How To Manually Change The Order On Products In Woocommerce

Manually Reordering WooCommerce Products: A Simple Guide for Enhanced Store Management

Want more control over how your products are displayed on your WooCommerce store? While WooCommerce offers a lot of features out-of-the-box, sometimes you need to get your hands dirty and manually tweak things. Reordering products can significantly impact user experience and sales. Think about highlighting bestsellers, promoting new arrivals, or organizing products based on a seasonal campaign. This article will guide you through the process of manually changing the product order in WooCommerce, helping you create a more engaging and profitable online store. We’ll cover the simple drag-and-drop method, so you can optimize your product display strategy.

Why Manually Change Product Order in WooCommerce?

The default WooCommerce setup often orders products based on the date they were published. While this works, it’s rarely the *optimal* way to showcase your offerings. Manually reordering products allows you to:

• Highlight Best Sellers: Place your top-performing products at the top of the page to maximize visibility and drive sales.
• Promote New Arrivals: Make sure your latest products get the attention they deserve by positioning them prominently.
• Organize for Specific Campaigns: Rearrange products to align with seasonal promotions, special offers, or marketing campaigns.
• Improve User Experience: Create a more logical and intuitive browsing experience for your customers, leading to increased engagement and conversions.
• Strategic Product Placement: Influence customer perception and purchasing decisions by strategically placing products in a way that maximizes impact.

The Step-by-Step Guide to Manually Ordering Products

The easiest way to manually reorder your WooCommerce products is using the built-in drag-and-drop functionality. Here’s how:

1. Access the Products Page: Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard and navigate to Products > All Products. This will display a list of all your WooCommerce products.

2. Enable Drag & Drop Sorting: Look at the top of the `All Products` page, on the right you will find Screen Options. Click on that tab, and make sure that the Sorting checkbox is checked. Then click on the screen options tab again to close it.

3. Reorder Products: Hover your mouse over a product row. When the cursor changes to a four-way arrow, click and drag the product row to its desired position. WooCommerce will automatically save the new order as you drag and drop.

4. Verify the New Order: Visit your shop page or relevant product category pages to verify that the products are displayed in the new order you’ve defined.

Alternative Method using Menu Order (Less Common, but Useful in Specific Cases)

While the drag-and-drop method is the most common, you can also use the “Menu Order” attribute for more granular control. This method is particularly useful if you have a large number of products and prefer assigning numerical values for order.

1. Edit a Product: Go to Products > All Products and click “Edit” on the product you want to reorder.

2. Find the “Product Data” Meta Box: Scroll down until you find the “Product Data” meta box (if you can’t find it, check the “Screen Options” again to make sure “Product Data” is checked).

3. Navigate to the “Advanced” Tab: Within the “Product Data” meta box, click on the “Advanced” tab.

4. Set the “Menu Order”: You’ll see a field labeled “Menu Order”. Enter a number. Products will be displayed in ascending order based on this value. Lower numbers appear first.

• If multiple products share the same “Menu Order” value, they will be ordered based on their post date.
• You can use negative numbers if needed.

5. Update the Product: Click the “Update” button to save the changes.

6. Repeat for Other Products: Repeat steps 1-5 for all products you want to reorder.

Example:

Let’s say you have three products: Product A, Product B, and Product C.

• To display them in the order Product C, Product A, Product B, you would assign the following “Menu Order” values:
• Product A: 1
• Product B: 2
• Product C: 0

Considerations and Potential Drawbacks

While manually reordering products is generally straightforward, it’s important to be aware of potential drawbacks:

• Time-Consuming for Large Catalogs: Manually reordering a large number of products can be a time-consuming task.
• Can be Reset by Plugins: Some plugins, particularly those dealing with product feeds or synchronization, might inadvertently reset your manual order. Always test after installing or updating plugins.
• Mobile Responsiveness: Ensure your chosen sorting strategy maintains a good user experience on mobile devices. What looks good on a desktop might not translate well to a smaller screen.
• Potential Conflict with Custom Code: Any custom code that affects product ordering might conflict with the manual ordering. Always test changes thoroughly.

Conclusion: Take Control of Your WooCommerce Product Display

Manually reordering products in WooCommerce provides a valuable way to curate the shopping experience and boost sales. Whether you choose the intuitive drag-and-drop method or the more precise “Menu Order” attribute, you can strategically position your products to maximize their impact. By understanding the steps involved and potential drawbacks, you can effectively manage your WooCommerce product display and create a more engaging and profitable online store for your customers. Don’t be afraid to experiment and analyze the impact of different ordering strategies to find what works best for your specific business!