How To Reorder The Categories In Woocommerce

How to Reorder Categories in WooCommerce: A Beginner’s Guide

So, you’ve got a beautiful WooCommerce store up and running. But you’ve noticed something… the categories are a mess! They’re not in a logical order, and customers are getting lost trying to find what they need. Don’t panic! Reordering categories in WooCommerce is easier than you might think. This guide will walk you through several methods, ensuring your products are organized and your customers have a smooth shopping experience.

Think of it like this: imagine a supermarket where all the products are randomly placed. Finding milk would be a Learn more about How To Get Userid In Woocommerce nightmare! A well-organized store (or website) is crucial for a good customer experience and increased sales. That’s exactly what reordering your categories helps you achieve.

Why Reordering Categories Matters

Before we jump into the “how,” let’s understand the “why.”

Improved User Experience: A logical category structure makes navigation intuitive and helps customers find products quickly. For example, if you sell clothing, having “Men’s,” “Women’s,” and “Kids'” categories at the top level makes sense.
Increased Sales: When customers can easily find what they’re looking for, they’re more likely to buy! A confusing category structure can lead to frustration and abandoned shopping carts.
Better SEO: A well-organized website is easier for search engines to crawl and understand. This can indirectly improve your search engine rankings.
Brand Image: A clean and organized website projects professionalism and builds trust with your customers.

Now that we understand the importance, let’s get to the methods.

Method 1: Drag and Drop (The Easiest!)

This is the simplest and most common method for reordering categories in WooCommerce.

1. Log into your WordPress admin panel. This is usually found at `yourdomain.com/wp-admin`.

2. Navigate to Products > Categories. You’ll see a list of all your product categories.

3. Hover over the category you want to move. You’ll see the cursor change to a hand icon.

4. Click and drag the category to its desired position. A visual guide will show where the category will be placed.

5. Release the mouse button. The category will be moved to its new position.

6. Repeat steps 3-5 for all the categories you want to reorder. The changes are saved automatically, so no need to click “Save”!

Example: Let’s say you sell coffee, tea, and accessories. You might want to order your categories like this:

1. Coffee

2. Tea

3. Accessories

Simply drag and drop them into this order. Easy peasy!

Method 2: Using the “Order” Field (For Finer Control)

While drag and drop is great, sometimes you need more precise control. WooCommerce provides an “Order” field for each category. This field assigns a numerical value to each category, and categories are displayed in ascending order based on this value.

1. Log into your WordPress admin panel.

2. Navigate to Products > Categories.

3. Hover over the category you want to reorder and click “Edit”. You’ll be taken to the category’s edit page.

4. Scroll down to the “Order” field. This is usually located under the “Description” field.

5. Enter a numerical value for the category’s order. Lower numbers will appear higher in the list.

6. Click “Update” to save the changes.

Example:

Category “Coffee” – Order: 1
Category “Tea” – Order: 2
Category “Accessories” – Order: 3

This will ensure “Coffee” appears first, followed by “Tea” and then “Accessories.”

Reasoning: The “Order” field is particularly useful if you have many categories and the drag-and-drop method becomes cumbersome. It also provides a more consistent and predictable way to order your categories.

Method 3: Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order Plugin (For Advanced Sorting)

For more complex sorting options and features, you can use a plugin like “Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order”. This plugin allows you to:

Sort categories by name, ID, slug, or custom order.
Sort subcategories independently of parent categories.
Sort other taxonomies besides categories (like tags).

Here’s how to use it:

1. Install and activate the “Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order” plugin. You can find it in the WordPress plugin directory (Plugins > Add New).

2. Navigate to Products > Taxonomy Order. A new menu item will appear with the name of your Taxonomy if you have already active this plugin.

3. Drag and drop your categories into the desired order. The interface is very similar to the drag-and-drop method in method 1.

4. Click “Update” to save the changes.

Reasoning: This plugin is powerful because it offers more flexibility than the built-in WooCommerce features. For example, you can sort your categories alphabetically or by the number of products they contain (if you implement custom code to track this).

Method 4: Custom Code (For the Experts)

If you’re comfortable with PHP code, you can use custom code to alter the category order. This method is not recommended for beginners. It requires knowledge of WordPress hooks and filters.

Here’s a basic example of how to modify the category query using the `get_terms` filter:

 <?php /** Custom category order.
 * @param array $terms Array of found terms.
 @param array $taxonomies An array of taxonomies.
 @param array $args An array of get_terms() arguments.
 @return array
 */ function my_custom_category_order( $terms, $taxonomies, $args ) { if ( ! is_admin() && in_array( 'product_cat', $taxonomies ) ) { usort( $terms, function( $a, $b ) { // Custom logic here. Example: order by name. return strcmp( $a->name, $b->name ); }); } return $terms; } add_filter( 'get_terms', 'my_custom_category_order', 10, 3 ); ?>

Important: Place this code in your theme’s `functions.php` file or a custom plugin. Always back up your website before making code changes!

Explanation:

`get_terms` is a WordPress filter that allows you to modify the results of the `get_terms()` function (which is used to retrieve categories).
`in_array( ‘product_cat’, $taxonomies )` ensures this code only affects product categories.
`usort()` is a PHP function that sorts an array using a custom comparison function. In this example, it sorts the categories alphabetically by name.
You’ll need to modify the `strcmp()` line to implement your desired sorting logic.

Reasoning: While this method offers the most flexibility, it’s also the most complex. It’s best used when you need very specific sorting criteria that aren’t available through other methods.

Choosing the Right Method

Drag and Drop: Best for simple reordering and a small number of categories.
“Order” Field: Good for precise control and larger category lists.
Category Order Plugin: Excellent for advanced sorting options and sorting other taxonomies.
Custom Code: Only use if you have coding experience and need very specific sorting logic.

Final Thoughts

Reordering your WooCommerce categories is a simple but powerful way to improve your customer’s shopping experience and boost your sales. By following these methods, you can create a well-organized and user-friendly online store that helps your customers find what they need quickly and easily. Happy selling! Remember to test your changes on a staging environment before implementing them on your live website! Good luck!