Woocommerce How To Get The Price Field To Accept Text

WooCommerce: Letting Your Price Field Accept Text (Yes, Really!)

Imagine this: you’re running a WooCommerce store selling custom-built PCs. Instead of having a fixed price, each PC is quoted individually based on the components chosen by the customer. You need a way to display “Quote Only” or “Contact Us for Price” instead of a numerical price.

Or perhaps you offer services like coaching or consulting, and the pricing depends on the client’s specific needs. You want to use the price field to say “Pricing Varies” or “Get a Custom Quote!”

WooCommerce, by default, expects a numerical value in the price field. But what if you want to use text instead? While not a standard practice, there are legitimate reasons to achieve this. This guide will show you how, catering specifically to beginners, so don’t worry if you’re not a coding expert!

Warning: Directly allowing non-numeric characters in the price field isn’t ideal and can cause issues with WooCommerce’s core functionality like sorting, filtering, and calculations. The methods below are workarounds, and you should understand their limitations. Consider alternative solutions like plugins built for handling quotes if you need robust quote functionality.

Why Would You Want to Use Text in the Price Field?

Let’s reiterate some of the key use cases:

Custom Products: Products with highly variable costs (custom builds, artwork, etc.)
Quote-Based Pricing: Products requiring a personalized quote before purchase.
Subscription Services: Subscriptions with flexible pricing tiers.
Free Products/Services: You might want to display “Free!” instead of “0.00”.

Option 1: Using a Plugin (The Easiest Route)

The simplest way to achieve this without directly modifying code is by using a plugin designed for “Request a Quote” or “Hide Price” functionality. Many WooCommerce plugins offer options to:

Replace the price with text like “Quote Only”.
Hide the price altogether and display a “Request a Quote” button.

Search the WooCommerce plugin directory for terms like “request quote,” “hide price,” or “quote system.” Popular choices often include features to handle the entire quote process.

This option avoids any coding and is generally the most newbie-friendly approach.

Option 2: Overriding Templates (Slightly More Advanced)

This method involves modifying the WooCommerce templates responsible for displaying the price. This is generally a better approach than directly altering the core WooCommerce files (which is strongly discouraged!).

Important: Before making any template modifications, create a child theme. This protects your changes during theme updates.

Here’s how:

1. Locate the Template: The template file you’ll likely need to modify is `woocommerce/templates/single-product/price.php`. It’s responsible for displaying the price on the single product page.

2. Copy to Your Child Theme: Create the same directory structure ( `woocommerce/templates/single-product/` ) within your child theme. Copy the `price.php` file from the WooCommerce plugin directory to your child theme’s directory.

3. Modify the `price.php` File: Open the `price.php` file in your child theme and add the following PHP code *around* the existing price display:

 <?php /** Single Product Price
 * This template can be overridden by copying it to yourtheme/woocommerce/single-product/price.php.
 * HOWEVER, on occasion WooCommerce will need to update template files and you
 (the theme developer) will need to copy the new files to your theme to
 maintain compatibility. If you copy this file to your theme, you will need
 to update the template file when WooCommerce releases an update.
 * @see https://docs.woocommerce.com/document/template-structure/
 @package WooCommerceTemplates
 @version 3.0.0
 */

defined( ‘ABSPATH’ ) || exit;

global $product;

// Get the product’s price (numeric)

$price = $product->get_price();

// Check if the price is zero or empty

if ( empty( $price ) || $price == 0 ) {

// Display custom text instead of the price

echo ‘

‘; // Change this text to whatever you need

} else {

// Display the original price

<p class="”>get_price_html(); ?>

<?php

}

Explanation:

This code first retrieves the product’s numerical price using `$product->get_price()`.
Then, it checks if the price is empty (or zero).
If the price is empty or zero, it displays the custom text “Contact Us for Price” (you can change this to your desired text).
Otherwise, it displays the original price using `$product->get_price_html()`.

4. Set the Price to Zero (or leave it blank): In your WooCommerce product edit screen, set the product’s price to 0 (or leave it blank) to trigger the custom text.

Important Considerations for Template Overrides:

WooCommerce Updates: Always check for template changes in future WooCommerce updates. You might need to update your `price.php` file in your child theme to maintain compatibility.
Specificity: This example affects *all* products with a price of zero. If you need more specific control (e.g., only for certain categories), you’ll need to add more complex conditional logic to your code, perhaps checking product categories or custom fields.

Option 3: Using a Filter (The More Flexible Code Option)

A slightly more versatile approach involves using a WooCommerce filter to modify the price output. This gives you more control over which products display the custom text.

1. Add Code to Your Child Theme’s `functions.php` file:

 add_filter( 'woocommerce_get_price_html', 'custom_price_text', 10, 2 );

function custom_price_text( $price_html, $product ) {

// Product ID to target (optional: use for specific products)

$target_product_id = 123; // Replace 123 with the actual product ID

// Category Slug to target (optional: use for specific categories)

$target_category_slug = ‘custom-builds’; // Replace with your category slug

// Check if the product is in the specified category (optional)

$is_in_category = has_term( $target_category_slug, ‘product_cat’, $product->get_id() );

// Get the product’s price

$price = $product->get_price();

// Check if the product is a specific ID (optional) and has a price of zero (or empty)

if ( ( $product->get_id() == $target_product_id && ( empty( $price ) || $price == 0 ) ) ||

( $is_in_category && ( empty( $price ) || $price == 0 ) ) ||

( empty( $price ) || $price == 0 ) // Always apply if price is zero

) {

$price_html = ‘

Get a Custom Quote!

‘; // Change this text

}

return $price_html;

}

Explanation:

`add_filter( ‘woocommerce_get_price_html’, ‘custom_price_text’, 10, 2 );`: This line hooks into the `woocommerce_get_price_html` filter, which allows you to modify the HTML output of the price.
`custom_price_text( $price_html, $product )`: This is the function that will be executed when the filter is triggered.
Targeting (Optional): The code includes optional sections for targeting specific products (by ID) Read more about How To Export Woocommerce Products With Images or products in a specific category (by slug). You can uncomment and customize these sections to apply the custom text only to certain products. If you remove the optional sections, the code will only check for empty or zero prices and replace the text for *all* products with an empty or zero price.
Checking for Zero Price: The code checks `( empty( $price ) || $price == 0 )` to ensure that the custom text is displayed only when the price is zero or empty.
`$price_html = ‘
Get a Custom Quote!

‘;`: This line replaces the original Read more about How To Use Elementor With Woocommerce price HTML with your custom text.
`return $price_html;`: This line returns the modified price HTML.

2. Set the Price to Zero (or leave it blank): As with the template override method, set the product’s price to 0 (or leave it blank) in your WooCommerce product edit screen. If you are using the product ID targeting, make sure the ID in the code matches the product you are editing.

Key Advantages of Using a Filter:

Flexibility: Filters provide more control over which products are affected. You can add more complex conditional logic based on categories, tags, custom fields, or other product attributes.
Centralized Code: The code is contained within your `functions.php` file, making it easier to manage and update.

Important Considerations Before You Proceed

* SEO: If you are using “Contact Us for Price” because you want to hide the price for a product, keep in mind that Google cannot crawl that price. That could lead to problems.

* Data Integrity: Remember that WooCommerce relies on numerical price values for various calculations and features. Using text in the price field directly can break those features. The methods provided are Explore this article on How To Change Woocommerce Button Link Color workarounds to display text, often by setting the actual price to zero (or empty).

* User Experience: Clearly communicate to your customers why they see text instead of a price. Make it easy for them to request a quote or get more information. A well-placed call-to-action button (e.g., “Request a Quote”) can significantly improve the user experience.

* Consider Dedicated Quote Systems: If you require complex quote management, consider using a dedicated “Request a Quote” plugin or system. These plugins are designed specifically for handling quote requests, managing communication, and processing orders based on customized pricing.

By understanding these options and their limitations, you can choose the best approach for adding text to the price field in your WooCommerce store, making it work for your specific business needs. Remember to always test thoroughly after making any code changes!