How to Hide a Category in WooCommerce: A Complete Guide
WooCommerce offers incredible flexibility, but sometimes you need to manage product visibility more granularly. Perhaps you’re preparing a new product launch, running a temporary promotion, or simply want to archive a category without completely deleting it. This guide explains several methods to hide a WooCommerce category effectively, ranging from simple plugin solutions to custom code. We’ll cover the pros and cons of each approach, ensuring you choose the best method for your specific needs.
Part 1: Understanding Your Options for Hiding WooCommerce Categories
Before diving into the specifics, it’s crucial to understand the different ways you can hide a category. Simply removing it from the menu is not enough; customers might still find it through search or other navigation paths. Therefore, a truly hidden category requires a multi-faceted approach:
- Hiding from the Shop Page Navigation: This ensures the category doesn’t appear in the main navigation menus.
- Hiding from the Shop Page Category List: This prevents the category from showing up in the list of available categories on your shop pages.
- Removing from Search Results: Preventing the category and its products from appearing in search results is crucial for complete hiding.
Depending on your technical expertise and the level of control you need, you can use plugins, custom CSS, or custom PHP code. We’ll explore each method below.
Part 2: Methods for Hiding WooCommerce Categories
#### Method 1: Using a Plugin (Recommended for Beginners)
The easiest way to hide a WooCommerce category is by using a plugin. Many plugins provide comprehensive options for managing product and category visibility. These plugins often offer a user-friendly interface, requiring no coding knowledge. Look for plugins explicitly designed for WooCommerce product visibility or category management. Search the WordPress plugin repository for terms like “WooCommerce hide category” or “WooCommerce product visibility.” Install Discover insights on How To Create Two Shop Pages In Woocommerce and activate the chosen plugin, then follow its instructions to hide the specific category. This is often as simple as selecting the category and toggling a “hide” or “disable” switch.
#### Method 2: Hiding with Custom CSS (Intermediate)
For more granular control without modifying core WooCommerce files, you can use custom CSS. This method hides the category from the shop page’s navigation and category list, but it doesn’t prevent the category from appearing in search results.
To hide a category with CSS, you need to find the unique class or ID associated with that category in your theme’s CSS. This usually involves inspecting the category’s element using your browser’s developer tools. Once you’ve identified the correct selector, add the following CSS code to your theme’s `style.css` file or a custom CSS plugin:
.category-slug-your-category-slug {
display: none;
}
Replace `your-category-slug` with the actual slug of your category. This method is relatively straightforward but requires some understanding of CSS and how your theme is structured.
#### Method 3: Hiding with Custom PHP (Advanced)
This method offers the most comprehensive control. It allows you to hide the category from navigation, the category list, and search results. However, it requires coding skills and directly modifies your theme’s functions.php file. Always back up your files before making any code changes.
This code snippet removes the category from the main query:
function hide_category_from_shop( $query ) { if ( is_shop() && $query->is_main_query() ) { $query->set( 'category__not_in', array( get_cat_ID( 'your-category-slug' ) ) ); } } add_action( 'pre_get_posts', 'hide_category_from_shop' );
Replace `your-category-slug` with your category slug. This function removes the specified category from the main query on the shop page. You may need to adapt this code depending on your specific theme and WooCommerce setup. Consider using a child theme to avoid losing your changes during theme updates.
Part 3: Conclusion: Choosing the Right Method
The best method for hiding a WooCommerce category depends on your technical skills and desired level of control. For beginners, a plugin offers the easiest and safest approach. Intermediate users can utilize custom CSS, while advanced users can leverage custom Check out this post: How To Create Geographic Restrictions For Coupon In Woocommerce PHP for complete control. Remember to always back Learn more about How To Get Your Money From Woocommerce up your website before making any code changes. By carefully selecting the appropriate method, Explore this article on How To Customize Woocommerce Shop Page you can effectively manage your WooCommerce categories and maintain a clean, organized online store.
