WooCommerce: Mastering Reviews – Enable, Disable, or Completely Remove the Reviews Tab
WooCommerce reviews are a double-edged sword. On one hand, positive reviews can boost your sales and build trust with potential customers. On the other hand, negative or even fake reviews can hurt your reputation and drive customers away. So, how do you manage reviews effectively? This guide will walk you through how to enable, disable, and even completely remove the reviews tab in your WooCommerce store. We’ll cover everything in a simple, beginner-friendly way.
Why Manage WooCommerce Reviews?
Before we dive into the “how-to,” let’s understand *why* you might want to manage reviews:
- Boosting Credibility: Genuine positive reviews act as social proof. Think of it like this: you’re buying a new blender online. Would you trust the blender with 50 five-star reviews or the one with no reviews? Probably the one with raving reviews.
- Providing Feedback: Reviews give you invaluable insights into your products and customer experience. Are customers consistently complaining about shipping times? Time to look into your logistics!
- Managing Negative Feedback: Addressing negative reviews promptly shows customers you care and can turn a negative experience into a positive one. Think of it as damage control before the “bad word” spreads.
- Preventing Spam and Fake Reviews: Unfortunately, fake reviews are a reality. Removing or disabling reviews can be a temporary solution if you’re battling a flood of inauthentic feedback.
Enabling WooCommerce Reviews
By default, WooCommerce enables reviews. If, for some reason, they’re disabled, here’s how to turn them back on:
1. Navigate to WooCommerce Settings: In your WordPress dashboard, go to WooCommerce > Settings.
2. Click the “Products” Tab: You’ll find several tabs across the top of the settings page. Choose the “Products” tab.
3. General Sub-Tab: Ensure you are in the “General” sub-tab (usually the default).
4. Enable Reviews: Look for the “Enable product reviews” checkbox. Make sure it’s checked!
5. Save Changes: Scroll down and click the “Save changes” button.
That’s it! Your reviews are now enabled.
Disabling WooCommerce Reviews
Sometimes, you might want to temporarily disable reviews. Maybe you’re launching a new product and want to gather internal feedback first, or perhaps you’re dealing with a spam review attack.
Disabling reviews follows the same steps as enabling, but in reverse:
1. Navigate to WooCommerce Settings: In your WordPress dashboard, go to WooCommerce > Settings.
2. Click the “Products” Tab:
3. General Sub-Tab:
4. Disable Reviews: Uncheck the “Enable product reviews” checkbox.
5. Save Changes: Scroll down and click the “Save changes” button.
Now, customers can’t leave new reviews on your products. Existing reviews will still be visible. If you want to hide those too, keep reading!
Removing the Reviews Tab Entirely
Completely removing the reviews tab requires a bit more effort. You have a few options: using a plugin, adding code to your theme’s `functions.php` file, or modifying the theme templates directly.
Option 1: Using a Plugin (Recommended for Beginners)
Several plugins can help you remove the reviews tab without touching any code. Search for plugins like “WooCommerce Tab Manager” or “YITH WooCommerce Tab Manager” in the WordPress plugin repository. These plugins typically offer a user-friendly interface to control which tabs are displayed on your product pages.
Example:
1. Install and activate the plugin.
2. Navigate to the plugin’s settings (usually found under WooCommerce).
3. Locate the “Reviews” tab in the list of available tabs.
4. Disable or remove the “Reviews” tab.
5. Save your changes.
Option 2: Using Code (functions.php – Caution!)
Warning: Editing your theme’s `functions.php` file can break your website if done incorrectly. Always back up your website before making any code changes!
You can add the following code snippet to your theme’s `functions.php` file (or a child theme’s `functions.php` file):
add_filter( 'woocommerce_product_tabs', 'woo_remove_product_tabs', 98 );
function woo_remove_product_tabs( $tabs ) {
unset( $tabs[‘reviews’] ); // Remove the reviews tab
return $tabs;
}
Explanation:
- `add_filter( ‘woocommerce_product_tabs’, ‘woo_remove_product_tabs’, 98 );`: This line tells WordPress to run the `woo_remove_product_tabs` function when the product tabs are being generated.
- `function woo_remove_product_tabs( $tabs ) { … }`: This defines our custom function.
- `unset( $tabs[‘reviews’] );`: This is the key line. It removes the “reviews” tab from the `$tabs` array.
- `return $tabs;`: This returns the modified `$tabs` array without the reviews tab.
Option 3: Modifying Theme Templates (Advanced)
This is the most advanced option and requires a good understanding of WooCommerce templates and your theme’s structure. The exact steps vary depending on your theme, but generally, you’ll need to:
1. Locate the `single-product/tabs/tabs.php` template: This file is responsible for rendering the product tabs. Never edit the original WooCommerce template directly! Instead, copy it to your theme’s folder (create a `woocommerce` folder, then a `single-product` folder, and then a `tabs` folder) to override it.
2. Edit the copied template: Comment out or remove the code that displays the reviews tab. This usually involves finding the relevant section within the `
- ` or `
- ` tags.
Example (Illustrative):
Imagine your `tabs.php` file looks something like this:
$tab ) : ?>
<li class="_tab” id=”tab-title-” role=”tab” aria-controls=”tab-“>
<a href="#tab-“>
$tab ) : ?>
<div class="woocommerce-Tabs-panel woocommerce-Tabs-panel– panel entry-content wc-tab” id=”tab-” role=”tabpanel” aria-labelledby=”tab-title-“>
<?php
if ( isset( $tab[‘callback’] ) ) {
call_user_func( $tab[‘callback’], $key, $tab );
}
?>
