing shipping methods intact
- Avoid price calculation changes and carrier API complexity
- Use lightweight WordPress admin screens without a heavy builder

Features:
- Hide selected WooCommerce shipping methods
- Show only selected WooCommerce shipping methods
- Hide paid shipping methods when free shipping is available
- Option to keep local pickup when free shipping is available
- Product-based shipping method conditions
- Category-based shipping method conditions
- Cart subtotal minimum and maximum conditions
- User role and guest conditions
- Rename shipping method labels
- Add short shipping descriptions
- Reorder shipping methods
- Admin debug panel for detected shipping rate IDs
- HPOS-friendly design because the plugin does not access order storage directly
- Fail-safe rule handling to avoid leaving checkout without shipping options

Requirements:
- WordPress 7.0 or newer
- WooCommerce 10.0 or newer
- PHP 8.1 or newer
- Existing WooCommerce shipping zones and shipping methods
- Administrator access with WooCommerce management permissions

Tested with:
- WordPress 7.0
- WooCommerce 10.8.1
- PHP 8.3.31
- Storefront theme
- HPOS enabled
- Classic cart/checkout
- Cart and checkout blocks

What this plugin does not do:
- It does not create new shipping methods
- It does not calculate shipping prices
- It does not change shipping costs
- It does not connect to carrier APIs
- It does not edit WooCommerce shipping zones
- It does not modify orders or customer data
- It does not control payment gateways

Important notes:
- Shipping rate IDs can differ between stores. The plugin includes a Tools/Debug area to help admins identify available rate IDs.
- Hide, show, rename and reorder behavior works through WooCommerce shipping rates and is designed to work across classic and block-based checkout flows.
- Short shipping descriptions are designed for the classic cart/checkout display. Display in Cart/Checkout Blocks may vary depending on the active WooCommerce Blocks implementation.
- Cart subtotal rules use WooCommerce cart contents cost in the store base currency. Dedicated multi-currency behavior is not guaranteed.

Author:
SG Group

Support:
https://sggroup.jp/contact/

Codester profile:
https://www.codester.com/SGGro...

- Hide selected shipping methods
- Show only selected shipping methods
- Hide paid methods when free shipping is available
- Keep or hide local pickup when free shipping is available
- Product condition rules
- Category condition rules
- Cart subtotal min/max rules
- User role and guest rules
- Rename shipping labels
- Add short delivery notes/descriptions
- Reorder shipping methods
- Debug panel for detected WooCommerce rate IDs
- Lightweight admin interface
- No carrier API setup required
- No shipping price modification
- No WooCommerce shipping zone modification
- HPOS-friendly implementation
- Fail-safe behavior to avoid emptying checkout shipping options

WordPress:
7.0 or newer

WooCommerce:
10.0 or newer

PHP:
8.1 or newer

Recommended PHP:
8.3

Browser:
Any modern browser supported by WordPress admin.

Required permissions:
Administrator or a user role with WooCommerce management permissions.

Required setup:
WooCommerce must be installed and active. At least one WooCommerce shipping zone and shipping method should already be configured.

1. Download and unzip the Codester main package.
2. In your WordPress admin area, go to Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin.
3. Upload the included installable plugin zip:
   installable-plugin/shipping-method-guard-for-woocommerce.zip
4. Activate the plugin.
5. Make sure WooCommerce is installed and active.
6. Go to WooCommerce > Shipping Guard.
7. Open the Tools/Debug tab to review the detected shipping method IDs for your store.
8. Enable Free Shipping Guard or create your own rules.
9. Choose an action such as hide selected methods, show only selected methods, rename label, or add description.
10. Add simple conditions such as product, category, cart subtotal, or user role.
11. Save settings and test the cart/checkout page.

Recommended first setup:
- Enable “Hide paid methods when free shipping is available”.
- Keep local pickup enabled if your store offers pickup.
- Add one simple rule at a time.
- Test checkout after each rule.

Uninstall:
When the plugin is uninstalled from WordPress, it removes its own settings only. It does not remove or change WooCommerce shipping zones, shipping methods, products, orders, or customer data.