How to Show Different Categories in Your WooCommerce Shop (Easy Guide for Newbies!)
So you’ve got a WooCommerce store, filled with awesome products. But right now, your shop page is just a jumble of everything. It’s like walking into a huge warehouse with no signs! Wouldn’t it be much better if people could easily browse by category? Absolutely!
This guide will walk you through how to show different product categories on your WooCommerce shop page, making it easier for customers to find what they’re looking for. We’ll keep it simple and newbie-friendly!
Why Show Categories on Your Shop Page?
Think about your own online shopping habits. When you’re looking for something specific, what do you do? You probably head straight for a category, right?
Here’s why showing categories on your shop page is a game-changer:
- Improved Explore this article on How Do I Push A Woocommerce Plugin To WordPress User Experience: Makes navigation easier and more intuitive. Customers can quickly find the products they’re interested in.
- Increased Conversions: A better user experience often leads to more sales. Happy customers buy more!
- Better SEO (Search Engine Optimization): Organized product categories help search engines understand your website’s structure and content, which can improve your search ranking. Think of it like having clear labels on your warehouse shelves – Google (and other search engines) can find what they need faster!
- Reduced Bounce Rate: When visitors can easily find what they’re looking for, they’re less likely to leave your site.
- “Show products”: This is the default setting. It shows all your products in the shop page, as you’ve experienced.
- “Show categories”: This will display only the categories in your shop. When a user clicks on a category, they’ll then see the products within that category.
- “Show categories & products”: This option displays your product categories *above* your products. This is a great option if you want to guide users through your categories but still showcase your individual products.
Method 1: Using the WooCommerce Customizer (Easiest Method!)
WooCommerce makes it incredibly easy to display categories right from the WordPress Customizer. This is the recommended method for beginners because it requires no code.
1. Go to Appearance > Customize: In your WordPress dashboard, hover over “Appearance” and click “Customize.”
2. Navigate to WooCommerce > Product Catalog: In the Customizer menu on the left, find and click “WooCommerce,” then select “Product Catalog.”
3. Change “Shop page display”: You’ll see a dropdown menu labeled “Shop page display.” Click on it.
4. Choose your desired display option: You have a few options here:
5. Customize Category Display (Optional): You can often find additional settings to control how your categories are displayed, such as the number of columns.
6. Publish Your Changes: Don’t forget to click the “Publish” button at the top of the Customizer to save your changes!
Example: Explore this article on How To Add Categories Brand In Woocommerce Csv Let’s say you sell clothing. You might have categories like “T-Shirts,” “Jeans,” and “Sweaters.” Using the Customizer, you can set your shop page to display these categories instead of all your clothes mixed together. Much neater, right?
Method 2: Using a WooCommerce Shortcode
WooCommerce provides shortcodes that allow you to display various elements, including product categories. This is useful for displaying categories on specific pages Check out this post: How To View Customer Cart In Woocommerce or within other content areas.
1. Choose where to display the categories: Decide on which page or post you want to display your product categories.
2. Insert the shortcode: Edit the page or post and insert the following shortcode:
[product_categories]
3. Customize the shortcode (Optional): You can customize the shortcode with attributes to control how the categories are displayed. Here are a few common attributes:
- `columns`: Specifies the number of columns to use for displaying the categories (e.g., `columns=”3″`).
- `orderby`: Specifies how to order the categories (e.g., `orderby=”name”` for alphabetical order, `orderby=”count”` for order by the number of products in each category).
- `order`: Specifies the order direction (e.g., `order=”ASC”` for ascending, `order=”DESC”` for descending).
- `hide_empty`: Specifies whether to hide categories with no products (e.g., `hide_empty=”1″` to hide empty categories).
- `parent`: Specifies a parent category ID to only show subcategories of that parent (e.g., `parent=”15″` to show subcategories of category with ID 15).
Example: To display categories in 4 columns, ordered by name, and hiding empty categories, you would use the following shortcode:
[product_categories columns="4" orderby="name" hide_empty="1"]
4. Update your page or post: Save your changes and view the page to see your product categories displayed.
Real-life Example: Imagine you want to create a separate landing page just for “Summer Deals.” You can use the shortcode to only display categories related to summer products on that page. This provides a focused and relevant experience for your visitors. You will have to know ID of categories that you want to display.
Method 3: Using a WordPress Theme with WooCommerce Integration
Many WordPress themes are specifically designed for WooCommerce and come with built-in options for displaying categories on your shop page or other pages. The implementation varies depending on the theme. Check your theme’s documentation or customizer settings for specific instructions.
Example: Your theme might have a widget area specifically for displaying categories. You can then drag a “WooCommerce Product Categories” widget into that area.
Method 4: Using Custom PHP Code (Advanced!)
This method is for those comfortable with PHP coding and modifying their theme’s files. It is not recommended for beginners.
You can add code to your theme’s `functions.php` file or create a custom plugin to modify the shop page display. This allows for complete control over the output, but it requires a solid understanding of WordPress and WooCommerce development.
Example:
<?php add_filter( 'woocommerce_before_shop_loop', 'display_product_categories_before_shop_loop', 10 );
function display_product_categories_before_shop_loop() {
if ( is_shop() ) {
echo ‘
- ‘;
$args = array(
‘taxonomy’ => ‘product_cat’,
‘orderby’ => ‘name’,
‘show_count’ => 0,
‘pad_counts’ => 0,
‘hierarchical’ => 1,
‘title_li’ => ”,
‘hide_empty’ => 1
);
wp_list_categories( $args );
echo ‘
‘;
}
}
?>
Important Note: Always back up your website before making any changes to your theme’s files or using custom code! Also, consider using a child theme so your changes aren’t overwritten when the parent theme is updated.
Choosing the Right Method
- Beginners: The WooCommerce Customizer (Method 1) is the easiest and most recommended method.
- Intermediate Users: The WooCommerce shortcode (Method 2) provides more flexibility for displaying categories on specific pages.
- Theme-Specific Users: If your theme has built-in WooCommerce integration, use the theme’s options.
- Advanced Users: Custom PHP code offers the most control but requires coding knowledge.
Final Thoughts
Showing product categories on your WooCommerce shop page is a simple but powerful way to improve the user experience and increase sales. Choose the method that best suits your comfort level and technical skills. Happy selling!
