WooCommerce Product Page: Adding Related Products (The Easy Way!)
So, you’ve got a fantastic WooCommerce store, filled with awesome products. But are you making the most of your product pages? One simple trick to boost sales and keep customers browsing is adding related products. Think of it as the friendly store assistant pointing customers to similar items they might like.
This article will walk you through how to easily add related products to your WooCommerce product pages, even if you’re a complete newbie. No coding wizardry required (at least not in the basic setup!).
Why Add Related Products?
Imagine you’re buying a tent. You land on the product page, check it out, and think, “Yeah, this is good, but…” What if you saw a section below showcasing sleeping bags, camping stoves, or lanterns? You might think, “Oh, right! I need those too!”
That’s the power of related products. Here’s why they’re so beneficial:
- Increase Sales: By suggesting related items, you encourage customers to add more to their cart.
- Improve User Experience: You help customers discover products they might not have found otherwise, making their shopping experience more convenient.
- Boost Average Order Value: Getting customers to add just one more item can significantly increase your overall revenue.
- Reduce Bounce Rate: Related products keep visitors engaged on your site longer, reducing the likelihood of them leaving without buying anything.
- Real-Life Example: If you sell a “Deluxe Backpack” in the “Backpacks” category and tag it with “Hiking,” “Travel,” and “Waterproof,” WooCommerce will likely show other backpacks also in the “Backpacks” category and/or tagged with “Hiking,” “Travel,” or “Waterproof” as related products.
- Theme Compatibility: The appearance and location of related products are controlled by your theme. Most modern WooCommerce themes support this feature out of the box. If you don’t see related products appearing, check your theme settings or contact your theme developer.
- Limited Control: With this method, you don’t get to choose *exactly* which products are displayed. It relies on the algorithm based on categories and tags.
- In the “Upsells” field, start typing the name of a product you want to suggest as an upsell. WooCommerce will provide a list of matching products. Select the desired product.
- In the “Cross-sells” field, do the same to add cross-sell suggestions.
- Real-Life Example:
- Upsell: If the current product is a basic laptop, you might upsell a higher-end model with more RAM and a faster processor.
- Cross-sell: If the current product is a digital camera, you might cross-sell memory cards, camera bags, or a spare battery.
The WooCommerce Automatic Related Products Feature (The Easiest Way)
Good news! WooCommerce has a built-in feature that automatically displays related products based on shared tags and categories. This is the quickest and easiest way to get started.
Here’s how it works:
1. Category and Tag Setup: Make sure your products are properly categorized and tagged. Think of categories as broad groups (e.g., “Tents,” “Camping Stoves”) and tags Check out this post: How To Tell When Woocommerce Database Backup Is Done as more specific descriptors (e.g., “3-Person Tent,” “Propane Stove,” “Lightweight”). Accurate categorization and tagging are KEY for this method to work well.
2. WooCommerce Does the Rest: The default WooCommerce template will automatically display related products at the bottom of the product page. The system looks at the current product’s categories and tags and finds other products with matching categories or tags.
Important Considerations:
Controlling Related Products with Upsells and Cross-sells (More Control)
If you want more control over which products are displayed as “related,” WooCommerce offers Upsells and Cross-sells.
* Upsells: These are products you want to encourage the customer to buy *instead of* the product they are currently viewing. They are often higher-priced, higher-quality, or more feature-rich versions. These are displayed on the product page, often suggesting a more premium option.
* Cross-sells: These are products you want to encourage the customer to buy *in addition to* the product they are currently viewing. These are often complementary items. These are typically displayed in the cart.
Here’s how to set them up:
1. Edit the Product: Go to your WordPress dashboard, then Products > All Products. Find the product you want to edit and click “Edit.”
2. Navigate to Linked Products: Scroll down to the “Product data” meta box. Select the “Linked Products” tab.
3. Add Upsells and Cross-sells:
4. Update the Product: Click the “Update” button to save your changes.
Advanced Techniques (For the More Technically Inclined)
If you need even more control over the related product display, you can use custom code Explore this article on How To Hide Woocommerce Notices to modify the way WooCommerce determines and displays related products. This requires some knowledge of PHP and WooCommerce hooks.
Important Note: Incorrectly modifying your theme files or WooCommerce code can break your site. Always back up your site before making any changes. It’s often best to create a child theme for customization so that updates to the parent theme don’t overwrite your changes.
Here’s a basic example of how you could modify the number of related products displayed using a filter:
<?php /**
Explanation:
- This code snippet uses the `woocommerce_output_related_products_args` filter.
- It modifies the `$args` array, which controls how related products are displayed.
- `posts_per_page` sets the number of related products to show.
- `columns` sets the number of columns to display them in.
- Where to Add the Code: This code should be added to your child theme’s `functions.php` file, or using a code snippets plugin.
Other advanced techniques include:
- Custom queries: You can write your own custom queries to fetch related products based on more specific criteria (e.g., products from the same vendor, products with similar attributes).
- Plugins: Several WooCommerce plugins offer advanced related product features, such as personalized recommendations, A/B testing, and more granular control over the display.
Conclusion: Make Related Products Work for You!
Adding related products to your WooCommerce store is a simple yet powerful way to boost sales, improve user experience, and increase customer engagement. Start with the automatic related products based on categories and tags. Then, experiment with upsells and cross-sells for more control. If Check out this post: How To Style Thead Woocommerce you need more advanced customization, explore custom code or plugins. By strategically using related products, you can transform your product pages into powerful sales tools!