How To Show Related Products Woocommerce

How to Show Related Products in WooCommerce: A Beginner’s Guide

WooCommerce makes it incredibly easy to sell products online, but did you know it also has a built-in feature to suggest related products to your customers? Showing related products can significantly boost your sales by encouraging customers to add more items to their cart. This article will guide you through how to leverage this powerful feature.

Why Show Related Products? The Sales Booster

Imagine you’re buying a new phone case online. While you’re browsing, the website suggests a screen protector and a pop socket, items that are commonly purchased with phone cases. That’s the magic of related products!

Here’s why showing related products is a good idea:

Increased Sales: By suggesting complementary items, you encourage customers to buy more. Think of it as an “impulse buy” opportunity within your online store.
Improved User Experience: It helps customers discover products they might not have otherwise found, improving their overall experience on your site. They might not have known you carried that perfect accessory!
Boosted Average Order Value (AOV): When customers add related products to their cart, the total value of their order increases, boosting your profits.
Reduced Bounce Rate: If a customer isn’t completely satisfied with the initial product they viewed, related products can keep them engaged on your site for longer.

WooCommerce’s Default Related Products Feature

WooCommerce comes with a built-in related products functionality. It’s a great starting point and requires no extra plugins in many cases!

How it Check out this post: How To Add Instagram Profile In Woocommerce Works:

By default, WooCommerce determines related products based on shared categories and tags with the product a customer is currently viewing. So, if you sell a “Red T-Shirt” in the “Shirts” category with the tag “Cotton,” WooCommerce will display other products that are also in the “Shirts” category and/or have the “Cotton” tag.

Where to Find Them:

Related products typically appear at the bottom of the product page, usually below the product description and reviews. They are often displayed in a carousel or grid format.

Example:

Let’s say Check out this post: How To Delete Footer In Product Page Woocommerce you’re selling a camera. WooCommerce might show related products like:

Camera lenses
Tripods
Memory cards
Camera bags

Because these items are often purchased alongside cameras or share similar categories/tags.

Customizing Related Products (No Coding Required – Mostly!)

While WooCommerce’s default functionality is useful, you might want more control over *which* products are displayed. Here are some ways to influence the related products without diving too deep into code:

1. Categories and Tags are Your Friend:

Ensure you’re using relevant and specific categories and tags for each product. The more accurate your categorization, the better WooCommerce can identify related items.
Think about the product associations carefully. For instance, a “Hiking Backpack” should be tagged with “Hiking,” “Backpack,” “Outdoor Gear,” etc.

2. Upsells and Cross-sells:

While technically *not* “related products” in the same block, upsells and cross-sells are incredibly powerful and *you* control exactly what is shown. Consider these more *deliberate* suggestions.

Upsells: Found on the product edit page in WooCommerce. These are products that are *similar* to the product the user is viewing, but higher quality or more expensive. Think of suggesting a “Pro” version of software when the user is looking at the “Basic” version.
Cross-sells: Also found on the product edit page in WooCommerce. These are items that are *often purchased together* with the current product. Think of suggesting batteries when someone is buying a toy.

How to set them up:

1. Go to the product you want to edit in your WooCommerce admin panel.

2. Scroll down to the “Product data” meta box.

3. Click on the “Linked Products” tab.

4. Use the “Upsells” and “Cross-sells” search boxes to find the products you want to link.

5. Update the product.

Customizing Related Products (Advanced – Using Code)

If you want even *more* control, you can customize the related products display using code. This requires a bit of PHP knowledge. Use a child theme Explore this article on How To Use A Block Editor Page In Woocommerce when making code changes to avoid losing your customizations during theme updates.

Here’s an example of how you might modify the number of related products displayed:

 <?php /** Change the number of related products on a product page
 Set your own value for 'posts_per_page'
 */ function woo_related_products_limit( $args ) { $args['posts_per_page'] = 4; // Number of related products $args['columns'] = 4; // Number of columns return $args; } add_filter( 'woocommerce_output_related_products_args', 'woo_related_products_limit' ); ?>

Explanation:

This code snippet modifies the `woocommerce_output_related_products_args` filter, which controls the arguments passed to the related products query.
`posts_per_page` sets the number of related products to display.
`columns` sets the number of columns in the grid.
Important: This code should be added to your child theme’s `functions.php` file or using a code snippet plugin (e.g., Code Snippets).

WooCommerce Plugins for Related Products

Several plugins offer more advanced features and customization options for related products:

WooCommerce Related Products: This plugin allows you to manually select related products, override the default WooCommerce algorithm, and exclude specific products from being displayed.
Frequently Bought Together: Suggests products that are often purchased together, similar to Amazon’s “Frequently Bought Together” section. This is great for bundling.
Also Bought: Analyzes customer purchase history to identify products that are commonly bought together and displays them as related products. Relies on actual data.

These plugins can provide more granular control and better data-driven recommendations.

Best Practices for Showing Related Products

Relevance is Key: Ensure the related products are genuinely relevant to the product the customer is viewing. Irrelevant suggestions can be annoying and detract from the user experience.
Don’t Overdo It: Too many related products can overwhelm the customer. Stick to a reasonable number (e.g., 4-6) to avoid clutter.
Visually Appealing: Ensure the related product images are high-quality and visually appealing. Good imagery makes customers more likely to click.
Mobile-Friendly: Ensure the related products display correctly on mobile devices. A responsive design is essential.
Test and Optimize: Experiment with different strategies and monitor your sales data to see what works best for your store. A/B testing can be helpful.

Conclusion

Showing related products is a simple yet powerful way to boost sales and improve the user experience in your WooCommerce Check out this post: Woocommerce How To Beautifully Showcase A Product On A Page store. By understanding the built-in features, utilizing categories and tags effectively, and considering advanced customization options, you can create a more engaging and profitable online store. Remember to focus on relevance, optimize the display, and always test your strategies to maximize your results! Good luck!