How to customize email templates in WooCommerce

List the messages you want to edit before changing anything. Go to WooCommerce > Settings > Emails and review the available customer and store notifications. Extensions can add their own emails, so do not assume every message is controlled by WooCommerce core.

Decide whether you only need branding, such as a logo and colours, or whether you need to change the layout, order details, buttons or custom content. Basic branding does not require a plugin or code.

In WooCommerce > Settings > Emails, edit the shared email template settings. Depending on your WooCommerce configuration, you can set the logo, logo width, header alignment, font family, footer text and colour palette. The newer email settings are controlled by the Email improvements feature under WooCommerce > Settings > Advanced > Features.

Open each individual email and select Manage to change its subject, heading, additional content, recipients and email type. Use the available placeholders rather than hard-coding order details that need to change per customer. Save each email after editing.

Use the email preview controls to check the message on desktop and mobile, then send a test email to an address you can inspect. Check the logo, line wrapping, links, order totals, buttons and footer in more than one email client. WooCommerce provides preview and test-email controls from the email settings screens.

Do not rely only on the WordPress preview. A layout that looks correct in the dashboard can wrap badly in Gmail or Outlook, especially when you add long product names, large images or custom HTML.

For a small addition, use a WooCommerce email hook instead of copying the whole template. Hooks let you add or move content at predefined points while leaving the original template untouched. Common email locations include woocommerce_email_before_order_table, woocommerce_email_after_order_table, woocommerce_email_order_meta and woocommerce_email_customer_details. Check the template you are changing to confirm the hook is present and its arguments before writing code.

Put the code in a child theme or a site-specific plugin, not in the WooCommerce plugin files. The drawback is that you need PHP knowledge and must account for HTML and plain-text email output where applicable.

For structural changes, copy the required file from wp-content/plugins/woocommerce/templates/emails/ into the matching path in your child theme, such as wp-content/themes/your-child-theme/woocommerce/emails/. Keep the same filename and directory structure, then edit the copied file. Never edit the WooCommerce plugin file or a parent theme directly because updates can erase the changes.

Check WooCommerce > Status > Templates after updates. Core templates can change while your override stays on its old version, which can cause warnings or broken email layouts. Compare and update the override carefully rather than replacing it blindly, then send new test emails.

If you need drag-and-drop sections, reusable layouts, responsive styling, dynamic order content and live previews, install and configure Mailonix WooCommerce Email Template Customizer Premium. Use it when the built-in settings are too limited and you do not want to maintain PHP templates or hooks.

Create one template at a time, include the required WooCommerce order elements, preview it on desktop and mobile, and send a test before enabling it for live notifications. Keep a simple fallback design available in case an update or extension changes the email output.