How to Generate and Print Barcodes for Shopify & WooCommerce: A Complete Guide

If you're running an e-commerce store on platforms like Shopify or WooCommerce, you probably started by tracking inventory manually. But as your business grows, fulfilling orders relying purely on memory or visual product identification becomes a recipe for disaster.

Shipping the wrong product leads to unhappy customers, negative reviews, and costly returns. The solution? Implementing a barcode system.

In this complete guide, we'll walk you through how to set up a professional barcode system for your online store, from choosing the right format to generating and printing labels in bulk.

Why Your E-commerce Store Needs Barcodes

Before diving into the "how," let's quickly cover the "why":

Eliminate Picking Errors: Scanning a product before packing guarantees that the right item goes into the right box.
Faster Fulfillment: No more searching shelves for "Blue T-Shirt Size M". A quick scan tells your system exactly what was picked.
Accurate Inventory Tracking: Every scan updates your stock levels in real-time within Shopify or WooCommerce.
Professional Appearance: Packages arriving with clean, scannable labels look much more professional than handwritten notes.

Step 1: Choose the Right Barcode Format

Not all barcodes are created equal. Your choice depends on whether you manufacture your own products or resell items, and where you plan to sell them.

Option A: You manufacture your own products (Internal Use Only)

If you make your own products (like handmade candles, custom apparel, or localized goods) and only sell them on your own website, you don't need to buy official global barcodes.

You can use Code 128.

Why? It's highly compressed, easy to scan, and allows you to use your existing SKUs (Stock Keeping Units) directly as the barcode value (e.g., TSHIRT-BLU-MED).

Option B: You plan to sell on Amazon, eBay, or in physical retail stores

If you want to put your products on Amazon FBA or sell them wholesale to supermarkets, you must use standard retail barcodes.

You need UPC-A (North America) or EAN-13 (Global).

Why? These are globally recognized standards. To use these, you must purchase official GS1 Company Prefixes so your numbers are globally unique.

Step 2: Assign Barcodes in Your E-commerce Platform

Both Shopify and WooCommerce make it easy to add barcodes to your products.

In Shopify:

Go to Products and select an item.
Scroll down to the Inventory section.
You will see a field labeled Barcode (ISBN, UPC, GTIN, etc.).
Enter your chosen barcode number (e.g., your SKU for Code 128, or your official UPC).

In WooCommerce:

You may need a free plugin like "EAN for WooCommerce" or "WooCommerce Product Barcode" as standard WooCommerce only tracks SKUs.
Once installed, edit a product and enter the barcode value in the new Barcode/EAN field.

Step 3: Generate Your Barcodes

Now that your platform knows the numbers, you need the actual scannable images to print. This is where Barcode Ready shines, especially for e-commerce owners with dozens or hundreds of products.

Instead of generating one image at a time, you can use our Bulk Export feature:

Open the Barcode Ready Generator.
Switch to the Bulk Export tab.
Copy and paste your list of SKUs or UPCs from Shopify/WooCommerce.
Select your format (e.g., CODE128).
Click Generate Bulk PDF.

You will instantly receive a single, print-ready PDF containing vector-perfect barcodes for your entire inventory list.

Step 4: Printing Your Labels

For the best results, avoid printing barcodes on standard inkjet paper using office printers. The ink can bleed, rendering the codes un-scannable.

The Best Setup: Invest in a dedicated Thermal Label Printer (like a Dymo LabelWriter, Rollo, or Zebra).

Thermal printers use heat instead of ink, meaning the labels never smudge and are highly durable.
Print using SVG or PDF formats (like the ones generated by Barcode Ready) to ensure the lines are razor-sharp. Blurry PNGs often fail under warehouse lighting.

Step 5: Scanning and Fulfilling

Once your products are labeled, you need a scanner.

Basic Setup: A simple USB or Bluetooth 1D laser scanner (around $30-$50) connected to a laptop running your Shopify/WooCommerce dashboard.
Mobile Setup: Many e-commerce owners use the Shopify Mobile App paired with their smartphone camera, though a dedicated Bluetooth scanner paired to the phone is much faster for high volume.

When an order comes in, your staff simply picks the item, scans the barcode, and the software confirms if it matches the packing slip.

Ready to Scale Your Operations?

Moving from manual tracking to a barcode system is the biggest step you can take toward professionalizing your e-commerce operations.

Don't spend hours trying to generate individual blurry images. Streamline your workflow today with professional, high-resolution bulk barcodes.

👉 Generate your Shopify & WooCommerce barcodes instantly at Barcode Ready