How to Clearly Display Available Sizes on Your WooCommerce Product Page (and Boost Conversions!)
Having a beautiful online store powered by WooCommerce is fantastic, but ensuring a smooth and informative shopping experience is crucial for driving sales. One of the most common frustrations for online shoppers is struggling to find the right size when buying clothing or shoes. In this article, we’ll dive into how to effectively display available sizes on your WooCommerce product page, leading to happier customers and fewer abandoned carts. Accurately showcasing sizes is a key element in reducing returns and building trust.
Why Clear Size Display is Essential for WooCommerce Success
Before we jump into the “how,” let’s quickly understand why clear size display is so important. Think about it from the customer’s perspective:
- Reduced Uncertainty: Customers are less likely to hesitate if they can easily see their size is in stock. Uncertainty leads to cart abandonment.
- Improved User Experience: A well-organized size display is more user-friendly and saves customers time. A happy customer is more likely to become a repeat customer.
- Fewer Returns: By providing clear size information, you minimize the chances of customers ordering the wrong size and needing to return the item.
- Increased Conversion Rates: Simpler navigation and clarity about product availability directly contribute to higher conversion rates. Making it easy to buy encourages more purchases.
- Builds Trust and Professionalism: A polished and informative product page portrays professionalism and instills confidence in your brand.
- How it Works: You create a “Variable Product” instead of a “Simple Product.” Then, you define an “Attribute” called “Size” (or whatever you prefer, like “Shoe Size” or “Clothing Size”). Finally, you create “Variations” based on this attribute, specifying the available sizes (e.g., Small, Medium, Large) and their respective stock levels.
- Steps:
- Add a new attribute. Name it “Size” (or whatever you prefer).
- Check the “Used for variations” box. This is crucial!
- Enter the available sizes in the “Values” field, separating each size with a `|` (pipe) character. For example: `Small | Medium | Large | X-Large`.
- Click “Save attributes.”
- In the “Add variation” dropdown, select “Create variations from all attributes” and click “Go.”
- WooCommerce will create variations for each size. (If you have many attributes, you might want to create them manually.)
- For each variation, click the downward-pointing arrow to expand it.
- Enter the price, SKU (if applicable), manage stock, and set the stock quantity for that specific size.
- You can also upload a different image for each variation if needed.
- Click “Save changes.”
- Advantages:
- Native WooCommerce Functionality: No plugins needed for basic functionality.
- Accurate Stock Management: You can track inventory for each size individually.
- Flexible Pricing: You can set different prices for different sizes if needed.
- Easily Customizable: While the base functionality is good, you can use plugins or custom code to further enhance the display.
- Handles Out of Stock: WooCommerce will automatically disable the selection of out-of-stock sizes.
- Disadvantages:
- Can be Time-Consuming: Setting up variations for products with many sizes can be tedious.
- Default Display Might Not Be Ideal: The default variation dropdown might not be the most visually appealing or user-friendly option.
- Variation Swatches and Photos by Iconic: (Premium) Replaces dropdowns with attractive color swatches, image swatches, or button swatches.
- WooCommerce Variation Swatches by Emran Ahmed: (Free and Premium options) Offers similar functionality to Variation Swatches and Photos.
- Additional Variation Images for WooCommerce: (Free and Premium) Allows you to display multiple images for each variation, showcasing the product in different colors or styles associated with each size.
- How it Works: You install and activate the plugin, configure its settings (usually found in the WooCommerce settings or under a dedicated plugin menu), and then the plugin automatically enhances the display of your product variations, including sizes.
- Advantages:
- Improved Visual Appeal: More engaging and visually appealing size selection.
- Enhanced User Experience: Easier and more intuitive for customers to choose their size.
- Increased Conversion Rates: The better the user experience, the higher the likelihood of a sale.
- Advanced Features: Some plugins offer features like out-of-stock badges, size charts, and more.
- Disadvantages:
- Cost: Premium plugins can be expensive.
- Plugin Conflicts: Make sure the plugin is compatible with your theme and other plugins.
- Potential Performance Impact: Adding too many plugins can slow down your website.
- Example Code Snippet (Displaying sizes as a list):
Now that we know the “why,” let’s move on to the “how!”
Displaying Available Sizes in WooCommerce: Methods and Strategies
There are several ways to display available sizes on your WooCommerce product page, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. The best method for you will depend on your theme, your technical skills, and your desired level of customization.
1. Utilizing WooCommerce’s Variable Product Feature (The Recommended Approach)
This is the most common and generally the best practice for handling sizes and other variations in WooCommerce.
1. Create a New Product (or Edit an Existing One): Go to Products > Add New (or Products > All Products and edit an existing product).
2. Set Product Type to “Variable Product”: In the “Product data” meta box, change the “Simple product” dropdown to “Variable product.”
3. Create the “Size” Attribute: Go to the “Attributes” tab.
4. Create Variations: Go to the “Variations” tab.
5. Publish/Update the Product: Click the “Publish” or “Update” button.
2. Enhanced Size Display with WooCommerce Plugins
If you want to go beyond the default dropdown and offer a more visually appealing or interactive size selection experience, consider using a WooCommerce plugin. Here are a few popular options:
3. Custom Code (For Advanced Users)
If you’re comfortable with PHP and WordPress development, you can customize the size display using custom code. This offers the most flexibility but also requires the most technical expertise.
<?php add_filter( 'woocommerce_dropdown_variation_attribute_options_html', 'custom_variation_size_display', 10, 2 );
function custom_variation_size_display( $html, $args ) {
if ( $args[‘attribute’] == ‘pa_size’ ) { // Replace ‘pa_size’ with your actual size attribute slug
$options = $args[‘options’];
$product = $args[‘product’];
$name = $args[‘attribute’];
$id = esc_attr( sanitize_title( $name ) );
$class = esc_attr( $args[‘class’] ) . ‘ custom-size-list’;
$html = ‘
- ‘;
- ‘ . wc_attribute_label( $option ) . ‘
foreach ( $options as $option ) {
$html .= ‘
‘;
}
$html .= ‘
‘;
}
return $html;
}
?>
- This code snippet replaces the default dropdown with an unordered list. You’ll need to add custom CSS to style the list to your Discover insights on How To Get The Woocommerce Base Api Url liking. Remember to replace `pa_size` with the actual slug of your size attribute!
- How it Works: You add the code to your theme’s `functions.php` file (or better yet, a child theme’s `functions.php` file) or use a code snippets plugin. The code modifies the default WooCommerce behavior to display sizes in a custom way.
- Advantages:
- Maximum Flexibility: You can customize the display exactly to your needs.
- No Plugin Dependencies: Avoids potential plugin conflicts and performance issues.
- Potentially More Efficient: If written well, custom code can be more efficient than a plugin.
- Disadvantages:
- Requires Technical Expertise: You need to be comfortable with PHP, HTML, and CSS.
- Maintenance Burden: You’re responsible for maintaining and updating the code.
- Potential for Errors: Incorrect code can break your website.
Important Considerations for WooCommerce Size Display
Regardless of which method you choose, keep these important considerations in mind:
- Size Charts: Provide a clear and easy-to-understand size chart. You can add a link to the size chart near the size selection dropdown or button. Size charts are a MUST-HAVE for clothing and shoe sales.
- Out-of-Stock Handling: Clearly indicate when a size is out of stock. Disable the option to select the out-of-stock size and display a message like “Out of Stock” or “Currently Unavailable.”
- Mobile Responsiveness: Make sure your size display is mobile-friendly. Test it on different devices to ensure it looks good and is easy to use.
- Consistency: Maintain a consistent size display across all your products.
- Clear Labeling: Use clear and unambiguous size labels (e.g., “Small,” “Medium,” “Large,” “US Size 8,” “UK Size 10”).
- Test, Test, Test: Thoroughly test your size display after implementing any changes. Make sure it works correctly on different browsers and devices.
Conclusion
Displaying available sizes effectively on your WooCommerce product page is crucial for creating a positive shopping experience, reducing returns, and boosting conversions. Whether you choose to use WooCommerce’s built-in variable product feature, a dedicated plugin, or custom code, the key is to provide clear, accurate, and user-friendly size information. Prioritize the customer experience, and you’ll see the results in your sales. Remember to test your implementation thoroughly and monitor your website’s analytics to see what’s working and what could be improved. Good luck!