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Every rate has an optional Description, shown beneath the rate name at checkout. It’s where you set delivery expectations — and it supports dynamic dates, so the text stays accurate without anyone editing it.

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Adding a description

The Description field sits directly under Rate name in the rate dialog. Anything you type appears at checkout beneath the method name.

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Dynamic dates

Rather than a vague duration, you can show real dates. There are three placeholder forms, differing in which days they count: N is any number, so {{today+1}}, {{today+7wd}}, and {{today+14sd}} all work. {{today}} on its own renders today’s date.

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Choosing the right form

Match the placeholder to the days you actually dispatch:
  • wd — you work Monday to Friday. The right default for most stores.
  • sd — you also dispatch on Saturdays.
  • plain +N — genuinely every day including Sundays, or a short offset where the distinction doesn’t matter.

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How the date is rendered

All three render in the same fixed format — abbreviated weekday, abbreviated month, and the day with an ordinal suffix:
Dates are calculated in your store’s timezone.

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Examples

A concrete date outperforms a duration. “Arrives by Tue, Apr 3rd” is something a customer can check against their own calendar; “3–5 business days” makes them do the arithmetic — and they will assume the worst end of the range.

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Building in your handling time

The offset counts from today, not from dispatch. If you pick and pack the next working day, add that day yourself.
None of the three forms know about public holidays. Over a long weekend or a seasonal shutdown, every quoted date runs optimistic — wd will happily count a bank holiday Monday as a working day.

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Descriptions vs. carrier estimates

Carriers like FedEx and Shiprocket return their own delivery estimates, which ShipMagic passes through to checkout. Those estimates measure transit time from collection, not from when the customer ordered — so they’re optimistic whenever you don’t dispatch same day.
If carrier estimates consistently promise more than you deliver, switch on Hide estimated delivery dates on the carrier rate and write your own description with a realistic offset instead.

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Translating descriptions

Descriptions can be translated per language along with the rate name. See Adding Translations for Shipping Rates.
Dynamic date placeholders work inside translated descriptions too — the date format follows the customer’s locale.

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What to write

Say when it arrives. The single most useful thing a description can do. Name the carrier if it helps. “Delivered by Royal Mail” reassures where the brand is trusted. Explain an unusual rate. If a surcharge applies to bulky items, saying so pre-empts a support ticket. Keep it short. Checkout is not the place for a paragraph — one line is the target.

Translations

Localise rate names and descriptions.

Rename methods

Change the method name itself via a customization.

FedEx

Suppressing carrier delivery estimates.

Basic shipping rate

The full rate dialog reference.