Getting Your WooCommerce Products to Shine on Your Homepage: A Beginner’s Guide
So, you’ve set up your WooCommerce store, added your amazing products, but…they’re nowhere to be seen on your homepage! Don’t panic! This is a common issue, and we’re going to walk you through how to get your products front and center, attracting customers and boosting sales. Think of it like this: your homepage is your storefront, and your products are the window displays that entice people to come inside. Let’s make sure they’re visible!
Why Aren’t My Products Showing Up?
The good news is, there’s usually a simple reason why your WooCommerce products aren’t appearing on your homepage. Most of the time, it comes down to how your homepage is set up and the theme you’re using. Here are the most common culprits:
- The homepage is a static page: WordPress often defaults to a “Latest Posts” page for your homepage. This means it shows your blog posts, not your products.
- Your theme doesn’t automatically display products: Some themes are designed for blogging or general websites and don’t inherently know to showcase WooCommerce products on the homepage.
- You haven’t configured your homepage to display products: Even with a compatible theme, you might need to explicitly tell your homepage Learn more about How To Style Woocommerce Sitewide Notice *how* to display your products.
- `[products limit=”8″ columns=”4″]`: Displays 8 products in 4 columns. This is a great starting point.
- `[recent_products limit=”4″ columns=”2″]`: Displays the 4 most recently added products in 2 columns. Ideal for showcasing new arrivals!
- `[sale_products limit=”4″ columns=”4″]`: Explore this article on How To Enable Woocommerce Rest Api Shows 4 products that are currently on sale, displayed in 4 columns. A fantastic way to highlight promotions!
- `[best_selling_products limit=”4″ columns=”4″]`: Showcases the 4 best selling products in 4 columns. Demonstrates the appeal of items most popular with other shoppers.
- `[product_category category=”shirts” limit=”4″ columns=”4″]`: Displays 4 products from the “shirts” category in 4 columns. It is a very good technique to put category highlight into home page.
Method 1: Using the WooCommerce Shortcode
This is a quick and easy solution that works with most themes. WooCommerce provides shortcodes, which are little snippets of code that tell WordPress to perform a specific action – in this case, display products.
1. Identify the page you’re using as your homepage: Go to Pages > All Pages in your WordPress dashboard. Find the page labeled “Front Page” or the page you’ve designated as your homepage.
2. Edit the page: Click on the page title to edit it.
3. Add the WooCommerce shortcode: In the page editor, you can add a “Shortcode” block (if you’re using the Block Editor – Gutenberg) or simply paste the shortcode directly into the content area (if you’re using the Classic Editor).
Here are a few useful shortcodes:
Example: Let’s say you want to display your most recent 4 products in 2 columns. You would add the following shortcode to your homepage:
[recent_products limit="4" columns="2"]
4. Update the page: Click the “Update” button to save your changes.
5. Visit your homepage: Refresh your homepage to see your products in action!
Reasoning: Shortcodes are a flexible way to control which products are displayed and how they are arranged. You can customize the `limit` (number of products), `columns` (number of columns), and other attributes to perfectly fit your homepage design.
Method 2: Using the Theme Customizer (if available)
Many modern WordPress themes offer built-in options within the Theme Customizer to display WooCommerce products on the homepage. This is often the easiest and most visually intuitive method.
1. Access the Theme Customizer: Go to Appearance > Customize in your WordPress dashboard.
2. Look for WooCommerce options: Within the Customizer, look for a section related to “WooCommerce,” “Homepage Settings,” or similar. The exact location will vary depending on your theme.
3. Enable product display: Inside the relevant section, you should find options to enable the display of WooCommerce products on the homepage.
4. Configure the display: You might have options to choose which products to display (e.g., recent products, featured products, products from a specific category), the number of products to show, and the layout (e.g., number of columns).
Example: Imagine your theme has a “Homepage” section in the Customizer with a “Product Showcase” option. You might be able to select “Display Read more about How To Setup Mailchimp For Woocommerce featured products” and specify the number of products to show.
Reasoning: Using the Theme Customizer ensures that your product display integrates seamlessly with your theme’s design. It often provides a user-friendly interface for configuring the product presentation.
Method 3: Using a Page Builder Plugin (Elementor, Beaver Builder, Divi)
If you’re using a page builder plugin like Elementor, Beaver Builder, or Divi, you have even more flexibility in designing your homepage and displaying your WooCommerce products.
1. Edit your homepage with your page builder: Open your homepage in the page builder.
2. Find the WooCommerce widgets or modules: Most page builders offer dedicated WooCommerce widgets or modules that allow you to display products. Look for elements like “Products Grid,” “Product Carousel,” or similar.
3. Drag and drop the widget onto your page: Place the WooCommerce widget where you want your products to appear.
4. Configure the widget: Each widget will have its own settings, allowing you to choose which products to display (e.g., recent products, featured products, specific categories), the number of products, the layout, and the design.
Example: In Elementor, you might use the “Products” widget, then filter products to show only those from the “Shoes” category and display them in a 3-column grid.
Reasoning: Page builders provide complete control over the design and layout of your homepage. You can create visually stunning product displays and easily integrate them with other content.
Method 4: Using Custom Code (For Advanced Users)
If you’re comfortable with PHP and WordPress theme development, you can use custom code to display WooCommerce products on your homepage. This is an advanced technique and should only be attempted if you have a good understanding of code.
1. Edit your theme’s `front-page.php` file (or create Read more about How To Change Order To Pending Woocommerce one if it doesn’t exist): This file controls the content of your homepage. Read more about WordPress Woocommerce How To Remove The Red Line Under Titles Important: Always use a child theme to avoid losing your changes when the theme is updated.
2. Use the `wc_get_products()` function to retrieve products: This function allows you to query products based on various criteria (e.g., recent products, featured products, categories).
3. Loop through the products and display them using HTML: You’ll need to write HTML code to format and display the product information (e.g., image, title, price, Add to Cart button).
Here’s a simplified example (requires a child theme and understanding of WordPress templating):
<?php // In your child theme's front-page.php
get_header();
// Query the 4 most recent products
$args = array(
‘limit’ => 4,
‘orderby’ => ‘date’,
‘order’ => ‘DESC’
);
$products = wc_get_products( $args );
if ( $products ) {
echo ‘
foreach ( $products as $product ) {
echo ‘
echo ‘get_permalink() . ‘”>’;
echo ‘get_image_id() ) . ‘” alt=”‘ . $product->get_name() . ‘”>’;
echo ‘
‘ . $product->get_name() . ‘
‘;
echo ‘‘ . $product->get_price_html() . ‘‘;
echo ‘‘;
echo ‘
‘;
}
echo ‘
‘;
}
get_footer();
?>
Reasoning: Custom code provides the ultimate control over the product display. You can tailor the output to perfectly match your design and functionality requirements. However, it requires significant technical expertise.
Important Considerations:
- Responsive Design: Make sure your product displays are responsive and look good on all devices (desktop, tablets, and smartphones). Test your homepage on different screen sizes to ensure a positive user experience.
- Image Optimization: Use optimized product images to improve page loading speed and enhance the visual appeal of your homepage. Large, unoptimized images can slow down your site and frustrate visitors.
- Call to Action: Include clear calls to action (e.g., “Shop Now,” “View Details,” “Add to Cart”) to encourage visitors to browse and purchase your products.
- Performance: Monitor your website’s performance after adding product displays. Too many products or poorly optimized code can slow down your site. Use caching plugins and optimize your database to improve performance.
By following these methods, you can easily showcase your WooCommerce products on your homepage, attracting customers and driving sales! Good luck!