# How to Get Product View Count in WooCommerce on a Custom Template
So you’ve built a beautiful custom WooCommerce template, and you want to show off how popular your products are? Showing product view counts is a great way Explore this article on Woocommerce How To Turn On Testing to build trust Check out this post: Woocommerce Variations Table How To Add Arrows To Dropdowns and encourage sales. But how do you get those views to display on your custom template? This guide will walk you through it, step-by-step, even if you’re new to WooCommerce development.
Why Track Product Views?
Before diving into the code, let’s understand why tracking product views is beneficial:
- Social Proof: A high view count subtly suggests popularity and trustworthiness. Think of it like seeing a long line outside a restaurant – it makes you more likely to go in.
- Marketing Insights: Tracking views helps you understand which products are generating the most interest, allowing for better inventory management and targeted marketing campaigns.
- Improved UX: Displaying view counts can encourage customers to explore products they might otherwise overlook.
The Simple Method: Using WooCommerce’s Built-in Functionality
WooCommerce doesn’t directly store product view counts by default. However, there are plugins that can do this for you. These often add the functionality of tracking the number of times a product Learn more about How To Create Product Categories In Woocommerce page has been visited. While you can’t directly use this data in a custom template without some code, it is the easiest and recommended approach.
Once you’ve installed and activated a suitable plugin (many are available in the WordPress plugin directory, search for “WooCommerce product views”), you can usually display the view count using a shortcode or function provided by the plugin’s documentation. Check the plugin documentation for specific instructions, as they will vary.
The More Involved Method: Custom Code (Advanced Users)
If you prefer a more hands-on approach or need highly specific functionality, you can track and display product views using custom code. This requires a bit more technical skill but gives you complete control.
Step 1: Tracking Product Views
We need to add code to increment the product view count every time a product page is loaded. This is best done using a function hooked to the `template_redirect` action.
function track_product_views() { if ( is_singular( 'product' ) ) { global $post; $product_id = $post->ID;
// Use the WordPress function `update_post_meta` to increment the view count.
$views = get_post_meta( $product_id, ‘product_views’, true );
if ( $views ) {
$views++;
} Discover insights on How To Change Woocommerce Email Template else {
$views = 1;
}
update_post_meta( $product_id, ‘product_views’, $views );
}
}
add_action( ‘template_redirect’, ‘track_product_views’ );
This code snippet:
- Checks if the current page is a single product page (`is_singular( ‘product’ )`).
- Gets the product ID.
- Uses `get_post_meta` to retrieve the current view count (stored as custom post meta).
- Increments the count and updates it using `update_post_meta`.
Remember to add this code to your `functions.php` file (or a custom plugin).
Step 2: Displaying Product Views in Your Custom Template
Now that we’re tracking views, let’s display them. You can use this code snippet within your custom product template file (usually `single-product.php`):
<?php $views = get_post_meta( get_the_ID(), 'product_views', true ); if ( $views ) { echo 'Views: ' . $views . '
'; } ?>
This code:
- Gets the product ID using `get_the_ID()`.
- Retrieves the view count using `get_post_meta`.
- Displays the count using `echo`.
You can style this output however you like with CSS.
Important Considerations
- Caching: Caching plugins can interfere with accurate view tracking. Make sure your caching plugin is configured correctly to exclude product pages from caching.
- Database Size: Storing view counts in the database will increase its size over time. Consider using a more efficient method if you have a large number of products.
- Security: Always sanitize and validate user inputs to prevent security vulnerabilities.
By following these steps, you can successfully display product view counts on your custom WooCommerce template, enhancing your store’s presentation and providing valuable insights into customer behavior. Remember to choose the method best suited to your technical skill level and needs. If in doubt, start with a plugin – it’s the simpler and safer route.
