This comprehensive guide dives into the “2D Barcodes” functionalities offered by the EAN for WooCommerce plugin, empowering you to leverage the benefits of twodimensional barcodes for your online store.
Beyond Linear Barcodes
While traditional onedimensional (1D) barcodes like EANs provide efficient product identification, the EAN for WooCommerce plugin also introduces the capability to utilize 2D barcodes. These barcodes encode significantly more data within a smaller space, offering enhanced functionality and information storage capabilities.
Enabling 2D Barcodes
- Enable Section: Activate this section to unlock the various functionalities associated with 2D barcode display.
Display Options
- Admin Product Edit Page: Choose to showcase the 2D barcode image on the product edit page within your WordPress dashboard, facilitating easy reference during product management.
- Admin Products List Column: Add a dedicated “Barcode” column to your product list in the admin area, featuring the generated 2D barcode image for each product. You can customize the column title and utilize the provided shortcode to automatically populate the barcode image within the column.
- Frontend Display: Configure where you want to showcase product 2D barcodes on your customerfacing store:
- Single Product Page: Display the 2D barcode image alongside product details on individual product pages. You can further specify placement within the product description or other relevant areas.
- Shop Pages: Enable the display of 2D barcodes on category and other shop listing pages.
- Important Note: For variable products, ensure the main product’s EAN is set for this functionality to work correctly.
- Cart Page: Showcase the 2D barcode image on the shopping cart page, providing convenient reference during checkout. You can utilize the provided shortcode to display the barcode within the cart template.
- Orders & Emails: Integrate 2D barcode display with the order management system:
- Admin Order Edit Page: View the 2D barcode image within the order details section of the admin edit page for each order.
- Order Items Table: Choose to display the 2D barcode image within the order items table across various orderrelated pages (e.g., thank you page, order details page) and emails sent to customers.
- Important Note: This functionality might not work on localhost environments. You can further specify which order statuses (e.g., processing, completed) trigger barcode display in emails.
- REST API: Incorporate base64 encoded 2D barcodes into product and order data returned by the WooCommerce REST API, facilitating integration with external systems.
Advanced Options
- Barcode Type: Choose the desired 2D barcode type (QR Code with different error correction levels, Datamatrix, PDF417, etc.) based on your specific data storage and error correction requirements.
- Suppress Errors: Enable this option (recommended) to prevent PHP errors from interrupting barcode generation.
Reset Settings
This option allows you to revert all settings within the “2D Barcodes” section to their default values.
Admin Access
These settings can be found by navigating to WooCommerce > Settings > Products > EAN > 2D Barcodes within your WordPress dashboard.
Maximizing Value
The pro version of the EAN for WooCommerce plugin offers additional functionalities to further enhance 2D barcode management.
- Customize barcode styling: Tailor the appearance of 2D barcodes (color, size) to match your store’s aesthetics.
- Bulk generate barcodes: Generate 2D barcodes for multiple products simultaneously, saving time for large inventories.
Call to Action
Upgrade to the pro version [link to pro version] to unlock the full potential of the EAN for WooCommerce plugin and create a more informative and interactive shopping experience for your customers by leveraging the power of 2D barcodes.
By effectively utilizing the “2D Barcodes” options, you can expand the range of information encoded within your product barcodes, potentially facilitating functionalities like mobile app product scanning or enhanced data exchange with external systems.