How To Remove Woocommerce Archive Page Sidebar

How to Remove the WooCommerce Archive Page Sidebar: A Comprehensive Guide

Introduction:

The WooCommerce archive page, displaying product categories and shop pages, often comes with a sidebar. While sidebars can be useful for displaying widgets like product filters or promotions, they can sometimes clutter the page and detract from the overall user experience, especially on mobile devices. Removing the sidebar can create a cleaner, more focused layout, potentially improving conversion rates. This article will guide you through different methods to remove the WooCommerce archive page sidebar, allowing you to customize your online store’s appearance. We’ll cover both code-based and plugin-based approaches, catering to various skill levels.

Main Part:

Why Remove the Sidebar?

Before diving into the how-to, let’s quickly recap the benefits of removing the WooCommerce archive page sidebar:

• Improved Aesthetics: A cleaner, more streamlined layout can create a more professional and visually appealing online store.
• Enhanced Mobile Experience: Removing the sidebar simplifies the layout for mobile users, making it easier to browse and purchase products.
• Increased Focus on Products: With the sidebar gone, the spotlight shifts entirely to your products, potentially leading to higher engagement and sales.
• Faster Page Load Times: Removing unnecessary elements like the sidebar can contribute to a slightly faster page load time.

Methods to Remove the WooCommerce Archive Page Sidebar

There are several ways to remove the sidebar, ranging from simple plugin installations to code snippets. We’ll explore the most common and effective methods:

#### 1. Using a WooCommerce Plugin (Easy & Beginner-Friendly)

The easiest way to remove the sidebar is often through a dedicated plugin. Several plugins offer the ability to customize WooCommerce layouts without requiring any coding knowledge. Here are a few popular options:

• WooCommerce Layout Injector: Offers granular control over layout settings, including the ability to remove sidebars from specific pages.
• Custom Sidebars: Allows you to replace existing sidebars with custom sidebars, effectively “removing” the original sidebar by replacing it with an empty one.
• Ocean Extra (for OceanWP Theme Users): If you’re using the OceanWP theme, this plugin provides extensive customization options, including the ability to disable the sidebar on WooCommerce archive pages.

How to Use a Plugin (Example using WooCommerce Layout Injector):

1. Install and activate the WooCommerce Layout Injector plugin.

2. Go to WooCommerce > Layout Injector.

3. Create a new layout.

4. Select “Product Archive Page” as the target page.

5. Choose “Full Width” or “No Sidebar” layout option.

6. Save the layout.

This plugin provides a simple and code-free solution.

#### 2. Customizing Theme Settings (If Your Theme Supports It)

Many modern WordPress themes offer built-in options to control the sidebar layout on different pages, including WooCommerce archive pages.

How to Check for Theme Options:

1. Navigate to Appearance > Customize in your WordPress dashboard.

2. Look for sections related to WooCommerce, Layout, or Sidebar settings.

3. If available, you should find an option to select “Full Width” or “No Sidebar” for the product archive page.

This is the preferred method if your theme supports it, as it’s generally cleaner and more efficient than using plugins or code.

#### 3. Using Code Snippets (Advanced Method)

For those comfortable with code, you can use code snippets to remove the sidebar. This is a more direct approach but requires caution to avoid breaking your website.

Method 1: Using `functions.php` (Child Theme Recommended)

Add the following code snippet to your theme’s `functions.php` file (or, strongly recommended, your child theme’s `functions.php` file):

Explanation:

• `remove_woocommerce_sidebar()`: This function checks if the current page is a shop page, product category page, or product tag page.
• `is_shop()`, `is_product_category()`, `is_product_tag()`: These WooCommerce functions determine the page type.
• `remove_action( ‘woocommerce_sidebar’, ‘woocommerce_get_sidebar’, 10 )`: This removes the action that adds the sidebar to the page. It’s essentially saying, “Stop calling the `woocommerce_get_sidebar` function when the `woocommerce_sidebar` action is triggered.”
• `add_action( ‘woocommerce_before_main_content’, ‘remove_woocommerce_sidebar’ )`: This attaches our function to the `woocommerce_before_main_content` action hook, ensuring it runs before the main content of the page is displayed.

Important Considerations:

• Child Theme: Always use a child theme to modify your theme’s files. This prevents your changes from being overwritten when the parent theme is updated.
• Backup: Before making any changes to your theme files, create a backup of your website. This will allow you to restore your website if something goes wrong.

Method 2: Using a Code Snippets Plugin

Alternatively, you can use a plugin like “Code Snippets” to add and manage code snippets without directly editing your theme files. This is generally safer than directly editing `functions.php` because it deactivates the snippet if an error occurs, preventing your site from crashing.

How to Use a Code Snippets Plugin:

1. Install and activate the Code Snippets plugin.

2. Go to Snippets > Add New.

3. Paste the code snippet above into the code editor.

4. Give the snippet a descriptive name (e.g., “Remove WooCommerce Archive Sidebar”).

5. Set the snippet to run “Everywhere” or “Only in Admin.”

6. Save and activate the snippet.

Troubleshooting

• Sidebar still visible: Double-check that the code snippet or plugin is correctly installed Explore this article on How To Use Woocommerce For Sales and activated. Clear your website’s cache and browser cache. Also, ensure that your theme doesn’t have any conflicting options that are re-enabling the sidebar.
• Website crashes: If you directly edited `functions.php` and your website crashes, access your website’s files via FTP or your hosting provider’s file manager. Find Discover insights on How To Customize Divi Woocommerce Cart Page the `functions.php` Read more about How To Edit Woocommerce Code file and remove the code you added. Then, troubleshoot the code snippet for errors. This is why using a code snippets plugin is recommended.
• Layout issues: Removing Check out this post: How To Get Product Gallery Images In Woocommerce the sidebar might affect the layout of your page. You might need to adjust the width of the content area to fill the space previously occupied by the sidebar. This can be done through your theme’s custom CSS or by using a CSS editing plugin.

Conclusion:

Removing the WooCommerce archive page sidebar can be a simple yet effective way to improve the appearance and usability of your online store. Whether you choose a plugin, theme options, or code snippets, the methods outlined in this article will help you achieve a cleaner and more focused product browsing experience for your customers. Remember to back up your website before making any changes, especially when dealing with code. Choose the method that best suits your technical skills and enjoy the improved look and feel of your WooCommerce store. Testing on a staging environment before implementing changes on your live site is always recommended. Good luck!