How to Display a Sidebar on Your WooCommerce Shop Page: A Beginner’s Guide
Want to boost your WooCommerce shop’s functionality and aesthetics? Adding a sidebar is a simple yet powerful way to improve user experience and increase conversions. A sidebar allows you to feature important information easily accessible to shoppers, such as bestsellers, product categories, or even promotional banners. But if you’re new to WooCommerce, getting that sidebar to show up on your shop page can seem tricky. This guide will walk you through it step-by-step.
Why Use a Sidebar on Your WooCommerce Shop Page?
Imagine walking into a physical store. You wouldn’t expect all the products to be crammed together without any organization, would you? A sidebar on your WooCommerce shop page plays a similar role. It provides crucial organizational elements and additional information that enhances the shopping experience:
- Improved Navigation: Customers can quickly browse categories, find specific products, and navigate your site efficiently.
- Increased Engagement: Feature related products, promotions, or customer testimonials to capture attention and boost sales.
- Enhanced User Experience: A well-designed sidebar improves the overall visual appeal and usability of your online store.
- Targeted Marketing: Display targeted ads or promotions based on user behavior or preferences.
- Access Theme Options: Log in to your WordPress dashboard. Most themes have a “Theme Options” or “Customize” section in the Appearance menu.
- Find Shop Page Settings: Look for settings related to your shop page or WooCommerce settings. The exact location varies depending on your theme.
- Enable Sidebar: Find the option to enable or disable the sidebar specifically for the shop page. Usually, it involves a checkbox or a dropdown menu selecting a sidebar layout.
- Save Changes: Save the changes made in the theme options. Refresh your shop page to see if the sidebar now appears.
- Create a New Page Template: Create a new page in WordPress and assign a suitable template (e.g., “Page with Sidebar”). Many themes include such templates by default.
- Assign the Template to Your Shop Page: In WooCommerce settings, find the shop page settings and choose the newly created page with the custom template.
- Customize Sidebar Content: Add widgets to your sidebar from the Appearance > Widgets section.
Method 1: Using the WooCommerce Theme Options (Easiest Method)
Many WooCommerce themes offer built-in options to control the sidebar’s visibility on different pages. This is often the simplest and quickest method.
Example: If you use the Astra theme, you’ll find sidebar options within the “WooCommerce” settings under the Customizer.
Method 2: Using Page Templates (More Control)
If your theme doesn’t offer direct sidebar controls for the shop page, or you need more granular control over the sidebar’s content, you can use page templates.
Method 3: Customizing Your `functions.php` file (Advanced Users Only)
This method requires advanced coding knowledge and should only be attempted if you’re comfortable modifying your theme’s code. Incorrectly editing `functions.php` can break your website.
This method involves adding code to your theme’s `functions.php` file to specifically enable the sidebar on the shop page. This is generally not recommended for beginners.
Example (Use with caution!): This is a very basic example and might need modifications depending on your theme’s structure.
// Add sidebar to shop page
add_action( 'woocommerce_before_main_content', 'add_sidebar_to_shop_page' );
function add_sidebar_to_shop_page() {
if ( is_shop() ) {
get_sidebar();
}
}
This code adds a function that checks if the current page is the shop page (`is_shop()`). If it is, it calls the `get_sidebar()` function, which displays the sidebar.
Troubleshooting
- Sidebar not appearing? Double-check your theme’s options, ensure that the correct page template is assigned, and that widgets are added to the sidebar.
- Incorrect Sidebar content? Go to Appearance > Widgets and rearrange or modify the widgets assigned to the sidebar.
- Website broken after code changes? If you made changes to `functions.php`, immediately revert the changes and seek help from a WordPress developer.
By following these methods, you can successfully add a sidebar to your WooCommerce shop page, enhancing its functionality and creating a better shopping experience for your customers. Remember to always back up your website before making any significant code changes.
