Canada Post is one of the best options for shipping products from your online store.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]By connecting Canada Post to your WooCommerce store, you gain instant access to real-time shipping quotes, online label purchasing, tracking, and much more! It’s a boon for your customers, allowing them to see a super-accurate shipping quote – and it’s great for you as the store owner, because keeping shipping rates fair and accurate is a critical feature for an online store.
Let’s get that set up!
We’re assuming here that your online store is built with WordPress + WooCommerce – if you’re building your shop on a different platform, Shopify, for example, you may already have a Canada Post integration by default – and you will not need to generate your own keys.
The plugin that makes this all happen is called Canada Post WooCommerce Shipping Plugin for Rates, Labels and Tracking. It has nearly 5/5 starts on Code Canyon, and is hands-down my go-to shipping plugin for any online store. At $25 USD it’s super affordable for a must-have plugin.
The above plugin, and really any service, that will use Canada Posts‘ real-time shipping calculator, will need API keys. API keys, simply speaking, allow one application to speak to another behind the scenes. Since we’re building our own shipping integration, you’ll need to register an account with Canada Post.
First, you’ll need to create an account with Canada Post. Please click the link and take a few minutes to create your account. (If you already have an account, you can simply skip this step). For most online stores, you’ll want a Business Account to take advantage of additional shipping discounts. This step can take a little bit of time to complete, but it’s worth it!
Once created, log into your account from the Developer Program page visit the API Keys page, you’re looking for a section similar to:[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”8728″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]You’ll notice both Development and Production keys. For an ideal integration you’ll want to copy and paste both keys pairs (ex: 123456789 : abcdefghi).
Finally, you’ll want to copy and paste your Canada Post Account number, which can be found here:[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”8734″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]And you’re all set!
With these 3 items:
Your online store is ready to use Canada Post’s real-time shipping calculator.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
