Shopify is a leading platform for creating branded webstores, offering scalable features like seamless payment processing, customizable designs, a vast app marketplace, and strong security. It caters to various business sizes, equipped with effective SEO, marketing tools, multi-channel selling, and insightful analytics for business growth. Its 24/7 customer support and user-friendly interface make it an ideal choice for a comprehensive ecommerce solution.

Even though Shopify’s main focus is to help you build a great looking webstore and attract customers, lately Shopify has also been rolling out features that help you fulfill the orders after you get them.

One such module they launched is called Shopify Shipping.

Note: If you are interested in checking out alternatives to Shopify shipping, then give Ordoro’s shipping app a try.

Is there a way to create shipping labels on Shopify?

Yes. You can create shipping labels on Shopify - one-by-one, or in bulk up to 50 labels at a time. Here is how to do it.

1. Log in to your Shopify admin panel and go to the 'Orders' section.
2. Select the order for which you need a shipping label.
3. Click on 'Create shipping label' to begin the process.

Is there a way to create a shipping label in Shopify without an order?

In Shopify, you will usually generate shipping labels as a part of order fulfillment. Usually, a label is created within the platform for an existing order, as it requires specific details from the order, like the customer's address, item weight, and selected shipping method.

If you need to create a shipping label not linked to an existing order, such as for a replacement, return, or exchange, you might explore the following alternatives:

1. Draft Orders Method: Create a draft order in Shopify with the required details, then create a shipping label for this draft. This approach is useful for labels not associated with new customer orders.
2. Third-Party Apps: Use shipping apps from the Shopify App Store. Ordoro is one such app that’s used by several Shopify users, but there are other apps too. Most of these apps, including the Ordoro shipping app, often allow more flexibility in creating shipping labels independent of new orders.
3. Carrier's Website/Software: Produce the shipping label using the carrier's website or their software. This involves manually inputting shipping details and updating Shopify for records. However, this can be time-consuming due to manual data entry.

Keep in mind that each method may affect your workflow, shipping costs, and the management of tracking and customer communication differently. It's crucial to select a strategy that complements your business operations and adheres to your standards of customer service.

Does shopify provide free shipping?

Shopify itself doesn't automatically offer free shipping, but it enables store owners to create free shipping options for their customers. As a Shopify store owner, you can flexibly set up free shipping based on criteria of your choosing. Here's the usual process:

1. Free Shipping Options: In your Shopify admin panel, you can set up a free shipping option within your shipping settings. This can be tailored in several ways, like - Free shipping for all orders, Free shipping for orders over a certain amount etc.
2. Promotional Offers: You have the option to provide free shipping as part of a special promotion, like a discount code that customers can apply at checkout to receive free shipping.

When you offer free shipping, it typically implies that you, the store owner, absorb the shipping costs. This expense can be managed in different ways, such as incorporating the shipping costs into your product prices or considering these costs as a component of your marketing budget.

Free shipping is frequently a strong motivator for customers and can significantly influence their purchasing choices. It tends to boost conversion rates and can lead to larger orders, particularly when free shipping is provided for purchases surpassing a specific amount.

When offering free shipping, it's vital to weigh its financial impact against your pricing strategy and business model. Although free shipping can be an effective marketing strategy, ensuring its sustainability and compatibility with your long-term business goals is crucial.

Is Shopify shipping cheaper?

The way most carriers work, you can directly negotiate with them for a cheaper shipping rate if you are doing high volume and can meet their thresholds. But most ecommerce businesses that are just starting out won’t meet these thresholds. That’s where the negotiating power of platforms like Shopify and Ordoro come in.

Shopify (and Ordoro) has the ability to pool together the total volumes across all users and then use those aggregate volumes to negotiate shipping rates directly with the carrier.

These negotiated rates are usually lower than what you will get directly from the carrier. Most of the carriers like USPS and UPS have standardized rates even for large platforms like Shopify and Ordoro,

Ordoro’s negotiated rates are shown here in our live shipping rate calculator. Give it a try.

Shopify’s rates are similar to what you will see in our rate calculator because they have the same discounts as Ordoro for most shipping methods.

How do I automatically print shipping labels in Shopify?

Shopify does not have a way to automatically send shipping labels to a printer. Shipping apps like Ordoro achieve this using a library like Printnode.

It’ll require you to install a plugin one-time, and then the browser can send the label directly to the printer. Shopify doesn't currently have a way to connect directly to a printer.

If you absolutely need this feature, then your best bet is to use a third-party shipping app like Ordoro.

Create Shipping Label Shopify

To create shipping label Shopify-based is easy as long as you’ve set up Shopify Shipping. You can print labels and even customs forms, saving time at the post office or for shipment pickups. You’ll need a Shopify-supported label printer, such as Dyno LabelWriter 4XL, Rollo label printer, Brother QL-111ONWB label printer or you can use a standard desk printer (if using this, choose the 8.5” x 11” paper size option when printing the label).

If you need to know how to create a shipping label in Shopify without an order and the sale is made outside of Shopify but not a Shopify- supported or linkable source such as Amazon, you can still buy and print a label from your Shopify admin as long as your account is set up for Shopify Shipping. You will also need to create a draft order to record the sale in your Shopify admin. See Shopify’s Help pages for more information.

What if you need to change or edit a shipping label Shopify? You will need to void the label then repurchase the label with the correct size or other criteria. (The method of doing so varies depending on whether you’re in the US, Australia, or Canada.)

The Shopify shipping label size can be adjusted to fit the package as well as meet the carrier’s requirements.

Here’s how to create a new shipping label on Shopify:

• Buy a shipping label with the Shopify app or through your Admin (this can be done through the fulfillment page).

• Download and print the label using a supported label printer or a desktop printer.

• Attach to the outside of the package.

• Schedule a pickup or drop off at the post office.

To buy shipping labels Shopify readymade through Shopify Tech, the cost is currently $25 for a 50-count package of 4.5”x6.5” labels, with 2 labels per sheet, compatible with laser or inkjet printers.

Shipping Label Template

You can find a basic shipping label template on Word, Google Docs or other sites offering shipping label template free of charge, as well as purchased as part of a software package, including free shipping label template Word-based.

Having a printable shipping label template is critical as labels must be able to be printed out and affixed to the package.

Free shipping label template PDF - based can be used as well, as through Word or other free online templates. They can be easily downloaded but be sure that they are the current versions and not an outdated template still lurking on the Internet.

A shipping label template Google Docs - based is another inexpensive solution and is available in a variety of sizes and carriers.

For larger packages, there’s a 4x6 shipping label template available on Shopify as well as other apps.

Using a Shopify shipping label template for Shopify-based sales can be an easy way to go, but if you have frequent multiples of sales to the same customers, re-entering the same data over and over can be pretty time-consuming, as you’re limited to no more than 20 labels per batch, while packing slips are another story.

With Ordoro, you only enter the customer information once and the software takes it from there, leaving you able to quickly generate multiple labels for the same customer. Furthermore, Ordoro tracks your customer’s shipment throughout the journey, right to the doorstep at delivery.

Shopify does have its own shipping labels and templates, allowing printing up to a limited number of labels at a time. That’s fine if you only have a few orders to ship out but what if you have 150 packages to go all at once? That’s an awful lot of time spent re-entering, printing a relatively small batch of labels, re-entering, printing, “rinse and repeat.” That’s where Ordoro saves the day - using an ecommerce software package such as provided through Ordoro, which can store and retrieve customer information, label after label, will help streamline your workflow and increase the efficiency of your fulfillment operations.

Shipping Label Printer

Technically, if you just plan to send out a few packages a month, just about any good printer able to download and print directly from the Internet can be used as a shipping label printer, if you don’t mind spending money on special adhesive labels at the office supplies store. (Unless the package doesn’t have far to go, try to avoid the templates where you have to cut out and paste or tape the label to the box…both glue and tape can become dislodged during transit.) There are advantages in investing in a label-specific printer:

For one thing, it’s cheaper to print on rolls rather than sheets, as well as the fact that a good thermal printer dedicated to shipping labels can actually be cheaper in the long run since you save money on maintenance and supplies. If you’re going to do this, you might as well do it right from the start: investing a bit more upfront in quality equipment and software, such as from ecommerce software leader Ordoro, can be some of the best ecommerce decisions and investments you’ll make.

If you only get one or two orders a day, coming into your email inbox, it’s a lot easier to print, cut out and glue on separate labels for just a couple of packages than to deal with a couple of dozen (or more!) parcels. Using a label printer such as the Dynamo Label Writer 4XL can take just seconds to print a label in the adhesive-backed roll – just print, peel and stick on the package.

If you need a Shopify-compativble best Shopify label printer, consider. Dyno LabelWriter 4XL, Rollo label printer, or Brother QL-111ONWB label printer.

There’s no trick to learning how to print thermal labels on Shopify as long as you follow the directions that come with the printer or on one of Shopify’s excellent tutorial videos.

Shipping Label Generator

The Shopify label printer app is easily accessed through Shopify Shipping, and can help create a shipping label with the correct shipping cost and configured to your preferred carrier.

Having access to a shipping label generator, like what you’ll find with Ordoro’s ecommerce software, can save a huge amount of time, especially if you need to print batch or multiple orders quickly and accurately.

You can get shipping-only shipping label software, like what’s included with ShipStation, but if you’re increasing your inventory and not dropshipping, you should really look into getting a more comprehensive package that handles the many tasks – including some we bet you haven’t thought of yet – from managing your growing inventory to fulfillment, shipping, tracking and generating reports and other analytics to better manage your business and plan for its future.

Shopify labels can be downloaded through their app and easily printed, whether or not you have a special printer or not.

How do you print multiple shipping labels Shopify-related? Ordoro can help your ecommerce business streamline your shipping label and order fulfillment workflow.

We’ve designed Ordoro with a deliberate focus on optimizing your workflow so you can experience a seamless shipping process that saves you time to put to use planning and running your business.

Ordoro lets you quickly create shipping labels and branded packing lists in triple-digit batches within a couple of clicks. As you print, you can streamline your workflow more with our direct-to-printer option, sending labels to your printer in a jiffy. No more downloading PDFs and additional click-through!

Accelerate your fulfillment process by configuring Shipping Presets to auto-fill designated shipping parameters when creating labels. Or you can go further and set up Automation Rules that will act on orders as soon as they arrive.

Shopify Shipping

Shopify Shipping is a fulfillment arm of Shopify and is available for businesses shipping orders from fulfillment locations based in the USA, UK, Australia, and Canada. ( If you’re not based within these, you can still use another shipping label app in its place.) Through Shopify Shipping you can connect your Shopify account with Shopify’s extensive shipping carrier accounts, along with the following benefits:

• Display calculated shipping rates, instead of flat rates for customers at checkout

• Get reduced shipping label rates

• Print labels, including multiples, directly from Shopify admin pages.

You must be set up for Shopify Shipping in order to buy labels through it. (Go to the “Help” pages on Shopify to get the specific information on set-up for your country as well as creating a shipping label.)

While excellent Shopify shipping apps are usually found on the Shopify pages themselves, other ecommerce software, such as those provided by Ordoro, can do so much more than help with order fulfillment and label creation. With Ordoro, you can easily see every order in just one place, and once shipped, the software marks it shipped with tracking and information sent directly to all of your designated shops and other sales contacts.

For example, Ordoro’s inventory management plugins and apps are second to none, and it has the unique ability to scale with your business – in other words, grow with you rather than hold your business’s growth back due to inadequate features or outdated apps. We’ve put together a guide on shipping labels to keep our customers educated and at the top of their game.

We offer most-asked-for features including multi-carrier shipping interface, multichannel integration for all of your sales channels and locations, inventory management, dropshipping, kitting, pick and pack lists, automated fulfillment, analytics, and report generation, FREE 30-day onboarding, and lifetime support (with an honest-to-goodness real person)!