# How to Hide SKUs in WooCommerce: A Beginner’s Guide
Selling products online with WooCommerce is fantastic, but sometimes you want a cleaner look for your customers. That’s where hiding SKUs (Stock Keeping Units) comes in. This guide will show you how to effectively hide those often-ugly numbers from your product pages, preserving a professional and uncluttered shopping experience.
Why Hide WooCommerce SKUs?
Why bother hiding SKUs? They’re crucial for internal management, but they rarely add value for customers. In fact, they can detract from the overall aesthetic of your shop. Consider these reasons:
- Improved Customer Experience: A clean, uncluttered product page enhances the overall shopping experience. Customers are less likely to be distracted by technical details they don’t need or understand.
- Professionalism: Hiding SKUs projects a more polished and professional image for your brand. It’s a small detail, but it contributes to a positive overall impression.
- Enhanced Design: SKUs can disrupt the visual flow of your product pages, especially if your theme isn’t designed to accommodate them well. Hiding them allows for a more aesthetically pleasing layout.
- Ease of Use: Most plugins provide a straightforward interface, requiring minimal technical knowledge.
- Regular Updates: Reputable plugins are regularly updated to maintain compatibility with WooCommerce and WordPress updates.
- Additional Features: Some plugins may offer additional features beyond simply hiding SKUs, such as customizing product information display.
Methods to Hide WooCommerce SKUs
There are several ways to hide SKUs in WooCommerce, ranging from simple plugin solutions to custom code modifications. Let’s explore the most popular methods:
1. Using a Plugin: The Easiest Approach
The simplest and often most recommended method is using a plugin. Many plugins offer SKU hiding functionality as a feature, or even as their primary purpose. Searching for “WooCommerce SKU Hide” in your WordPress plugin directory will yield several options. Advantages include:
Real-life example: Imagine you’re selling handmade jewelry. Your SKUs might look like “NEC-001,” “EAR-007,” etc. These are important for your inventory, but they don’t add value to your customers’ experience. A plugin lets you neatly remove these numbers from your website.
2. Using a Child Theme and Custom Code (For Advanced Users)
For those comfortable with code, modifying your theme’s `functions.php` file (specifically, through a child theme to prevent code loss on theme updates) can achieve the same result. This method offers complete control but requires some coding skills.
Caution: Incorrectly modifying your theme’s files can break your website. Always back up your website before making any code changes. A child theme is strongly recommended.
Here’s an example code snippet you can add to your child theme’s `functions.php` file:
add_filter( 'woocommerce_product_get_sku', 'hide_sku_on_frontend' );
function hide_sku_on_frontend( $sku ) {
return ''; // Returns an empty string, effectively hiding the SKU
}
This code snippet will remove the SKU from the product page entirely. Remember to replace `’hide_sku_on_frontend’` with a unique function name if you have other functions with this name.
3. Theme-Specific Options
Some WooCommerce themes provide built-in options to control the display of SKUs. Check your theme’s documentation or settings to see if such an option exists. This is often the easiest and most supported method, if your theme offers it.
Choosing the Right Method
The best method depends on your technical skills and comfort level. For most users, a plugin is the easiest and safest option. If you’re comfortable with coding and want more control, modifying your child theme’s `functions.php` file offers a more tailored solution. Remember to always back up your website before making any changes. By hiding those distracting SKUs, you create a cleaner, more professional online store that your customers will appreciate.
