How to Display WooCommerce Products: A Beginner’s Guide
So, you’ve got your WooCommerce store set up, products added, and you’re ready to start selling. Great! But how do you actually *display* those products on your website in a way that’s appealing and easy for customers to navigate? Don’t worry, it’s easier than you think. This guide will walk you through the basics of displaying your WooCommerce products, even if you’re a complete beginner.
Think of your website as a physical store. You wouldn’t just pile all your products in a heap, would you? You’d want to arrange them attractively, highlight bestsellers, and make it easy for customers to find what they’re looking for. That’s exactly what we’ll do here.
Understanding the Default WooCommerce Pages
WooCommerce automatically creates a few key pages for you when you install it:
- Shop Page: This is your main product listing page. It usually displays all your products in a grid or list format. Think of it as your store’s main showroom.
- Product Category Pages: These pages display products belonging to a specific category. Imagine them as dedicated sections for “Shoes,” “Shirts,” or “Electronics” within your store.
- Product Pages: These are individual pages for each product, with detailed descriptions, images, pricing, and add-to-cart buttons. Think of them as individual product displays with all the information a customer needs to make a purchase.
- Cart Page: This is where customers can review the items they’ve added to their cart before proceeding to checkout.
- Checkout Page: This is where customers enter their shipping and payment information to complete their order.
- Using WooCommerce Shortcodes: Shortcodes are snippets of code that you can insert into any page or post to display products. They’re a simple and effective way to embed product listings wherever you need them.
- `[products]`: This is the most basic shortcode. It displays all your products. You can customize it with attributes like:
- `limit=”4″`: Limits the number of products displayed to 4.
- `columns=”2″`: Displays the products in 2 columns.
- `category=”shoes”`: Displays only products from the “shoes” category.
- `[product_category category=”shirts”]`: Displays products from the “shirts” category.
- `[best_selling_products]`: Displays your best-selling products.
- `[sale_products]`: Displays products that are currently on sale.
- Example: `[products limit=”3″ columns=”3″ category=”featured”]` will display 3 featured products in 3 columns.
- Using WooCommerce Blocks (Gutenberg Editor): If you’re using the Gutenberg editor (WordPress’s default block editor), you’ll find several WooCommerce blocks that make it easy to display products.
- “Products by Category”: Allows you to display products from a specific category.
- “Featured Product”: Allows you to highlight a single product.
- “All Products”: Displays all your products.
- “Best Selling Products”: Displays your best-selling products.
- High-Quality Product Images: This is crucial! Use clear, well-lit images that show your products from different angles. Think of product images as the first impression a customer has of your product. A blurry, poorly lit image can instantly turn them away.
- Compelling Product Descriptions: Write detailed and engaging descriptions that highlight the benefits of your products. Focus on how the product solves a customer’s problem or fulfills their needs. Don’t just list features; tell a story!
- Clear Explore this article on How To Set Up Payment Woocommerce Pricing and Call-to-Action: Make sure your prices are clearly visible and that you have a prominent “Add to Cart” button. Remove any friction that might prevent a customer from making a purchase.
- Product Reviews: Encourage customers to leave reviews. Positive reviews build trust and can significantly increase sales.
- Cross-selling and Upselling: Suggest related products that customers might be interested in (cross-selling) or offer a more expensive, higher-end version of the product they’re viewing (upselling). This can increase your average order value.
- Child Theme: Always use a child theme when modifying your WooCommerce templates. This prevents your changes from being overwritten when you update your main theme.
- Template Files: WooCommerce template files are located in the `wp-content/plugins/woocommerce/templates/` directory.
- Overriding Templates: To customize a template, copy it from the WooCommerce plugin directory to your child theme’s `woocommerce/` directory. Then, you can edit the copied file.
These pages are the foundation of your WooCommerce store. Leaving them as is can work, but customizing them is key to a great user experience.
Simple Ways to Display Products on Other Pages
Sometimes you want to showcase specific products on pages other than the Shop page, like your homepage or a landing page. Here are a few ways to do that:
To use a shortcode, simply copy and paste it into the text editor of the page or post where you want the products to appear. Make sure you’re using the “Text” or “Code” editor, not the “Visual” editor, for the shortcode to work correctly.
Imagine you’re running a promotion on your homepage. You could use the `[sale_products]` shortcode to highlight all your discounted items right there on the front page!
These blocks offer a visual way to select and customize how your products are displayed. They’re a great option if you prefer a drag-and-drop interface.
Think of a “Featured Product” block as a spotlight shining on a new arrival or a customer favorite right on your homepage.
Optimizing Product Display for Sales
Simply displaying your products isn’t enough. You need to optimize how they’re displayed to encourage sales. Here are a few tips:
Imagine a customer is buying a camera. Cross-selling could involve suggesting a memory card or a camera bag. Upselling could involve suggesting a more advanced camera model with better features.
Advanced Options: Customizing Your WooCommerce Templates
For more advanced customization, you can modify your WooCommerce templates. This Explore this article on How To Setup Paylike In Woocommerce requires some coding knowledge (HTML, CSS, and PHP).
While this approach gives you complete control over the look and feel of your WooCommerce store, it’s best left to developers or those with strong coding skills.
Conclusion
Displaying your WooCommerce products effectively is essential for driving sales. By understanding the default WooCommerce pages, using shortcodes or blocks to embed products on other pages, and optimizing your product listings, you can create a visually appealing and user-friendly online store that converts visitors into customers. Don’t be afraid to experiment and see what works best for your business! Good luck!