---
title: Shipping methods
slug: commerce-connect-13/docs/shipping-methods
docTags: 
createdAt: 2026-07-23T09:44:50.000Z
---

Classes in this topic are available in the Mediachase.Commerce.Orders.Dto namespace.

A shipping method manages information and rules that determine shipping cost and displays that information on the front-end site during checkout. The shipping cost is added to the total purchase price.

A shipping method is mapped to a Shipping Provider, visible to a back-end administrator in Commerce Manager. So, the public site can display friendly names (such as **Ground Shipping**), which are mapped to a provider, such as UPS. If a customer picks Ground Shipping, UPS is used.

- To add a configuration tab for a shipping providers, create a new .ascx called ConfigureShippingMethod.ascx.
- This .ascx uses the same inheritance and interface as the shipping provider.
- The parameter settings for shipping methods are stored in the ShippingMethodParameter table.
- See the ConsoleManager\Apps\Order\Shipping\Plugins\ WeightJurisdiction\ConfigureShippingMethod.ascx for an example of this.

See [Shipping gateways and providers](docId\:IixiTbMhp5TqW5vruF_Vu) for information about creating gateways and providers.

:::hint{type="info"}
**Note**
This implementation uses AJAX to update the DTO, as the data occurs prior to the SaveChanges method being called.
:::

## Add a shipping method parameters tab

You can store and retrieve information in the following ways.

- **Use the ShippingMethodParameter table**
  The ShippingMethodParameter table lets you store name/value pairs for settings related to that shipping method.

```csharp
if (_ShippingMethodDto != null && 
_ShippingMethodDto.ShippingMethodParameter != null &&  
_ShippingMethodDto.ShippingMethodParameter.Rows.Count > 0) 
{ 
 ShippingMethodDto.ShippingMethodParameterRow
   row = (ShippingMethodDto.ShippingMethodParameterRow)_ShippingMethodDto.ShippingMethodParameter.Rows[0]; 
 txtTypeOfService.Text = row.Value; 
 lblTypeOfService.Text = row.Parameter; 
}
```

- **Use the WeightJurisdiction provider**
  You can store information in the format seen in the WeightJurisdiction provider, where each row of data represents the following, which is stored in the ShippingMethodCase table.
  - Total (representing the count or weight value)
  - Charge
  - JurisdictionGroupId
  - StartDate
  - EndDate for different shipping scenarios.

```csharp
if (_ShippingMethodDto != null && _ShippingMethodDto.ShippingMethodCase != null && _ShippingMethodDto. ShippingMethodCase.Rows.Count > 0) 
{ 
 ShippingMethodDto.ShippingMethodCaseRow row = (ShippingMethodDto.ShippingMethodCaseRow)_ShippingMethodDto.ShippingMethodCase.Rows[0]; 
 txtTotalWeight.Text = row.Total; 
 txtCharge.Text = row.Charge; 
 txtStartDate.Text = row.StartDate.ToString(); 
}
```

## Access shipping information

The following example shows how to display shipping methods to users and the respective rates for each, based on the current cart.

```csharp
//Get the list of all shipping methods to be filtered 
ShippingMethodDto methods = ShippingManager.GetShippingMethods(SiteContext.Current.LanguageName);  

// filter the list for only methods that apply to this particular cart's shipping address 
List<ShippingMethodDto.ShippingMethodRow> shippingRows = new List<ShippingMethodDto.ShippingMethodRow>(); 

foreach (ShippingMethodDto.ShippingMethodRow method in methods.ShippingMethod.Rows) 
  {
    shippingRows.Add(method); 
  }

List<ShippingRate> list = new List<ShippingRate>(); 

foreach (ShippingMethodDto.ShippingMethodRow row in shippingRows) 
  { 
    Type type = Type.GetType(row.ShippingOptionRow.ClassName); 
    string message = String.Empty; 
    IShippingGateway provider = (IShippingGateway)Activator.CreateInstance(type); 

    List<LineItem> items = new List<LineItem>(); 

    foreach(LineItem lineItem in CartHelper.LineItems) 
      {
        items.Add(lineItem); 
      }

    if (items.Count > 0) 
      {
        list.Add(provider.GetRate(row.ShippingMethodId, items.ToArray(), ref message)); 
      }
  }
```

To store information for a selected shipping method, use the LineItem properties. You do not need to create a shipment object, since the Cart Prepare workflow handles this.

```csharp
ShippingMethodDto methods = ShippingManager.GetShippingMethods(SiteContext.Current.LanguageName); 

ShippingMethodDto.ShippingMethodRow row = methods.ShippingMethod.FindByShippingMethodId(new Guid(ShippingRatesList.SelectedValue)); 
foreach (LineItem lineItem in CartHelper.LineItems) 
  { 
    lineItem.ShippingMethodName = row.DisplayName; 
    lineItem.ShippingMethodId = row.ShippingMethodId; 
  }
```