Improving Order Item Details in WooCommerce Custom Email Notifications

Unveiling Order Item Dynamics in WooCommerce Emails

Managing WooCommerce orders necessitates a thorough examination of email content customisation, particularly in regards to include comprehensive details about order products. This becomes especially important for companies who want to improve customer communication by keeping customers informed about the status of their orders, including when their products are prepared for shipping or pickup. Accurately retrieving and displaying every item in an order can be difficult at times. This problem is made evident when orders with many goods only show a portion of the actual number of things purchased in the email notifications.

In order to generate email text dynamically with all required information, the procedure makes use of WooCommerce hooks and filters to access order statuses and item details. But developers often run into problems, including pulling out just one item from an order or having trouble attaching product photos to item descriptions. This introduction lays the groundwork for investigating ways to improve WooCommerce email functionality and make sure the consumer is informed about every step of the order process in an easy-to-understand manner.

Command	Description
add_action()	Gives a function a specific action hook attachment. With the help of this feature, you may set off custom code at particular stages of the WordPress lifecycle.
register_post_status()	Creates a custom post status that WordPress and WooCommerce can use. Adding additional statuses to orders, posts, or custom post kinds can be accomplished using this.
add_filter()	Connects a feature to a certain filter hook. Before data is utilized on a website or sent back to the browser, it can be altered using filters.
$order->get_items()	Retrieves the things that are connected to the order. An array of the order's items is returned by this method, which is a part of the WooCommerce order object.
$product->get_image()	Obtains the product image's HTML. The WooCommerce product object contains this function, which returns an image tag for the featured image of the product.
WC()->mailer()	Creates an instance of the WooCommerce mailer. Using WooCommerce's built-in email templates and procedures, emails can be sent using this approach.

Exploring Custom Email Enhancements for WooCommerce

The aforementioned scripts play a crucial role in personalizing WooCommerce order notifications by incorporating comprehensive details on order goods, particularly for orders that have been designated as "shipped" or "ready to collect." WordPress and WooCommerce hooks like add_action() and add_filter(), which enable the execution of custom functions at particular stages in the order processing workflow, are the foundation of these improvements. Using register_post_status() to define 'Shipped' and 'Ready to Collect' as new order states, the register_custom_order_statuses() function adds new order statuses to the WooCommerce system. The order's current status-specific email notifications must be triggered by these custom states.

Furthermore, the custom_order_status_email_notifications() function is hooked to the order status change event, checking for orders transitioning to either 'shipped' or 'ready to collect'. It dynamically generates the email content by iterating over each item in the order using $order->get_items(), thus addressing the initial problem of incomplete order item listings in notifications. Additionally, for each item, it attempts to include product images by accessing the product object linked to the item and fetching the image URL. This comprehensive approach ensures that all relevant order details, including product names, quantities, and images, are accurately represented in the email sent to the customer, significantly enhancing the order fulfillment process and customer experience.

add_action('init', 'register_custom_order_statuses');
function register_custom_order_statuses() {
    register_post_status('wc-shipped', array(
        'label'                     => __('Shipped', 'woocommerce'),
        'public'                    => true,
        'exclude_from_search'       => false,
        'show_in_admin_all_list'    => true,
        'show_in_admin_status_list' => true,
        'label_count'               => _n_noop('Shipped (%s)', 'Shipped (%s)')
    ));
    register_post_status('wc-readytocollect', array(
        'label'                     => __('Ready to Collect', 'woocommerce'),
        'public'                    => true,
        'exclude_from_search'       => false,
        'show_in_admin_all_list'    => true,
        'show_in_admin_status_list' => true,
        'label_count'               => _n_noop('Ready to Collect (%s)', 'Ready to Collect (%s)')
    ));
}
add_filter('wc_order_statuses', 'add_custom_order_statuses');
function add_custom_order_statuses($order_statuses) {
    $new_order_statuses = array();
    foreach ($order_statuses as $key => $status) {
        $new_order_statuses[$key] = $status;
        if ('wc-processing' === $key) {
            $new_order_statuses['wc-shipped'] = __('Shipped', 'woocommerce');
            $new_order_statuses['wc-readytocollect'] = __('Ready to Collect', 'woocommerce');
        }
    }
    return $new_order_statuses;
}

add_action('woocommerce_order_status_changed', 'custom_order_status_email_notifications', 10, 4);
function custom_order_status_email_notifications($order_id, $from_status, $to_status, $order) {
    if (!$order->get_parent_id()) return;
    if ($to_status === 'shipped' || $to_status === 'readytocollect') {
        $items = $order->get_items();
        $message_body = '<h1>Order Details</h1><ul>';
        foreach ($items as $item_id => $item) {
            $product = $item->get_product();
            $product_name = $item['name'];
            $product_image = $product->get_image();
            $message_body .= '<li>' . $product_name . ' - Image: ' . $product_image . '</li>';
        }
        $message_body .= '</ul>';
        $mailer = WC()->mailer();
        $email_subject = sprintf(__('Your order %s is %s'), $order->get_order_number(), $to_status);
        $message = $mailer->wrap_message($email_subject, $message_body);
        $mailer->send($order->get_billing_email(), $email_subject, $message);
    }
}

Extensive Personalization of WooCommerce Email Alerts

Adding product details is only one aspect of expanding the capabilities of WooCommerce email customisation; other aspects include tailoring emails to better align with the brand's identity and increase consumer interaction. Including pertinent information in WooCommerce emails, such as thorough product descriptions, photos, and supplementary materials like care guidelines or similar goods, may greatly enhance the user experience. By creating a stronger bond between the client and the brand, this strategy not only boosts the email's value to the recipient but also raises the likelihood of repeat business.

Additionally, dynamic material like tailored recommendations or exclusive discounts on subsequent purchases can be included as part of advanced customization, depending on consumer behavior or transaction history. With the help of custom PHP functions and WooCommerce hooks and filters, developers may dynamically customize the email content to each recipient, personalizing each message. This degree of personalization necessitates both a thorough knowledge of WordPress and WooCommerce's fundamental features as well as originality in writing content that speaks to the needs of the client and the business.

Improving WooCommerce emails with product photos and specific order items is an essential part of e-commerce operations that aims to increase customer happiness and communication. Through the use of WooCommerce and WordPress's built-in hooks and functions, such add_action() and add_filter(), developers may tailor order emails to the unique requirements of their shop. This entails creating dynamic email content that precisely reflects each order's information and recording custom order statuses. In addition to resolving the issue of include every item in the notification emails, the solution creates avenues for more customisation, including the addition of product recommendations or exclusive deals. In the end, email alerts can greatly improve customer engagement and loyalty by offering a thorough and customized purchasing experience, laying the groundwork for an effective online retail strategy.