Category: WooCommerce

What order meta actually is

Before you start: find your meta key

1. Open any order that has the data you want to display
2. Scroll down to the Custom Fields section (if you don’t see it, click Screen Options at the top of the page and check the Custom Fields box)
3. Look at the “Name” column – that’s your meta key

Create your first custom column

1. Go to WooCommerce > Orders
2. Click Screen Options (top-right corner)
3. In the Columns section, click the + button
4. Fill in the form:
5. Column Name: What you want the header to say (e.g., “Delivery Date”)
6. Meta Key: The exact key from the step above (e.g.,

   1	_delivery_date

   )
7. Column Type: How to format the data – Text, Number, Date, or Yes/No
8. Click Create Column
9. Check the new column’s box to enable it
10. Close Screen Options

Picking the right column type

Three columns worth building today

1. Delivery date

• Column Name: Expected Delivery
• Meta Key:

  1	_delivery_date

  (check your plugin’s documentation)
• Column Type: Date

2. PO number

• Column Name: PO Number
• Meta Key:

  1	_po_number

  (varies by plugin)
• Column Type: Text

3. Gift message

• Column Name: Gift Message
• Meta Key:

  1	_gift_message

  (varies by plugin)
• Column Type: Text

Combine custom columns with views

1. Create a custom “Expected Delivery” column (as described above)
2. Create a custom “Delivery Date Range” filter (click + in the Filters section, same meta key, type: Date range)
3. Enable both the column and the filter
4. Set the filter to this week’s date range
5. Add built-in columns: Order #, Customer name, Products
6. Click the + in the custom views block above the orders list
7. Name it “This Week’s Deliveries” and save

Managing your custom columns

When a column shows blank

Try it yourself