# How to Filter Sale Items in WooCommerce: A Comprehensive Guide
WooCommerce is a powerful e-commerce platform, but navigating its features can sometimes feel overwhelming. One common task that often trips up store owners is effectively filtering and displaying sale items. This comprehensive guide will walk you through several methods to easily filter sale items in your WooCommerce store, improving the customer experience and boosting sales.
Introduction: The Importance of Sale Item Filtering
A well-organized online store is crucial for conversions. Customers appreciate the ability to quickly find what they’re looking for, and efficient sale item filtering is a key element of a positive shopping experience. Without it, shoppers might get lost in a sea of products, potentially abandoning their carts before finding the discounted items they desire. This article covers various techniques, from simple built-in WooCommerce features to more advanced methods involving custom code and plugins. Choosing the right method depends on your technical skills and specific store needs.
Filtering Sale Items: Methods and Techniques
There are several ways to effectively display and filter your sale items in WooCommerce. Let’s explore the most common approaches:
1. Utilizing WooCommerce’s Built-in Functionality
WooCommerce offers a basic, built-in method for showcasing sale items. This is the simplest approach and often sufficient for smaller stores.
- The “On Sale” Checkbox in Product Categories: When creating or editing product categories, you’ll find a checkbox labelled “Display products on sale only“. Checking this box will automatically filter the category page to show only products currently on sale. This is a straightforward solution for simple filtering needs.
- Using the `sale` attribute: The `sale` attribute within the `[products]` shortcode lets you specifically display only sale items. For example: `[products columns=”4″ per_page=”12″ sale=”true”]` will display 12 products per page in a 4-column grid, and only those on sale.
- Customization with other attributes: You can combine the `sale` attribute with others to further refine your display. For example, to show only sale items within a specific category, you’d use something like this: `[products category=”clothing” sale=”true”]`.
- YITH WooCommerce Wishlist: While primarily a wishlist plugin, it also allows for improved filtering options, making it easier for customers to find and manage sale items.
- WooCommerce Product Filter: This plugin offers a wide array of filtering options including price ranges, attributes, and, of course, the “On Sale” status. It provides customizable visual filters for enhanced user experience.
- Filtering within a custom loop: You can use a custom loop within your theme’s template files to display only sale items. The following snippet demonstrates how to achieve this by checking the `_sale_price` meta key:
2. Employing WooCommerce Shortcodes
Shortcodes provide a flexible way to control how your sale products are displayed on specific pages. You can use the `[products]` shortcode with various attributes to achieve this.
3. Leveraging WooCommerce Plugins
Several plugins extend WooCommerce’s filtering capabilities, offering more advanced options and customization. These plugins often provide visual filters, sorting options, and improved user interfaces for browsing sale products. Popular options include:
4. Advanced Techniques: Custom Code (For Developers)
For advanced customization, you can use custom code to filter sale items. This requires some PHP knowledge.
'product',
'post_status' => 'publish',
'meta_query' => array(
array(
'key' => '_sale_price',
'compare' => 'EXISTS'
)
)
);
$loop = new WP_Query( $args );
if ( $loop->have_posts() ) {
while ( $loop->have_posts() ) {
$loop->the_post();
// Display your product here
}
wp_reset_postdata();
}
?>
Caution: Modifying core WooCommerce files directly is not recommended. Always use child themes or custom plugin development for code modifications.
Conclusion: Choosing the Right Filtering Method
The best method for filtering sale items in WooCommerce depends on your specific needs and technical abilities. For simple requirements, WooCommerce’s built-in features and shortcodes are sufficient. For more advanced filtering and a better user experience, consider utilizing plugins. And for highly customized solutions, custom code is an option but requires PHP expertise. Remember to prioritize a clean, user-friendly interface to ensure customers can easily find and purchase your sale items. By implementing effective filtering, you can significantly improve your website’s conversion rate and overall user satisfaction.
