How to Manually Sort Products in Your WooCommerce WordPress Store (SEO-Friendly Guide)
Introduction
Want to take control of your product display in your WooCommerce store? By default, WooCommerce sorts products alphabetically, by date added, or popularity. However, you might want to manually curate your product listing to highlight specific items, boost sales of slow-moving products, or simply improve the user experience. This article provides a comprehensive guide on how to manually sort products in your WooCommerce store, empowering you to present your products in the most effective way. We’ll explore the built-in method and weigh the pros and cons to help you decide if this approach is right for you.
Main Part: Manually Sorting Products in WooCommerce
WooCommerce provides a built-in function to manually sort your products without needing any extra plugins (in most cases). Here’s how:
Accessing the Product Sorting Option
1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard: Navigate to `yourdomain.com/wp-admin`.
2. Go to Products: In the left-hand menu, find and click on “Products.”
3. Navigate to All Products: Click “All Products” to see your entire product catalog.
4. Select a Category (Optional): If you want to sort products within a specific category, select the category from the “Product categories” list. This will make the changes only reflect on that particular category archive page.
5. Change the Sorting Option: Look for the “Sorting” dropdown menu, usually located above the product list or near the search bar. Make sure you are on the category archive page, not the general All Products view.
6. Select “Custom Ordering + Drag & Drop”: Choose “Custom Ordering + Drag & Drop” from the dropdown. This setting enables manual sorting.
Manually Ordering Your Products
Now that you’ve activated custom ordering, you’ll be able to rearrange your products using drag and drop:
1. Hover over a Product: Hover your mouse over the product you want to move.
2. Click and Drag: Click and hold the mouse button while hovering over the product to “grab” it.
3. Drag and Drop: Drag the product to its desired position within the list. A visual indicator (usually a line) will show where the product will be placed.
4. Release the Mouse Button: Release the mouse button to drop the product into its new location.
5. Update (Important!): In some themes or when changes are not saved automatically, you might need to look for an “Update” or “Save” button to confirm and save your new product order. If there is not such button, the order will probably updated automatically.
Things to Consider
- Category-Specific: Remember that custom ordering affects products within the specific category you’re viewing when you change the sorting option. To manually sort products in another category, you’ll need to repeat these steps for that category.
- Theme Compatibility: Most modern WooCommerce themes fully support this feature. However, some older or heavily customized themes might have compatibility issues. If you’re experiencing problems, consult your theme’s documentation or contact the theme developer.
- Product Variations: Manual sorting primarily applies to the parent products. Variations usually follow the order of their parent. You will not be able to order product variations independently using this default method.
- Bulk Editing: This method is best suited for stores with a relatively small number of products. For large catalogs, manually dragging and dropping can become tedious. Consider alternative solutions (discussed in “Alternative Solutions” below) for efficient bulk ordering.
- Drag and drop product ordering: Similar functionality to the default method, but potentially with improved performance and user interface.
- Bulk product ordering: Allows you to order multiple products at once.
- Category-specific ordering: Order products differently in different categories.
- Scheduled ordering: Schedule changes to product ordering in advance.
- WooCommerce Product Sort and Display Plugin: A free plugin that enables drag-and-drop sorting.
- Custom Product Order for WooCommerce: A paid plugin that offers advanced features, such as bulk editing and category-specific ordering.
Alternative Solutions (If the default method doesn’t work or is insufficient)
If the built-in method is not available or not suited for your needs, you can use a plugin. There are free and premium plugins available that offer more advanced features, such as:
Some popular plugins include:
Remember to research and choose a plugin that meets your specific needs and is compatible with your WordPress and WooCommerce versions.
Conclusion
Manually sorting products in your WooCommerce store is a simple yet powerful way to enhance the customer experience and drive sales. While the built-in method is a good starting point, especially for smaller stores, consider exploring plugin options if you need more advanced features or have a large product catalog. By carefully curating your product display, you can showcase your best-selling items, promote new arrivals, and ultimately create a more engaging and profitable online store. Regularly reviewing and adjusting your product order based on performance data and customer feedback is crucial for maximizing its effectiveness. Remember to analyze your sales data and use that information to refine your product placement, ensuring that your best-selling products are easily visible and accessible to your customers.
