Shipping zones help you control where you ship and how much you charge for shipping, taxes, and fees. In Swap Global, shipping zones determine how orders are handled for different countries or regions, including custom fees, duties, and special rules.
This article explains what shipping zones are, why they are important, and how they work in combination with Shopify and Swap.
What are Shipping Zones?
A shipping zone is a group of countries or regions that share the same shipping rules, rates, and fees. Instead of setting up rates for each country individually, you can group them together to simplify your shipping setup.
For example:
You may have a shipping zone for the European Union, where you offer the same rates across all EU countries.
You may have another zone for North America, with different rates and rules.
By grouping countries into zones, you make your shipping setup easier to manage, while offering the right pricing to your customers based on where they are located.
Shipping Zones in Shopify
Shipping zones in Swap are linked to Shopify shipping zones. However, Shopify shipping zones are tied to Shopify Markets. To make sure your Swap shipping zones work correctly, the countries you include must also be part of an active Shopify Market.
If a country is not part of an active Shopify Market, customers from that country will not be able to check out in your store.
For more information on Shopify Markets, please refer to this article.
Why Shipping Zones Matter in Swap Global
In Swap Global, shipping zones do more than just set the shipping price. They also control:
Which countries you sell to.
How duties and taxes are applied.
Whether you apply buffers to taxes or duties.
Which custom fees are charged at checkout.
How subtotal rules are calculated when VAT-inclusive pricing is enabled.
Which shipping rates and methods are shown to the customer.
By setting up your zones correctly, you ensure that your customers see accurate pricing, get the right shipping options, and avoid unexpected charges.
How to Manage Shipping Zones
Shipping zones for Swap Global are created both in Shopify (to control Markets and basic shipping eligibility) and directly in the Swap Dashboard (to configure specific settings such as custom fees, buffers, rules, and tax behaviour).
For instructions on how to create and modify shipping zones, see: Managing Shipping Zones.
For a detailed explanation of all configuration options inside Swap's Shipping Zones, see: Shipping Zone Configuration Settings.