Shopify App | Documentation

CI Shipping Rate By Distance

If you have any questions beyond the scope of this guide, feel free to email us at info@cynoinfotech.com.

Information

Shipping Rate By Distance is the perfect solution for store owners looking to provide accurate, real-time shipping rate calculations based on distance. Traditional flat-rate shipping methods often result in overcharging or undercharging, leading to customer dissatisfaction and increased cart abandonment. This app eliminates guesswork by calculating delivery rates based on the exact distance to the customer’s shipping address, ensuring a fair and transparent pricing structure..

With Shipping Rate By Distance, merchants can create flexible pricing models by setting a fixed rate per km/mi or defining a base rate with additional charges per distance unit. Whether you operate from a single location or multiple warehouses, the app efficiently determines the shipping rate, optimizing delivery pricing to suit your business needs..

By offering real-time, distance-based shipping rates, this app helps increase conversions, reduce cart abandonment, and build customer trust. No more inaccurate shipping estimates—just fair, transparent, and location-based pricing tailored to your store.

This app is designed to streamline your shipping process, eliminate pricing guesswork, and enhance your customers' shopping experience with accurate and reliable shipping rate calculations.

Key Features:

1. The app automatically determines real-time shipping rates based on the exact distance between your store or warehouse and the customer’s shipping address.
2. Merchants can customize their pricing model by setting a fixed rate per km/mi or defining a base fee with additional charges per distance unit.
3. Store owners can choose between two distance calculation methods—a straight-line measurement or an actual route-based distance—to ensure accurate pricing.
4. Businesses with multiple locations or warehouses can set up location-based pricing and calculate shipping rates dynamically based on fulfillment centers.
5. Providing transparent shipping rates at checkout helps reduce cart abandonment and increase purchase success rates.
6. The app enhances the checkout experience by offering accurate, real-time shipping rates, ensuring customers have clear pricing before completing their purchase.
7. By offering precise and fair shipping rates, the app helps boost conversions and improve customer satisfaction, leading to higher trust and repeat purchases.

Settings

These are the app settings where you can effortlessly configure your custom shipping methods with a range of options.

Enable Shipping Method

Use this setting to enable or disable your shipping method.

Manual add “CI Shipping Price Per Product (Rates provided by app)” in your Shipping Zones

Step 1

Go to Shopify Store Settings > Shipping and delivery and click on the General shipping rates.

Step 2

Go to the Shipping zones you want to add the CCS rate, then click onAdd rate.

Step 3

Select Rate type as “Use carrier or app to calculate rates” and on the second drop down choose “CI Shipping Price Per Product (Rates provided by app)” and click “Done” to save..

Step 4

Repeat the same steps 1 to 3 for all other Shipping Zones in your shipping profile.

Shipping Method Title & Description

Use this setting field to customize the title and description of your shipping method. By default, the title is set to "CI Flat Rate," and the description is "Ships next day".

Your shipping method will be displayed to customers on the checkout page.

Distance Unit

This setting allows you to choose whether the distance between the store location and the customer's delivery address is calculated in kilometers or miles.

Route and address provider

CI Shipping Rate By Distance determines the distance using a route and address provider, commonly referred to as a geo provider..

Select a Distance Provider: Select your preferred route and address provider. You can choose between OpenCage and Google Maps. For more precise results, we recommend using Google Maps.

API Key:

• OpenCage API Key:

  OpenCage is preferred routing and address provider due to its ease of use and free access. Learn how to obtain Free OpenCage API Key

• Google Maps API Key:

  If your locations are not found, appear inaccurate, or you need more precise mapping results, we recommend switching to Google Maps for improved accuracy. Learn how to obtain Google Maps API Key

Distance calculation: Choose how the distance between your location and the customer’s delivery address is measured by selecting one of the available options:

• Straight Line – Calculates the direct distance between two points (store or warehouse location and delivery address) in a straight line, commonly known as “as the crow flies.” This method does not account for roads, turns, or obstacles.
• Driving Route – Determines the actual travel distance using Google Maps, factoring in roads, turns, traffic, and any obstacles along the way to provide a more accurate measurement..

Settings Overview

You can view a summary overview of your settings on the right side of the settings page

Locations & Rates

To configure your shipping rates, you need to define delivery locations. The location's address will serve as the starting point for calculating your delivery rates. If you have multiple locations, you can set different rates for each location to ensure accurate pricing based on the shipping origin

1. Create New Location

Click the "+ Add Location" button to open a popup where you can enter and configure a new delivery location.

In the Add Location popup, you can configure

1. Location Name & Location Address

2. Manually set latitude and longitude: When you save a location, the latitude and longitude are automatically calculated by default. If necessary, you can manually enter the location’s latitude and longitude.

3. Specify Distance-Based Shipping Rates for the location

Distance From: Specify the minimum distance from your store or warehouse where the shipping rate will apply.

To: Define the maximum distance range for this shipping rate.

Base Delivery Rate: Set a fixed shipping fee that applies within the defined distance range, regardless of the actual distance traveled.

Rate Per Distance Unit: Define an additional charge per kilometer or mile to calculate the total shipping rate dynamically.

2. Edit Location

1. Find the Location – Navigate to the list of locations and locate the one you want to edit.

2. Open the Action Menu – Click on the three-dot menu (...) in the "Action" column next to the location.

3. Select "Edit" – From the dropdown options, click on Edit to open the location settings.

4. Update the Details – Modify the Location Name, Address, or Distance-Based Shipping Rates as needed.

5. Save Changes – Click Save to apply the updates.

3. Enable or Disable a Location

1. Find the Location – Locate the location you want to modify the status.

2. Open the Action Menu – Click on the three-dot menu (...) in the "Action" column next to the location.

3. Toggle the Status

• If the location is Enabled, select Disable to deactivate it.
• If the location is Disabled, select Enable to activate it..

4. Duplicate Location

1. Find the Location – Locate the location you want to duplicate in the list.

2. Open the Action Menu – Click on the three-dot menu (...) in the "Action" column next to the location.

3. Select "Duplicate" – From the dropdown options, click on Duplicate to create a copy of the location with the same details.

4. Modify if Needed – You can edit the duplicated location’s name, address, or shipping rates before saving.

5. Save the New Location – Click Save to duplicate location.

5. Delete a Location

1. Find the Location – Locate the location you want to duplicate in the list.

2. Open the Action Menu – Click on the three-dot menu (...) in the "Action" column next to the location.

3. Select "Delete" – From the dropdown options, click on Delete, and a confirmation prompt may appear.

4. Confirm Deletion – If prompted, confirm the action to permanently remove the location. Deleting a location is permanent and cannot be undone

Shipping Method Applied at Checkout

When a customer adds items to their cart and proceeds to checkout, as soon as the customer enters their delivery address, the system automatically calculates and applies the shipping rates based on the exact distance between your store or warehouse and the customer’s shipping address.

How to obtain Google Maps API Key

If you’ve selected Google Maps as your route provider in Shipping Rate By Distance, you must set up your Google Maps API key and add it to your settings for accurate distance calculations

1. Go to the Google Maps Platform page and click "Get Started" to begin the setup process

2. If required, sign in to your Google Account to proceed

3. Click on the project dropdown in the top navigation bar

4. Select your project name from the list. If you don’t see your project, use the "Search Projects" field to find it or Create New Project

5. Go to APIs & Services and verify that the following APIs are enabled. If any are disabled, enable them

• Geocoding API
• Routes API

6. Navigate to Keys & Credentials. In the API keys list, click the Show Key button.

7. Copy your API key and paste it into the App Settings.

Support

If this documentation doesn't answer your questions, please feel free to email us at info@cynoinfotech.com

Our support team operates in the GMT +5:30 time zone and responds to all inquiries within 12-24 hours on weekdays. In rare cases, the response time may extend to 48 hours, especially during the holidays, which may take longer..

Please don't forget to rate our app 5 stars ( ) on the Shopify App Store if you are satisfied with our app and customer support! Your feedback is greatly appreciated and helps us improve our services. Thank you!

Changelog

See what's new added, changed, fixed, improved or updated in the latest versions.

Version 1.0 (1 January, 2025)

Initial Release