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How to Send WooCommerce Order Confirmation Emails? – A Step-by-Step Guide

Sending WooCommerce order confirmation emails defines your customer’s post-purchase experience – the most important moment after the purchase itself.

WooCommerce transactional emails go a long way in renewing your brand’s interest and encouraging repeat purchases.

Though WooCommerce has an option to send order confirmation emails, it falls short in many areas.

In this blog, we will see how to send WooCommerce order confirmation emails and how to edit WooCommerce order confirmation email notifications using its default option and a plugin.

Why Send WooCommerce Order Confirmation Emails?

WooCommerce order notification emails are more than just a formality; they are crucial communication in the customer journey, especially for WooCommerce stores.

Providing a positive post-purchase experience

The moment after the purchase is as important as the moment of the actual purchase.

Sending WooCommerce order emails reinforces the purchase decision and provides an opportunity to show gratitude.

A positive post-purchase experience can lead to repeat purchases and customer loyalty.

Opportunity for cross-selling and upselling

WooCommerce order notifications can also serve as a subtle marketing tool.

Including related product recommendations or special offers within the email can encourage additional purchases, turning a simple confirmation into an opportunity for increased revenue.

Providing essential information

WooCommerce order follow-up emails contain crucial details such as order number, summary of purchased items, billing and shipping information, and the expected delivery date.

This information is not only helpful for customers to keep track of their purchases but also reduces the likelihood of confusion or disputes later on.

Building credibility

When a customer makes a purchase, they expect immediate acknowledgment.

A WooCommerce order email reassures that the purchase is confirmed and the transaction is successful.

This simple act of confirming the purchase goes a long way in establishing credibility and trust.

How to Send WooCommerce Order Confirmation Emails?

You can send order confirmation emails in WooCommerce using its default settings. These emails are automatically sent after a customer successfully places an order.

The steps to send WooCommerce order confirmation emails are:

Step 1: Go to WordPress Admin
Step 2: Enable WooCommerce transactional emails
Step 3: Customize WooCommerce order confirmation email template
1. Global settings
2. Email template settings
Step 4: Preview and send

Let’s see these steps in detail.

Step 1: Go to WooCommerce Admin

To send WooCommerce order confirmation emails, go to WooCommerce > Settings > Emails in your WordPress dashboard.

WooCommerce transactional emails

Step 2: Enable WooCommerce transactional emails

Under the list of WooCommerce transactional emails, go to ‘Processing Order’ and click ‘Manage’.

In the Enable/Disable block, select Enable this email notification option to send the order notifications automatically.

Enable WooCommerce order confirmation email

Step 3: Customize WooCommerce order confirmation email template

The three ways to customize the order confirmation email in WooCommerce are:

  1. Global settings
  2. Email template settings
  3. Custom HTML code

1. Global Settings

Under the transactional emails list in the Emails section, there are options to edit WooCommerce order confirmation email notifications like:

  • Header image
  • Footer text
  • Background color
  • Body text color
Global Settings in WooCommerce

2. Email template settings

Click ‘Manage’ beside the Processing Order to customize the order confirmation email content in WooCommerce.

Here, you can customize below elements of the WooCommerce order email:

  • Subject line
  • Email heading
  • Email body content
  • Email type

In the Email Type section, WooCommerce allows you to choose email types, including plain text, HTML, or multipart.

Email template settings in WooCommerce

3. HTML Code

If you want to fully customize WooCommerce order confirmation email notification, you can make use of the HTML option.

To fully customize the HTML, click on the “View template” button to see the template file WooCommerce uses for this email.

You can edit these files using any HTML editor or the built-in WordPress theme editor by navigating to Appearance > Theme Editor and selecting the email template from the WooCommerce folder.

HTML Code editor for WooCommerce order confirmation emails

Step 4: Preview and send

You can preview the template to know how your WooCommerce order follow-up email template looks after the customization.

Preview and send WooCommerce order notifications

Limitations of Default WooCommerce Order Confirmation Emails

The default WooCommerce email settings fall short in areas like:

  • Limited customization: Very minimal option to send on-brand email templates. WooCommerce’s global settings allow you to customize some elements of your WooCommerce emails, like – the sender name, email address, and subject line.
  • Inflexible email automation: Option to send only one email, not a series of emails at well-timed intervals.
  • Limited personalization: You can only include customer names and order details, not upsell and product recommendations.
  • Lack of segmentation: WooCommerce doesn’t allow you to segment your customers based on order history, location, or behavior.

This is why a WooCommerce order confirmation email plugin is a must-have if you want to send automated and personalized order confirmation emails in WooCommerce.

Why use a WooCommerce order confirmation email plugin?

A WooCommerce order confirmation email plugin allows you to:

  • Edit WooCommerce email content to match branding.
  • Create custom WooCommerce order emails easily with pre-designed templates and a drag-and-drop email editor.
  • Automatically trigger WooCommerce order notification emails.

How to Send Custom WooCommerce Order Confirmation Emails using a Plugin?

You can send custom WooCommerce order confirmation emails using a plugin like Retainful.

Retainful is an all-in-one WooCommerce email marketing plugin that features easy-to-setup automation, a ready-made template library, and a drag-and-drop email editor for sending custom order confirmation emails in WooCommerce with ease.

The steps to send custom order confirmation emails in WooCommerce are:

Step 1: Install Retainful
Step 2: Choose the email automation
Step 3: Setup triggers and wait time
Step 4: Edit WooCommerce order email template
Step 5: Send test email

Let’s dive into these steps in detail.

Step 1: Install Retainful

First off, go to your WordPress dashboard -> Plugins -> Add new. Search for the ‘Retainful’ plugin. Click “Install Now” to install and activate it.

After installation, connect your WooCommerce store with Retainful to create custom email templates in WooCommerce.

To connect your store, you have to get the API Keys from the Retainful Dashboard. Go to Settings -> General. Copy your App ID and secret key.

Install Retainful in Shopify App Store

Step 2: Choose the email automation

Retainful allows you to launch various WooCommerce transactional emails like order confirmation emails, product review request emails, thank-you emails, and more.

To see the options, go to Retainful Dashboard -> Automation.

Select “Order Follow-up Emails,” and you will be asked to enter the name of the campaign. Enter the name and click “Create Flow”.

Choose the email automation in Retainful

Step 3: Setup triggers and wait time

Setup triggers and customer rules to send WooCommerce transactional emails to a set of customers that meet criteria like order history, order value, order status, and more.

Retainful allows you to send multiple follow-up emails at well-timed intervals:

  • First email: Order follow-up and upsell
  • Second email: Product tips
  • Third email: Product review request
Setup triggers and wait time for WooCommerce order notifications

Step 4: Edit WooCommerce order email template

You can customize every element of the WooCommerce email order confirmation template, like logo, CTA, product images, and more.

You can edit WooCommerce email content using an easy-to-use drag-and-drop email editor.

Edit WooCommerce order confirmation email template in Retainful

Step 5: Send test email

Send a test email to find out whether all the elements of the custom WooCommerce order notification template fell in place.

Wrapping Up!!

Sending WooCommerce order confirmation emails reassures the customers about the purchase and, when done right, makes way for the next purchase, too.

Sending an on-brand order status email in WooCommerce that has product images, order summaries, upselling, and personalizing requires more than just the default option of WooCommerce.

A WooCommerce order confirmation plugin like Retainful comes in handy and provides more options to automate and customize WooCommerce order notification emails.

Does WooCommerce send order confirmation email?

Yes. WooCommerce can send order confirmation emails. All you have to do is enable them by navigating through WooCommerce -> Settings -> Emails -> Placed order.

How do I customize my WooCommerce order confirmation email?

To customize your WooCommerce order confirmation email, go to WooCommerce -> Settings -> Emails in your WordPress dashboard. From there, you can adjust basic settings like subject lines and colors or modify the HTML templates for deeper customization.

How do I send an email order status in WooCommerce?

To send an email order status in WooCommerce, go to WooCommerce -> Settings -> Emails. Select the type of order status email you want to send and enable them.

How do I send an email after purchase in WooCommerce?

If you want to send additional follow-up emails, you’ll need to use a plugin like WooCommerce Follow-Ups or integrate with an email marketing service that supports automation.

How do I customize my order email in WooCommerce?

To customize your WooCommerce order email, go to WooCommerce -> Settings -> Emails and select the email type you want to modify. You can customize the email content, design, and layout through the built-in settings or by editing the HTML templates directly.

Picture of Dakshaya Pranavi
Dakshaya Pranavi
A Computer Science Engineer who loves to write. More often than not you would find me reading books – delving into History and Astrophysics. Through reading, I found that writing is my game. And, here we are.

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