WooCommerce: Mastering the `menu_order` – Sort Products Like a Pro!
So, you’ve built your awesome online store with WooCommerce. You’ve got all your products listed, images uploaded, and prices set. Great! But… they’re all displaying in a seemingly random order? You want that sleek new product to be front and center, and the less popular ones tucked away at the end. Enter the unsung hero of product arrangement: the `menu_order`.
This article breaks down how to use the `menu_order` in WooCommerce to control the display order of your products, making your store more user-friendly and boosting sales. Don’t worry, it’s easier than you think!
What is the `menu_order` Anyway?
Think of the `menu_order` as a hidden “priority number” you assign to each product in WooCommerce. The lower the number, the higher it appears in the list. By default, WooCommerce sorts products by date published. The `menu_order` lets you override this and manually arrange your products.
Real-life Example: Imagine you’re running a clothing store. You just got a new line of summer dresses in. You’d naturally want to highlight these new arrivals on your shop page. Using `menu_order`, you can give these dresses a lower number, ensuring they appear at the top of the page, attracting customers and increasing sales.
Why Bother with Product Order?
Why not just let WooCommerce handle the product order? Here’s why controlling the display is crucial:
- Improved User Experience: Presenting your products in a logical and appealing order makes it easier for customers to find what they’re looking for. A clean and organized store encourages browsing and purchases.
- Strategic Product Placement: Highlight best-selling products, new arrivals, or items you’re trying to push for a promotion. This can significantly impact your sales.
- Creating a Story: Sometimes, the order of your products can tell a story or guide the customer’s journey through your store.
- Better SEO (Indirectly): While `menu_order` doesn’t directly affect SEO, a better user experience leads to longer site visits, lower bounce rates, and potentially more shares, all of which can indirectly improve your search engine ranking.
How to Set the `menu_order` in WooCommerce: The Simple Way (Admin Panel)
The easiest way to adjust the `menu_order` is directly within the WordPress admin panel.
1. Navigate to Products: Go to your WordPress dashboard and click on “Products.”
2. Quick Edit: Hover over the product you want to reorder and click “Quick Edit.”
3. Find the `menu_order` Field: In the “Quick Edit” panel, you’ll find a field labeled “Order” (or “Menu Order”).
4. Enter Your Order Number: Enter a number. Remember, smaller numbers appear higher up.
5. Update: Click the “Update” button to save your changes.
Important Note: WooCommerce, by default, may not show the ‘Order’ column in the Products listing. To enable it, click on ‘Screen Options’ at the top right of the Products page and check the ‘Order’ box. This allows you to quickly see and adjust the order of multiple products.
The Advanced Way: Custom Code for Dynamic Control
Sometimes, you need more advanced control over the `menu_order`. For example, you might want to programmatically update the order based on sales data, stock levels, or even date ranges. This requires using custom code.
Example 1: Updating `menu_order` based on Sales (Basic):
This example shows a basic, simplified snippet to illustrate the concept. This is NOT production-ready code and requires proper testing and error handling. It shows how you *could* potentially adjust the `menu_order` based on sales count (you’d need to adapt it significantly for real-world use).
// This example is highly simplified and for demonstration purposes only! add_action( 'woocommerce_process_product_meta', 'update_product_menu_order' );
function update_product_menu_order( $product_id ) {
// Get the product’s total sales. This is a placeholder; you’d need to fetch real sales data.
$sales_count = get_post_meta( $product_id, ‘_total_sales’, true );
// For demonstration: Assume more sales = lower (better) menu_order.
// Adjust the logic as needed!
$new_menu_order = 100 – intval( $sales_count ); //Example: Subtract sales from 100
// Update the post menu_order
$args = array(
‘ID’ => $product_id,
‘menu_order’ => $new_menu_order,
);
wp_update_post( $args );
}
Explanation:
- `add_action( ‘woocommerce_process_product_meta’, ‘update_product_menu_order’ );`: This line hooks into WooCommerce’s product saving process. Whenever a product is saved, the `update_product_menu_order` function will run.
- `update_product_menu_order( $product_id )`: This is the function that does the actual work. It takes the product ID as an argument.
- `$sales_count = get_post_meta( $product_id, ‘_total_sales’, true );`: This is where you’d fetch the real sales data for the product. The code as is just fetches the `_total_sales` metadata, but you would need to adapt for real sales data using `wc_get_product( $product_id )->get_total_sales()`.
- `$new_menu_order = 100 – intval( $sales_count );`: This calculates a new `menu_order` based on the sales count. The logic will depend on how you want to prioritize products. Carefully consider your logic and what values this could generate to ensure logical product arrangement.
- `wp_update_post( $args );`: This WordPress function updates the `menu_order` for the specified product.
Important Considerations for Custom Code:
- Performance: Regularly updating the `menu_order` for all your products based on a complex algorithm can impact your site’s performance. Consider caching and optimizing your code.
- Error Handling: Include robust error handling to prevent unexpected issues.
- Testing: Thoroughly test your code in a staging environment before deploying it to your live site.
- Security: Sanitize and validate all input data to prevent security vulnerabilities.
- Use `wc_get_product()`: In WooCommerce, it’s generally best practice to use `wc_get_product( $product_id )` to get a product object for accessing product data rather than relying directly on post meta. This ensures compatibility with WooCommerce updates and extensions.
Example 2: Custom sorting on front-end
You can use the action `woocommerce_get_catalog_ordering_args` and filter the order. Add this on your functions.php file.
add_filter( 'woocommerce_get_catalog_ordering_args', 'custom_woocommerce_get_catalog_ordering_args' );
function custom_woocommerce_get_catalog_ordering_args( $args ) {
$orderby_value = isset( $_GET[‘orderby’] ) ? wc_clean( $_GET[‘orderby’] ) : apply_filters( ‘woocommerce_default_catalog_orderby’, get_option( ‘woocommerce_default_catalog_orderby’ ) );
if ( ‘custom_sort’ == $orderby_value ) {
$args[‘orderby’] = ‘menu_order’;
$args[‘order’] = ‘asc’;
$args[‘meta_key’] = ”;
}
return $args;
}
add_filter( ‘woocommerce_catalog_orderby’, ‘custom_woocommerce_catalog_orderby’ );
function custom_woocommerce_catalog_orderby( $sortby ) {
$sortby[‘custom_sort’] = ‘Custom Sort’;
return $sortby;
}
Explanation:
-The first function modifies the query parameters based on the value of orderby.
-The second adds a `custom_sort` to sortby dropdown.
Remember to adjust the logic according to your specific needs.
Conclusion
The `menu_order` is a simple yet powerful tool for organizing your WooCommerce products. Whether you’re manually setting the order in the admin panel or using custom code for dynamic control, mastering the `menu_order` can significantly enhance your store’s user experience and boost your sales. Experiment with different product arrangements and see what works best for your business! Don’t be afraid to start simple and gradually explore more advanced techniques as your needs evolve. Good luck!
