# How to Edit the Related Products Module in WooCommerce: A Beginner’s Guide
WooCommerce’s related products module is a powerful tool for boosting sales. By suggesting complementary items, you can increase your average order value and offer customers a more satisfying shopping experience. But what if the default related products aren’t quite right? This guide shows you how to easily customize and edit the related products module in WooCommerce, even if you’re a complete beginner.
Understanding the Related Products Module
Before diving into edits, let’s understand how this module works. WooCommerce automatically suggests related products based on several factors, including:
- Categories: Products in the same category.
- Tags: Products with shared tags.
- Purchase History: Products frequently bought together.
- Customize the algorithm: Fine-tune how related products are selected.
- Add cross-selling or upselling capabilities: Suggest higher-priced or complementary items.
- Use more sophisticated logic: Base relationships on things like color, size, or brand.
The algorithm aims to present relevant and compelling suggestions, but it’s not always perfect. For example, if you sell both t-shirts and socks, the algorithm might link them inappropriately if they share a broad category like “Apparel.” That’s where manual editing comes in handy.
Editing Related Products: Three Key Methods
You have several ways to tweak the related products displayed on your WooCommerce product pages:
1. Manual Selection in the Product Editor
This is the simplest approach, perfect for fine-grained control over individual products.
1. Go to Products: In your WordPress dashboard, navigate to `Products > All Products`.
2. Edit a Product: Select the product you want to customize and click “Edit.”
3. Related Products Section: Explore this article on How To Refund Money In Woocommerce Scroll down to the “Linked Products” section (it might be titled slightly differently depending on your theme).
4. Add or Remove Products: Use the search bar to find and add products you want to link. You can remove unwanted suggestions simply by clicking the ‘x’ next to them.
5. Save Changes: Click “Update” to save your changes.
Real-life example: Imagine you sell a “Luxury Coffee Maker.” Instead of letting the algorithm suggest random coffee beans, you manually select premium, single-origin beans that complement your coffee maker. This creates a more cohesive and higher-value shopping experience.
2. Using WooCommerce Plugins
Several plugins offer advanced features to manage related products, offering much more control than Read more about How To Use Woocommerce With A Very Old Website the default functionality. These plugins often allow you to:
Example: A popular plugin like “YITH WooCommerce Related Products” provides many customizable options for displaying and managing related products. However, remember to always check reviews and ensure compatibility with your theme and other plugins.
3. Discover insights on How To Change Color Of Paypal Buttons In Woocommerce Customizing with Code (Advanced)
For experienced developers, modifying WooCommerce’s core functionality is possible. This involves modifying WooCommerce templates or using hooks. This is generally NOT recommended for beginners, as incorrect code can break your site.
Here’s a simplified example illustrating how you might modify the query that fetches related products using a hook (This requires understanding PHP and WooCommerce’s code structure):
add_filter( 'woocommerce_related_products_args', 'custom_related_products_args', 10, 2 ); function custom_related_products_args( $args, $product_id ) { //Modify the args array to customize the query for related products $args['posts_per_page'] = 4; // Show only 4 related products $args['orderby'] = 'rand'; //Order products randomly return $args; }
This code snippet changes the number of related products displayed and randomizes their order. Remember to place this code in your theme’s `functions.php` file or a custom plugin. Always back up your site before making code changes.
Conclusion
Customizing WooCommerce’s related products module can significantly improve your sales and user experience. Start with the simple manual method to get comfortable, then explore plugins for more advanced features. Remember, careful planning and a clear understanding of your product offerings are crucial for successful customization.
