Customizing your store emails
How to customize the look, subject lines, and content of the automated emails WooCommerce sends to your customers.
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
Out of the box, WooCommerce emails are functional but plain. Customizing them to match your brand makes your store look more professional and builds customer trust. This guide shows you what you can change yourself.
Quick summary
Go to WooCommerce → Settings → Emails to edit subject lines, headings, and basic content for each email. You can also set a logo, brand colors, and footer text that appear on all emails, and preview or test your emails on the same screen. For deeper design changes (custom HTML templates), we handle that for you.
What you can change yourself
Global email settings (affects all emails)
Go to WooCommerce → Settings → Emails.
Scroll down past the list of emails to the "Email template" and "Color palette" sections.
Update these settings:
- Logo: your store's logo or header image. With Email improvements turned on (WooCommerce → Settings → Advanced → Features), you can also set Logo width, Header alignment, and Font family.
- Footer text: appears at the bottom of every email. Add your business name, address, or a friendly tagline.
- Color palette: with Email improvements turned on, use Sync with theme to match your site's colors. Or set Accent (buttons and links), Email background, Content background, Heading & text, and Secondary text yourself.
Click "Save changes."
Use the "Email preview" section to see how it looks. Pick an email from the dropdown and switch between the desktop and mobile views.
Per-email settings (for individual emails)
Go to WooCommerce → Settings → Emails.
Click Manage next to the email you want to edit (e.g., "Processing order").
Edit the settings:
- Enable/Disable: choose whether this email is sent. (The "Order details" email is only ever sent by hand, so it has no on/off switch.)
- Subject: the email subject line the customer sees in their inbox.
- Email heading: the large heading inside the email body.
- Additional content: a block of text that appears below the main email content. Great for adding a thank-you message, return policy link, or social media handles.
Click "Save changes."
Use {site_title} and {order_number} in subjects
WooCommerce supports placeholder variables in email subjects and headings. For example: Your {site_title} order #{order_number} is confirmed becomes "Your Acme Store order #1042 is confirmed." These variables are listed in each email's settings screen.
Previewing and testing emails
Before you're happy with the final result, preview and test:
- Preview: Use the "Email preview" section on the main Emails settings page. It shows each email in a desktop or mobile view.
- Send a test: In the same section, click Send a test email and enter your own address. Check how it looks on your phone and computer.
Deeper customization (we handle this)
The basic WooCommerce email settings have limits. For more control (custom HTML, custom layouts, full brand alignment), you need to modify the email template files or use an email customizer plugin. WooCommerce is also testing a block-based email editor, but it is still an experimental feature.
Options include:
- Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer: a free plugin that lets you restyle WooCommerce's emails in the WordPress Customizer, with a live preview.
- Email Customizer for WooCommerce (by YayCommerce): a paid extension with a drag-and-drop email builder.
- Custom HTML templates: we can edit the underlying email templates directly.
If you want your emails to fully match your brand identity, reach out and we'll set this up for you.
Common questions
Can I add my logo to all WooCommerce emails?
Yes. Go to WooCommerce → Settings → Emails and add it with the Logo setting in the Email template section. With Email improvements turned on, use Logo width to set its size. Use a PNG with a transparent background for best results.
Can I add my social media links to emails?
You can add your social media addresses as text in the "Additional content" or "Footer text" fields. For icons, you'll usually need an email customizer plugin or a custom template. Ask us to set this up.
Can I change the font used in emails?
Yes, within limits. With Email improvements turned on, the Email template section has a Font family setting. Email clients have limited font support, so for a specific brand font you need a custom email template. We can help with this.
Will changes to the email template affect existing orders?
No. Changes apply to new emails sent after you save. Emails already sent are not affected. If you resend an email from an order's Order actions menu (for example, Send order details to customer), it goes out with your current design.
Related guides
- Store emails to customers explained
- How to process & fulfill an order
- General store settings
- Email sent from your website explained
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