How do I write a shipping policy for my Shopify store?
Last updated
Business days. Dispatch is yours; transit is theirs.
0 means same business day. Up to 30.
The threshold is optional; leave it blank if you have none.
Display only. Your figures are read in the currency you pick — nothing is converted and no exchange rate is applied.
Left blank, the policy points shoppers to your contact page.
Answer the questions on the left. Nothing is written, and nothing leaves this page, until you press the button.
- Days to dispatchNeeded
- Fastest deliveryNeeded
- Slowest deliveryNeeded
- International shippingNeeded
- CarrierNeeded
- TrackingNeeded
- P.O. boxesNeeded
This is a starting template, not legal advice. Laws differ by country and change; have it reviewed.
From packing bench to doorstep: the parts of a delivery promise
A Shopify shipping policy generator sets out how fast orders leave your warehouse, how long transit usually takes, what international buyers owe at customs and whether P.O. boxes are accepted, and it derives one storefront line from those answers, so a store offering free domestic delivery above 50 dollars with two-day dispatch gets both a full policy and a matching free-shipping line for the top of the storefront.
A starting template, not legal advice. Transit times are your own estimates and carriers set the real ones; delivery-risk and consumer rules vary by country, so have the result reviewed before you publish it.
Shoppers read a delivery promise as one number, but it is two clocks run by two different parties. You control the first; your carrier runs the second.
- Dispatch time
- Business days between an order arriving and the parcel leaving you, from same-day up to 30. This is the one part of the timeline that is entirely yours, which is why the storefront line may quote it and never quotes arrival.
- Transit window
- The fastest and slowest a domestic parcel usually takes once collected, up to 60 business days. A range is more honest than a single figure; the slow end also sets when the draft invites a customer to report a missing parcel.
- Carrier type
- Postal service, tracked courier, or a mix chosen by parcel size and destination. The draft names the category rather than a company, so switching providers does not make the page wrong.
- Free-shipping threshold
- Optional basket value above which domestic delivery costs nothing. When it is set, it becomes the storefront line, because it is the promise shoppers act on most.
- Duties and import taxes
- For cross-border orders, either the recipient pays on arrival or you collect it at checkout. Unexpected charges on the doorstep are the classic reason an overseas parcel gets refused.
- P.O. boxes and tracking
- Many couriers will not deliver to a box, and untracked post makes a lost-parcel claim hard to settle. Stating both up front heads off the support emails.
Nudgesmart is available on the Shopify App Store. Browse the template library or see what it costs.
Delivery setups and the storefront line each one earns
Four delivery setups run through the same function as the generator above. The storefront line picks the strongest promise the answers support, in a fixed order: threshold first, then a fast dispatch, then cross-border reach.
| Delivery setup | Storefront line | Domestic delivery sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Free shipping over 50, domestic only, courier | Free shipping on orders over $50 | Once dispatched, domestic orders usually arrive within 2 to 5 business days. |
| Same-day dispatch, postal service, ships abroad | Orders ship the same business day | Once dispatched, domestic orders usually arrive within 1 to 3 business days. |
| Made to order, 5-day dispatch, duties paid at checkout | Now shipping internationally | Once dispatched, domestic orders usually arrive within 3 to 7 business days. |
| Bulky furniture, 3-day dispatch, free over 500 | Free shipping on orders over CA$500 | Once dispatched, domestic orders usually arrive within 5 to 10 business days. |
What a shipping page cannot control
Transit estimates slip in peak season
Late November, December and national holidays stretch carrier networks. Add a seasonal note or widen the transit range for those weeks rather than leaving a promise the carrier will break for you.
Customs wording depends on your setup
Whether duties can be collected at checkout depends on your platform settings, your carrier and the destination. Choose the duties answer that matches what actually happens at the border.
Remote areas and restricted goods
Islands, remote regions and military addresses often cost more or take longer, and batteries, liquids, aerosols and some cosmetics face carrier restrictions. List any that apply to you.
Lost parcels are a legal question too
In some countries the seller carries the risk until the goods reach the buyer, whatever a policy says. The draft commits you to helping; check whether local law commits you to replacing.
Shipping policy questions
What is the difference between processing time and delivery time?
Processing is how long you take to pick, pack and hand an order to the carrier. Delivery is the transit that follows. Shoppers experience the two added together, so a policy that quotes only transit makes every order look late.
Should my shipping policy promise a delivery date?
Promise what you control. A dispatch commitment is yours to keep; arrival depends on the carrier, weather and customs. That is why the draft calls transit times estimates and invites customers to get in touch after a set number of days.
How do I handle customs duties for international orders?
Decide who pays and say it plainly. If the recipient pays on delivery, warn them before they buy; if you collect duties at checkout, say there is nothing more to pay on arrival. Silence on this point is what causes refused parcels.
Where should the free-shipping line go?
Across the top of the storefront, on product pages near the price, and in the cart, where a shopper just under the threshold decides whether to add one more item. Use the same wording as the policy.
Does this tool store my answers?
No. The policy is assembled in your browser, and nothing you enter is saved, sent or added to a link.
Delivery terms in a footer do no selling.
In Nudgesmart a notification bar is one of 13 campaign types, so the shipping line you just generated can run across the top of the storefront.
