How to Add a Shipping Dropdown Placeholder in WooCommerce
Shipping Method Display Style for WooCommerce lets you show shipping methods as radio buttons or a dropdown on the cart and checkout.
The placeholder option adds a first dropdown choice that is not a shipping method. Nothing is selected until the customer picks a real method.
A store with Flat Rate, Free Shipping, and Local Pickup can open the dropdown on "Select Shipping" instead of charging Flat Rate before the customer chooses.
In The Article
Benefits
Turning on the placeholder can help:
- Customers see that they still need to pick a shipping method.
- Checkout stays blocked until a real method is selected, so the first rate is not applied on its own.
- You set the wording that appears at the top of the dropdown.
How to Add a Shipping Dropdown Placeholder
Step 1: Open the display mode settings
Go to WooCommerce → Settings → Shipping Method Display Mode.
Under Select Display Mode, choose Dropdown. The Add placeholder checkbox and its text box appear under that option. They stay hidden while Radio Button (Default) is selected.
Step 2: Turn on the placeholder
Check Add placeholder.
The text box next to it is filled with Select Shipping. Change that text if you want different wording. If you clear the box and save, the plugin uses Select Shipping again.
Click Save changes.
Step 3: Check the cart and checkout
Open the cart and the checkout with at least two shipping methods available.
The dropdown’s first option is your placeholder, and no shipping method is selected. The shipping cost stays off until the customer picks a method. They cannot place the order while the placeholder is still selected.
After they choose a method, that rate is calculated as usual. They can open the dropdown and select the placeholder again, which clears the choice.
This works on the classic cart and checkout and on the Cart and Checkout blocks.
Example Use Cases
Several delivery options
If you offer more than one paid method, use the placeholder so the cheapest or first method is not selected before the customer decides.
Custom prompt
If you want the dropdown to say something other than Select Shipping, type that text in the box next to Add placeholder.
Conclusion
The placeholder keeps the shipping dropdown unselected until the customer chooses a method. Checkout does not apply a rate or complete while that first option is still selected.
FAQs
1. Where do I turn the placeholder on?
Go to WooCommerce → Settings → Shipping Method Display Mode, set Select Display Mode to Dropdown, then check Add placeholder.
2. What text is used if I leave the box empty?
The dropdown shows Select Shipping.
3. Why don’t I see a dropdown when the cart has one shipping method?
With only one method, WooCommerce shows that method as a title. There is no dropdown, so the placeholder is not used.
4. What happens if the customer changes their address?
If the method they already chose is still available, it stays selected. If it is not available anymore, the dropdown returns to the placeholder.