Understanding Shipping Notifications and Tracking Emails

How Order Status and Notifications Work

When an order moves through your store, its status updates (for example, from New to another status) and, depending on your configuration, automated email notifications may be sent to your customer. Tracking information is added to an order and can be shared with customers via email once a shipment is on its way.

Because these notifications are automated, it's important to understand how timing and email delivery settings can affect what your customers see.

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Common Issue 1: Customers Are Not Receiving Tracking / Shipping Emails

If your customers report that they aren't receiving shipping notification emails, the most common cause is your domain's email authentication settings (SPF records). SPF records tell email providers that WSM is authorized to send email on behalf of your domain. If they aren't set up correctly, notification emails may be blocked or filtered as spam.

What to Do

• Log in to your domain registrar (the company where your domain is registered, such as GoDaddy).

• Locate your domain's DNS / SPF record settings.

• Make sure your SPF record includes the WSM mail servers along with any other services you use.

Note: SPF records are specific to your domain and the other email services you use. If you're unsure how to update these settings, please contact WSM Support so we can provide the exact SPF values for your setup. Editing DNS records incorrectly can affect all email delivery for your domain, so proceed carefully.

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Common Issue 2: Tracking Information Appears "Delayed" or Incorrect

Sometimes tracking information is entered into an order in the morning, but the carrier (such as UPS) doesn't physically pick up the package until later in the day. This can make a tracking number appear invalid or "not found" when the customer first clicks it, even though everything is correct on your end.

Why This Happens

• You add the tracking number to the order early in the day.

• The carrier hasn't yet scanned the package into their system.

• Until that first carrier scan happens, the tracking link may show no updates.

Tracking usually becomes active once the carrier picks up and scans the shipment.

 

Helpful Tip

To reduce customer confusion, consider letting customers know that tracking information may take some time to appear after the carrier's first scan. You can request wording changes to your notification emails—such as a note asking customers to allow some time for tracking information to update—by contacting WSM Support.

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Common Issue 3: Tracking Shows Carrier as "Other" and Status Doesn't Update

If tracking is applied to an order but the carrier shows as "Other" and the order status doesn't change as expected, contact WSM Support with the affected order number(s) so our team can review the order and correct the behavior.

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Common Issue 4: Providing UPS (or Other) Tracking Numbers to Customers

WSM supports sharing tracking numbers with customers. When a tracking number is added to an order, it can be included in the order's status/shipping notification so your customer receives it automatically.

If you'd like help confirming that tracking numbers are being shared correctly on your store, contact WSM Support.

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When to Contact WSM Support

Please reach out to our support team if:

• Customers consistently report not receiving shipping/tracking emails (we can help confirm your SPF/email settings).

• Tracking is showing the wrong carrier or the order status isn't updating.

• You'd like to update the wording of your order or tracking notification emails.

• You have questions about how a specific carrier's tracking is delayed or displayed.

When contacting support, please include the affected order number(s) and a description of what your customer is seeing. This helps us resolve the issue as quickly as possible.