How to Hide Shipping Methods Using Category Weight in Advanced Rules

Category Weight Advanced Rules allow you to hide shipping methods based on the total weight of products from a specific category in the cart.

This is useful when certain categories contain heavy or bulky items that require special shipping handling.

You can define minimum and maximum weight limits per category.

Shipping methods will be hidden automatically when the category weight conditions are met.

How it works

When a customer adds products to the cart, the plugin calculates:

• Which product categories are present
• The combined weight of products from each selected category
• Whether the total category weight falls within your defined range

If the condition matches, the selected shipping method is hidden on the cart and checkout pages.

Steps to configure Category Weight Advanced Rules

Step 1: Create or edit a hide shipping rule

1. Go to WooCommerce > Hide Shipping Method > Manage Rules
2. Click Add New Rule or edit an existing rule

Step 2: Enable Advanced Rules

• In the rule settings, select Advanced Rules
• Click + Add Rule to add a new advanced condition

Step 3: Select Category Weight condition

For each rule:

• Choose Category Weight as the condition type
• Select the product category
• Set the Minimum Weight
• Set the Maximum Weight

You can add multiple category weight rules by clicking + Add Rule again.

Step 4: Choose the rule match option

• Select Any One Rule Match if the rule should apply when any category weight condition is met
• Select All Rules Match if all category weight conditions must be satisfied

Step 5: Select shipping methods to hide

• Choose the shipping methods you want to hide
• Or hide all shipping methods and keep only the appropriate ones active

Step 6: Save and enable the rule

• Review your configuration
• Make sure the Status is enabled
• Click Save

The rule will now work automatically based on category weight.

Example scenario

An online store sells products in these categories:

• Home Appliances
• Books

The store owner wants:

• To hide Standard Shipping when
  • Home Appliances weigh 10–30 kg, or
  • Books weigh 15–40 kg

Setup:

• Add two Category Weight advanced rules
• Select Any One Rule Match, so the rule applies if either condition is met
• Hide Standard Shipping for this condition

Result:

• Customers ordering heavy items see only suitable shipping options
• Checkout remains clean and practical

Why use category weight advanced rules

• Prevent unsuitable shipping options for heavy categories
• Apply different shipping logic based on product weight groups
• Improve delivery accuracy and cost control
• Automate complex shipping decisions without manual effort

Conclusion

Category Weight Advanced Rules give you fine-grained control over shipping visibility based on how heavy a specific product category is.

By using these rules, you ensure customers see only shipping methods that make sense for their order, improving both checkout experience and logistics efficiency.

FAQs

1. What is a category weight rule in hide shipping?

A category weight rule hides shipping methods based on the total weight of products from a specific category in the cart.

2. Can I apply category weight rules to multiple categories?

Yes. You can add multiple category weight rules and define different weight ranges for each category.

3. Does this work with variable products?

Yes. Variable products are included based on their assigned category and their total weight in the cart.

4. What happens if products from multiple categories are in the cart?

You can control the behavior using All Rules Match or Any One Rule Match, depending on whether all category weight conditions or just one should trigger the rule.

5. Will category weight rules change shipping costs?

No. These rules only control which shipping methods are visible or hidden. They do not modify shipping prices.