How to Customize WooCommerce Emails to Boost Conversions

WooCommerce email customization is a powerful way to make your online store’s emails feel personal and unique. When customers receive customized WooCommerce emails tailored to your brand, it creates a stronger connection.

A stat by Sender has revealed that 96% of business has seen an improvement in email marketing campaigns when the emails are customized.

All the more reason to take control of email customization to ensure that every communication reflects your store’s personality. These customized emails reach the right customer based on their preferences and increase sales.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the default and advanced methods to edit WooCommerce emails in easy steps.

Types of WooCommerce emails

  1. Welcome Email: Sent when a customer creates an account. Welcomes them and provides account info.
  2. Order Confirmation Email: Sent after a customer places an order. Confirms the order details and provides a reference for future communication.
  3. Order Cancellation Email: Sent if the customer or the store cancels an order. Confirms the cancellation and any refund details.
  4. Order Status Update Email: Sent when there’s a change in the order status, like processing, shipped, or delivered.
  5. Delivery Confirmation Email: Sent when the ordered items are delivered. Confirms that the items have reached the customer.
  6. Refund Confirmation Email: Sent when a refund is processed for a returned item. Confirms the refund amount and method.
  7. Password Reset Email: Sent when a customer requests a password reset. Provides a link to reset the password.
  8. Abandoned Cart Email: Sent if a customer adds items to the cart but doesn’t complete the purchase. Encourages them to finish the order.

Why customize WooCommerce emails?

Would you be interested in reading the same generic email from a brand every single time? Would you open the email if the subject line seems boring or irrelevant? Would you engage with the email if it is sent to you in the middle of the night?

That’s exactly why you need to customize WooCommerce emails. Customize everything from the content, color, and timing of the email to maximize the engagement rate.

The following are some reasons why you should consider customizing WooCommerce emails.

Brand reinforcement

If you keep using WooCommerce email templates without customizing them for your brand, you cannot build trust with your audience. A consistent brand color, logo, and overall style create a professional look that reinforces your brand’s identity.

Personalization

You can personalize your emails to address customers by name and customize content to their preferences. This makes the email more relevant and engaging, increasing the chances of customer engagement.

Highlighting Offers

Customized WooCommerce emails allow you to showcase promotions, discounts, and related products. This can drive more sales by enticing customers with attractive offers.

Adaptation to Business Needs

Customizing the WooCommerce email template lets you adapt email content to your specific business processes, policies, and customer interactions. This makes the emails more relevant to your operations.

Building Trust

Customers who receive well-designed and accurate emails develop trust in your business. Trust is crucial for repeat purchases and word-of-mouth recommendations.

Default WooCommerce email customization

There is a default way to customize WooCommerce emails, using which you change the basic appearance of the email. Just remember that the options to customize emails in WooCommerce are very limited. Let’s dive in to see how to customize woocommerce emails.

Click on WooCommerce -> settings on the left side of the screen.

Click on the Emails tab at the top.

A list of emails will appear.

WooCommerce list of emails

Scroll down and click on the Email template.

Edit anything from “from name, from address, header image (i.e., logo), footer text, base color, background color, body background color, body text color.”

customize the email content

To change the logo image, click on Media -> Library -> Add new -> Upload the image and paste its link.

Click on Save Changes.

Advanced WooCommerce email customization using Workflows

To customize WooCommerce email workflows and automate emails, you must install a WooCommerce email automation plugin like Retainful. This will help you customize WooCommerce email templates using a drag-and-drop email builder.

Installing Retainful Plugin & activating it

  1. Go to your WordPress dashboard → Plugins → Add new
  2. Search for the ‘Retainful’ plugin.
  3. Click “Install Now” to install the plugin
  4. Activate the plugin
Installing Retainful Plugin

That’s it!

Let’s now Connect your WooCommerce store with Retainful Dashboard using the API Keys.

Connecting your store with Retainful API

Step 1: Get the API Keys

  • Login to your Retainful Dashboard (If you do not have an account, Signup for Free)
  • Go to Settings -> General
  • Copy your App ID and Secret Key
Copy Your API ID and Secret Key

Step 2: Connect your store

  • Go to WordPress Dashboard → Retainful
  • Under the Connection tab, enter the keys in the respective field.
  • Click “Connect.”
  • You’ll see a successful message once the connection is established.
Connecting Retainful Plugin in WooCommerce Store

You can now track and recover abandoned carts from your store.

The default settings in the Retainful plugin are sufficient for 99% of the stores. No adjustments will be required. You can use them as is.

Updating the plugin

Updating the Retainful plugin for WooCommerce is easy as well.

  • Please go to your WordPress dashboard -> Plugins
  • Find the Retainful Plugin and click on the “Update Now” link

Here is a screenshot:

Updating Retainful plugin WooCommerce

NOTE: If you don’t see the “update now” link, please visit your WordPress dashboard and click the Updates section. Then go to the Plugins section. You should see the “Update now” link.

Workflows to customize woocommerce emails

Before diving into the advanced workflows of this WooCommerce email plugin, let’s get to know the features of the workflow.

  • Trigger

The trigger lets you determine when a customer can enter the workflow. You can customize these trigger rules based on the type or purpose of the email you are about to send.

  • Wait

Wait condition lets you set up a time delay. For e.g., you can set the time delay as 10 minutes, and the email will be sent after 10 minutes from setting up the workflow.

  • Entry rule

The entry rule lets you restrict the customers to enter the workflow only once. This avoids the confusion that could arise from customers entering the workflow they are already in.

Follow the below steps to configure the automation workflow

1. Login to your Retainful dashboard

2. Go to ‘Automation’ -> Create Workflow -> Choose the required email from the list.

3. Give a ‘Name’ to your workflow and click ‘Continue.’

4. Click on ‘Trigger’ to find the trigger settings on the right side.

 Trigger Settings

5. Click on Entry Rule -> Add Rules

6. Select ‘Skip if the customer entered the workflow’ -> In the last

7. Enter the number of days if required and click on ‘Add.’

For example, if you would like to prevent a customer from entering the workflow if he had already entered the workflow in the last 3 days, you can set up the Entry Rule like,
Skip if the customer entered the workflow -> In the last -> 3 (Days)

8. After adding the Entry Rule, click on the ‘Save Rule’ button to add the Entry Rule to the workflow.

9. You can set the wait timer, if necessary, based on the type of email.

10. Lastly, Retainful has the easiest drag-and-drop email builder feature to edit email templates in WooCommerce to create attractive emails.

Customization Tips and Best Practices

Brand Consistency

Maintaining a consistent brand identity is key to creating a memorable and professional impression on your customers. When customizing WooCommerce emails, start by carefully choosing colors, fonts, and imagery that reflect your brand’s personality.

Customize WooCommerce emails with colors that match your logo or website, select fonts that are easy to read, and use imagery that resonates with your products or services.

Personalization

Customizing email templates in WooCommerce by incorporating personal touches can significantly enhance customer engagement. One effective way to do this is by dynamically inserting customer names and relevant order details into the email content.

Did you know that 71% of customers expect personalized emails from companies?

WooCommerce allows you to use shortcodes to pull information from the customer’s order, such as product names, order total, and more. This way, you create a more individualized experience that fosters a stronger connection between your brand and your audience.

Clear call to action (CTA)

A well-designed call to action (CTA) prompts recipients to take specific actions, like visiting your website or making a purchase. Ensure that buttons are strategically positioned within the email where they’re easily noticeable.

Customize WooCommerce emails with CTA that use contrasting colors to make them stand out and create a sense of urgency with action-oriented language.

Experiment with different button sizes and styles to find what works best for your audience and email design.

Mobile Responsiveness

With most people checking emails on their mobile devices, ensuring your customized WooCommerce emails are mobile-responsive is crucial. This means the emails should adapt and look good on various screen sizes, from smartphones to tablets.

Use responsive email templates that automatically adjust elements like text size and image scaling. Test your emails on different devices to ensure they maintain their readability and functionality, regardless of the screen on which they’re viewed.

Testing and Previewing

Send test emails to yourself and your colleagues to check for formatting issues, broken links, or errors. This practice gives you a chance to spot any mistakes and make necessary adjustments before your customers receive the emails.

Testing also helps you assess the email’s overall look and feel, ensuring that the customizations align with your brand and deliver the intended message effectively.

Wrapping up

Customizing WooCommerce emails might seem like a small step or even insignificant, but it can greatly benefit your business. If you only use the basic email templates and a generic automated workflow, you’re missing out on a chance to market effectively.

You maintain consistency when you add your brand’s touch to these emails. This not only strengthens your brand but also encourages customers to keep coming back for more purchases.

Check out the WooCommerce email marketing guide to learn the strategies, best practices, and detailed steps to automate.

How do I customize my WooCommerce email?

WooCommerce-> Settings -> Emails tab (at the top) ->Click on Manage and edit the email content.

How do I change the email template in WooCommerce?

Log in to Retainful Dashboard. Click on Automations-> create workflow. Select the type of workflow you want. Name the workflow. Click on the Email block in the workflow. Select edit email content-> change template.

How do I customize my WooCommerce order confirmation email?

To customize your WooCommerce order confirmation email, select WooCommerce settings in your WordPress dashboard, select “Emails,” then choose the “Order Confirmation” template to modify its content and design.

How do I customize my email in WordPress?

To customize your email in WordPress, access the “Appearance” section in your dashboard, then select “Emails” to edit and personalize the email templates according to your preferences.

How do I set up email automation in WordPress?

Log in to Retainful Dashboard. Click on Automations-> create workflow. Select the type of email workflow you want to automate. Name the workflow and edit the trigger, wait condition, and email content.

Picture of Shalina Samuel
Shalina Samuel
Former research scholar, now a B2B SaaS content writer. Passionate about weaving fiction and poetry during leisure. Finds joy in the simplicity of life, often seen content with just a notebook and pen.
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