How to customize WooCommerce emails in 2025

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Want to squeeze maximum engagement from your WooCommerce email templates in 2025? The secret is customization — that is, modifying the design and content to reflect the interests of a specific audience.

While WooCommerce provides hundreds of pre-made templates, they tend to be bland and basic. Instead of sticking to the mundane, ecommerce businesses will always benefit from going the extra mile. This might include incorporating unique plugins, using brand colors and fonts, personalizing product suggestions, and much more.

Whatever the method, tailored WooCommerce email templates enhance branding and improve the customer experience, both of which generate sales and boost memorability. Ultimately, you want to stand out in crowded inboxes rather than send the same old transactional emails as everyone else.

Ready to learn more? Keep reading as we explain everything you need to know about customizing WooCommerce email templates, including plenty of step-by-step guidance and practical tips. We’ll also touch on how you can use powerful marketing and automation tools like Omnisend to create effective WooCommerce campaigns.

WooCommerce email templates — key takeaways

• Transactional emails have a higher open rate than other marketing emails, so it’s important to get them right
• Customizing WooCommerce email templates strengthens brand identity, builds consumer trust, and boosts sales
• There are several ways to customize emails, depending on your level of expertise
• The built-in WooCommerce editor and plugins like Omnisend offer a seamless experience for beginners, with no coding required
• Developers can edit the PHP code or use WooCommerce hooks for a greater degree of flexibility
• You can customize everything from colors and button size to header images and menus — the possibilities are infinite
• Plugins like Omnisend integrate with WooCommerce and other leading ecommerce platforms for ultimate convenience

How to customize WooCommerce email templates

There are several different methods of modifying WooCommerce email templates, some of which we’ll explore below. 

The most important consideration is technical ability. Beginners might prefer the built-in email customizer, whereas developers will have greater flexibility using WooCommerce hooks to edit code.

Using the built-in WooCommerce settings

Perhaps the easiest way to customize WooCommerce email templates is via the built-in editor, which can be found in the settings.

Simply follow WooCommerce > Settings > Emails. From there, scroll down to the Email Customizer and click Customize.

The drag-and-drop functionality makes it easier than ever to change the design, layout, and content of emails, which includes:

• Writing brand-new subject lines
• Switching out header images
• Introducing brand colors, fonts, and logos
• Replacing buttons and social media icons
• Sorting product suggestions

Once you’ve experimented with the design, press click here to preview your email template to see how it would appear to customers. If you’re happy, save and publish your changes.

Of course, one of the best things about the built-in editor is you don’t need any coding experience. Simply use the drag-and-drop functionality and user-friendly interface to incorporate your brand identity. Stuck for ideas? Draw inspiration from these email design examples.

Adding custom content and placeholders

A custom placeholder is a piece of text that can be replaced with a dynamic variable, such as a customer’s name, order number, and date of purchase.

WooCommerce offers a library of custom placeholders, including:

• {order_date}
• {order_number}
• {customer_first_name}
• {customer_last_name}
• {customer_note}

To implement these, follow WooCommerce > Settings > Emails, select the template, and enter your instructions into the relevant subject field. Let’s say you wanted to create a subject line, you might input: “Thank you {customer_first_name} for order {order_number}.”

Similarly, you can enhance the customer experience by incorporating additional content, such as thank you notes, warranty details, and return policies. There are various ways to do this, so you’ll have to play around with what works best. The built-in editor is the easiest, but you could also use WooCommerce hooks (more on this later).

Using plugins for enhanced email designs

Plugins are excellent tools because they offer more advanced functionality than the built-in editor. Some of the best plugins for customizing WooCommerce email templates are:

• Email Template Customizer for WooCommerce: Allows you to modify elements, send file attachments, add unique menu bars, and more
• Metorik – Reports & Email Automation for WooCommerce: Offers powerful custom reporting and audience segmentation tools
• MailPoet: Helps you create attractive transactional emails and fully integrates with WordPress

For an all-in-one solution with no coding required, try Omnisend instead. The dynamic content blocks and intuitive interface are perfect for beginners — yet there’s enough functionality for individuals who want to dig deeper. Key features include:

• Drag-and-drop email design
• Advanced segmentation for transactional and marketing emails
• Automated workflows (such as abandoned cart emails)
• Analytics to track email performance
• Responsive and shoppable pre-made templates so you don’t have to start from scratch

Customizing email content based on products

One of the most effective ways to edit WooCommerce email templates is based on products. More specifically, using purchase notes to add value.

To access purchase notes, click Products, find the relevant item, and press Edit. Scroll to the product data section and click Advanced. Here, you’ll find a blank box where you can input information.

Now what? The possibilities are endless. You could attach a user guide or product-specific discount. Many businesses use purchase notes to say thank you — which is an underestimated tool for promoting customer loyalty.

Customizing WooCommerce emails with code

For ultimate flexibility, developers or those familiar with PHP files can edit WooCommerce email templates with code. This approach offers more customization options compared to the built-in editor and plugins, so you can create eye-catching campaigns that stand out from the crowd.

To begin, follow WooCommerce > Settings > Emails in the WordPress dashboard. Next, select the email you want to edit and click Manage. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the note that tells you the associated PHP templates for that email.

Every email consists of a combination of templates in a modular structure. As such, developers can pick and choose the specific sections they want to customize. For instance:

• email-header.php: For header changes
• email-footer.php: For footer edits
• customer-invoice.php: For modifying invoice content

Common changes include swapping out header images, adjusting button sizes, and changing the link color. Check out the below example for reference:

Query — Change the link color in email templates:

1. Copy the email-styles.php file from wp content/plugins/woocommerce/templates/emails/ into the child theme directory
2. Edit the .link class in the copied file to set a new color: .link {color: #a4bf9a;}
3. Save changes to apply the customization

There are a few universal rules to keep in mind when modifying PHP files. First, use a child theme to ensure revisions persist after updates. Equally as important, always test your customizations in a staging environment before going live.

If you need more advice, read the WooCommerce Template Structure documentation, which contains the markup and template structure for your store. You could also explore WooCommerce shortcodes, which are easier to grasp for beginners.

Customizing emails with WooCommerce hooks

Another way to customize WooCommerce email templates is by using WooCommerce hooks. These handy tools allow you to add functionality without editing the core code, which can be risky unless you’re experienced.

There are two types of WooCommerce hooks:

• Action: Allows developers to insert custom code at specific points
• Filter: Allows developers to modify data, themes, and plugins

Here are a few examples for reference:

Query — Add text below the header with woocommerce_email_header:

<php?
add_action ( ‘woocommerce_email_header’, ‘mm_email_header’, 10, 2 );
function mm_email_header( $email_heading, $email ) {
echo “<p> Thanks for shopping with us. We appreciate you and your business! </p>”;
}

Query — Add a coupon code after the order table using woocommerce_email_after_order_table:

<php?
add_action( ‘woocommerce_email_after_order_table’, ‘mm_email_after_order_table’, 10, 4 );
function mm_email_after_order_table( $order, $sent_to_admin, $plain_text, $email ) {
echo”<p> Hey! Thanks for shopping with us. As a way of saying thanks, here’s a coupon code for your next purchase: FRESH15</p>”;
}

Query — Insert additional text above the footer with woocommerce_email_footer:

<php?
add_action( ‘woocommerce_email_footer’, ‘mm_email_footer’, 10, 1 );
function mm_email_footer( $email ) { ?>
<p> <php? printf( __( ‘Thank you for shopping! Shop for more items using this link: %s’, ‘woocommerce’ ), ‘<a href=”‘ . get_permalink ( wc_get_page_id( ‘shop’ ) ) . ‘”>’ . __ ( ‘Shop’, ‘woocommerce’ ) . ‘</a>’ ( ; ? >< /p>
<php?
}

Dedicated email customization plugins like Omnisend provide intuitive drag-and-drop editors for customizing every element of your emails without coding.

They also have pre-built templates, dynamic content block capabilities, and more, giving the flexibility to create beautiful branded emails. This is the most convenient way to customize your WooCommerce emails.

Check out this video for a step-by-step tutorial on designing eye-catching and high-converting WooCommerce emails with Omnisend:

Overview of WooCommerce email templates

You may be thinking this all sounds a bit complicated, and you’d be right — customizing WooCommerce email templates can be fiddly and patience-testing. So, why bother?

The fact is that transactional follow-up emails like order confirmations, shipping updates, and thank you notes improve the customer experience. Alongside having a much higher open rate compared to regular marketing emails (30%-40% compared to 15%-25%), they:

• Enhance branding with consistent design elements
• Increase customer trust by adding value
• Promote repeat purchases with personalized messages and offers
• Reduce time-consuming customer service requests
• Often perform better than more costly marketing methods

How to customize WooCommerce emails with Omnisend 

Another way you can edit WooCommerce email templates without needing coding knowledge is with a tool like Omnisend. The user-friendly interface and drag-and-drop functionality are ideal for beginners — but there’s also plenty of advanced functionality for developers who really want to sink their teeth into customization.

Here’s how to set up Omnisend for WooCommerce:

1. Download Omnisend for free
2. Go to your WordPress Admin Dashboard and search for Omnisend in the Plugin Directory
3. Install the plugin then click Manage Plugin
4. Click Connect Your Account, which will redirect you to WooCommerce
5. Click on Approve to complete the process
6. Create and customize WooCommerce emails

Once you’re up and running, the world is your oyster. Whether you choose a pre-existing template or start from scratch, you’ll unlock tons of powerful customization features, including:

• Multi-column layouts, inline editing, and unique menus
• Signup forms and automated workflows
• Cutting-edge audience segmentation tools
• Personalized product suggestions and discount codes
• Campaign tracking and click maps

This is just a taste of the functionality you can expect when using Omnisend. Unlike with WooCommerce, you have complete freedom over content and design. There are hundreds of lead-converting templates to browse and modify, including welcome emails, abandoned cart reminders, and seasonal promotions.

Perhaps most importantly, Omnisend has a free plan, so it doesn’t add to the cost of WooCommerce. It offers access to all ecommerce features, which is unusual for a popular platform of this size. 

While many businesses use Omnisend with WooCommerce, it also seamlessly integrates with Shopify, Wix, Bigcommerce, and other ecommerce platforms. Plus, developers have the freedom to build custom integrations with open, flexible APIs that are simple to use and implement.

Conclusion

Businesses simply can’t rely on pre-built WooCommerce email templates anymore — not when there’s such fierce competition for consumer attention and loyalty. Instead, they must lean into customization and use tools like Omnisend to elevate design and functionality.

Whether it’s through cart recovery emails, thank you emails, or order completion notifications, you want to make sure your customers open your emails and that your brand stays at the top of their minds. The only way to do that is by adding value and offering a tailored experience that stands out in crowded inboxes.

Alongside Omnisend, you can use the other tools in the guide to modify WooCommerce email templates, including the built-in editor or recommended plugins. Choose the medium that suits you best, and watch as your sales soar.

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