Only one shipping method offered, automatically selected

[nmarkroberts]

My site has more than one shipping method. Only one shipping method is offered at checkout, being the correct one for the order size. It is offered in checkout as a single option with a radio button. The radio button is not by default switched on, and one radio button just looks like a meaningless blob, not a radio button.

New customers frequently trip at this hurdle: if they don't realise that they need to choose the sole shipping method which is offered, they cannot proceed and we lose a sale and a repeat customer.

Possible solutions:

Option 1: somehow switch on the sole shipping method by default.

Option 2: somehow switch on the first shipping method by default.

Option 3: (a) skip shipping method selection but (b) have the (only, or first) eligible shipping method set by default.

AppConfig:SkipShippingOnCheckout = true does not work as it does not satisfy 3(b).

Setting a default shipping method does not work as there are two.

I think someone suggested a javascript solution (option 2) but that didn't work.

Back in 2008 Rob suggested:

"...just add a few lines of custom logic in the checkout thread, and set AppConfig:SkipShippingOnCheckout=true, so they go to the order review page with it all calculated and set suggest doing the shipping cal/db updates in checkoutpayment form load, or cart page post back, so it's set, displayed, and ready by payment page display."

If anyone can translate that into actual code, I'd be very grateful.

(btw This question has been asked many times before, and it has been answered before, but I can't find an answer here or elsewhere that works. I'm sure it's simple and I'm sure it has been solved a thousand times, so I'm asking it again.)

[adnsf noob : ML8 no source : C# programmer : www.solbreads.com.au]

[BFG 9000]

Add this to your shipping page :-

<script type="text/javascript">
            if (document.getElementById("ShippingMethodID1")) {
                document.getElementById("ShippingMethodID1").checked = true;
            }
</script> 

TTFN

BFG

[nmarkroberts]

Thanks BFG,

That's the Javascript solution that I already tried and it didn't work. Of course I went and looked at it again just to make sure and I had put it in the wrong place. Works fine now 8^)

[medsupply]

I need to do this in the Smart One Page checkout. How can I do it?

[PowerProducts]

I need to do this in the Smart One Page checkout. How can I do it?

I am pretty sure you will need to talk to a developer that has source to the Smart OPC by Vortx to fix this. The Vortex DLL controls just about everything on the SmartOPC. We are going to be doing this modification next week to our site so it acts like amazon, where the non free shipping is automatically checked and the customer is required to change it to free if they want. Our UPS shipping bill is around 35k a month, so we are brainstorming on ways to help. Free shipping kills us.