How to Put Items on Sale in WooCommerce: A Beginner’s Guide
So, you’ve got a WooCommerce store, and you’re ready to boost those sales with some enticing discounts! Awesome! Putting products on sale is a proven way to attract customers, clear out old inventory, or celebrate special occasions. But if you’re new to WooCommerce, navigating the settings can feel a little daunting. Don’t worry, this guide will walk you through the process step-by-step, in a way that’s easy to understand, even if you’re a complete newbie.
Why Put Items on Sale?
Before we dive into the how-to, let’s quickly touch on the “why.” Putting items on sale in WooCommerce is a powerful marketing tactic. Think of it like the brightly colored “Sale!” sticker on a product in a physical store. Here’s why it works:
- Attracts Attention: Sale badges visually stand out and grab the eye of potential customers browsing your store. It’s the equivalent of a digital “Look at me!” sign.
- Increases Urgency: Limited-time sales create a sense of urgency, pushing customers to make a purchase sooner rather than later. Think “Black Friday” or “Cyber Monday.”
- Clears Inventory: Need to make room for new products? A sale can help you move older items quickly.
- Boosts Sales: Ultimately, sales lead to more sales! Customers love a good deal, and a well-placed sale can significantly increase your revenue.
- Drives Traffic: Announce your sale on social media and in email marketing campaigns to drive traffic to your store. A sale is great content!
- In your WordPress admin dashboard, go to Products > All Products.
- Find the product you want to edit and click on its title.
- Look for the “Product data” meta box. This is usually below the main content editor. If you don’t see it, make sure it’s enabled in the “Screen Options” tab at the top right of the page.
- In the “Product data” box, ensure you’re on the “General” tab.
- You’ll see two price fields: “Regular price (USD)” and “Sale price (USD)”. *(The ‘USD’ part might be different if you’re using a different currency.)*
- Enter the *original* price of the product in the “Regular price” field. Let’s say your favorite T-shirt usually costs $25. You’d put `25` in that box.
- Enter the discounted price in the “Sale price” field. If you want to sell that T-shirt for $15, you’d put `15` in that box.
- Next to the “Sale price” field, you’ll see a “Schedule” link. Click it.
- A small calendar interface will appear.
- Click the start date for your sale, and then click the end date.
- Once you’ve entered the sale price and (optionally) scheduled the sale, click the “Update” button (or “Publish” if it’s a new product) at the top right of the page.
- Variable Products: Products that come in different variations (e.g., different sizes or colors of the same T-shirt).
- Grouped Products: A collection of related simple products sold together.
- External/Affiliate Products: Products that are sold on another website.
Step-by-Step: Putting Products on Sale in WooCommerce
Okay, let’s get practical. Here’s how to put products on sale in your WooCommerce store:
1. Accessing the Product Editing Screen:
First, you need to access the editing screen for the product you want to put on sale.
2. The “General” Tab and Sale Price:
Once you’re on the product editing screen:
3. Setting the Sale Price:
Example:
| Field | Value |
|—————-|——-|
| Regular price (USD) | 25 |
| Sale price (USD) | 15 |
4. Scheduling Sales (Optional but Recommended):
Here’s where things get even more powerful. You can *schedule* your sales to start and end automatically. This is fantastic for running promotions without having to manually change prices!
Example:
You want to run a sale on that T-shirt from November 24th to November 27th for Black Friday weekend. You’d click November 24th and then November 27th in the calendar.
5. Save Your Changes:
That’s it! Your product will now display the sale badge and the discounted price on your WooCommerce store.
Different Product Types and Sales
The process above works for simple products. WooCommerce also supports more complex product types, like:
Putting Variable Products on Sale:
Variable products require a slightly different approach. You need to set the sale price for each individual *variation*.
1. Edit the Product: Go to Products > All Products and click on the variable product you want to edit.
2. Variations Tab: In the “Product data” meta box, click the “Variations” tab.
3. Expand Each Variation: For each variation (e.g., “Small, Red”), click the little arrow to expand its settings.
4. Set Prices: You’ll see the “Regular price” and “Sale price” fields for *that specific variation*. Enter the prices accordingly. You can also schedule the sale price for each variation independently.
5. Save Changes: Click the “Save changes” button at the bottom of the Variations tab, then click the “Update” button on the main product page.
Example:
You might want to offer a bigger discount on your “Large, Blue” T-shirt because you have more of those in stock. You can set a lower sale price specifically for that variation.
//Example of how you might display a variable product sale price dynamically with PHP (in your theme or plugin)
//Assumes you have the $product object available
if ($product->is_type( ‘variable’ )) {
$variations = $product->get_available_variations();
foreach ($variations as $variation) {
$variation_id = $variation[‘variation_id’];
$variation_product = wc_get_product($variation_id);
$regular_price = $variation_product->get_regular_price();
$sale_price = $variation_product->get_sale_price();
if ( ! empty( $sale_price ) && $sale_price < $regular_price ) {
echo ‘
Sale Price for Variation ‘ . $variation_id . ‘: ‘ . wc_price( $sale_price ) . ‘
‘;
}
}
}
Important Considerations:
- WooCommerce Settings: Double-check your WooCommerce settings (WooCommerce > Settings > General) to ensure your currency settings are correct.
- Theme Compatibility: Some WooCommerce themes have custom sale badge styling. Make sure your theme’s sale badges look good and are easily visible. You might need to customize your theme’s CSS to adjust the appearance.
- Plugin Conflicts: If you’re having trouble with sales not displaying correctly, try temporarily deactivating other WooCommerce plugins to see if there’s a conflict.
- Test Thoroughly: Always test your sales on the front end of your website to make sure they’re displaying correctly and that the correct prices are being applied.
Going Further: Bulk Editing
If you need to put *many* products on sale at once, manually editing each product can be time-consuming. Fortunately, WooCommerce offers bulk editing capabilities:
1. Go to Products > All Products.
2. Select the products you want to edit by checking the checkboxes next to their titles.
3. In the “Bulk actions” dropdown menu at the top of the page, choose “Edit” and click “Apply”.
4. A bulk editing panel will appear. You can use this to change the sale price for all selected products at once. You can choose to increase/decrease the price by a percentage or a fixed amount. Be careful and test this out first!
Conclusion: Get Those Sales Rolling!
Putting products on sale in WooCommerce is a simple but effective way to boost your sales and attract new customers. By following these steps, you’ll be able to create compelling offers and drive more traffic to your store. Remember to schedule your sales strategically and test everything thoroughly to ensure a smooth and successful promotion. Happy selling!