How To Query The Woocommerce Category

How to Query WooCommerce Categories: A Comprehensive Guide

Introduction:

WooCommerce categories are essential for organizing your products and providing customers with an intuitive navigation experience on your online store. Being able to query these categories programmatically allows you to build dynamic product displays, create custom navigation menus, and tailor the user experience based on category-specific information. This article provides a comprehensive guide on how to query WooCommerce categories using various methods, enabling you to leverage category data within your WooCommerce projects. Whether you’re a seasoned developer or just starting out, this guide will equip you with the knowledge to efficiently retrieve and utilize WooCommerce category information.

Main Part:

There are several ways to query WooCommerce categories, each suitable for different use cases. We’ll explore the most common methods, covering the `get_terms()` function, the `WP_Term_Query` class, and practical examples to illustrate their usage.

Using `get_terms()` to Retrieve Categories

The `get_terms()` function is a core WordPress function that allows you to retrieve terms from any taxonomy, including WooCommerce product categories (`product_cat`). This is a simple and widely used method.

Example:

 'product_cat',
'hide_empty' => false, // Set to true to exclude empty categories
'orderby' => 'name',
'order'   => 'ASC',
);

$product_categories = get_terms( $args );

if ( ! empty( $product_categories ) && ! is_wp_error( $product_categories ) ){

echo ‘

‘;

foreach ( $product_categories as $category ) {

echo ‘

• ‘ . esc_html( $category->name ) . ‘

‘;

}

echo ‘

‘;

} else {

echo ‘No categories found.’;

}

?>

Explanation:

• `taxonomy`: Specifies the taxonomy to query. Here, we use `’product_cat’` for WooCommerce product categories.
• `hide_empty`: Determines whether to include categories without any assigned products. Setting it to `true` is best practice for a cleaner frontend.
• `orderby`: Sets the order in which categories are retrieved. Options include `’name’`, `’count’`, `’slug’`, etc.
• `order`: Specifies the sorting order, either `’ASC’` (ascending) or `’DESC’` (descending).

Key takeaway: The `get_terms()` function is a straightforward way to retrieve a list of WooCommerce categories and their associated data.

Utilizing `WP_Term_Query` for Advanced Queries

The `WP_Term_Query` class provides more control and flexibility when querying terms, including WooCommerce product categories. It allows you to construct more complex queries with advanced filtering and sorting options. This method is especially beneficial when dealing with large datasets and requiring optimized performance.

Example:

 'product_cat',
'hide_empty' => false,
'orderby'    => 'name',
'order'      => 'ASC',
'number'     => 5, // Limit the number of categories returned
);

$term_query = new WP_Term_Query( $args );

if ( ! empty( $term_query->terms ) ) {

echo ‘

‘;

foreach ( $term_query->terms as $term ) {

echo ‘

• ‘ . esc_html( $term->name ) . ‘

‘;

}

echo ‘

‘;

} else {

echo ‘No categories found.’;

}

?>

Explanation:

• The arguments are similar to `get_terms()`, but the results are accessed through the `$term_query->terms` property.
• `number`: Limits the number of categories returned. This is helpful for pagination or displaying a limited selection.
• Other options, such as `’offset’` (to skip a certain number of categories) and `’search’` (to find categories based on a search term) are also available. Using these options can improve performance when dealing with large datasets.

Key takeaway: `WP_Term_Query` offers greater flexibility and control, making it ideal for complex queries involving multiple criteria and large category sets.

Accessing Category Information: Beyond Just the Name

Both `get_terms()` and `WP_Term_Query` return objects representing each category. These objects contain valuable information beyond just the name. Here are some key properties you can access:

• `$category->term_id`: The unique ID of the category.
• `$category->name`: The name of the category.
• `$category->slug`: The URL-friendly slug of the category.
• `$category->term_group`: Term group.
• `$category->term_taxonomy_id`: Term taxonomy ID.
• `$category->taxonomy`: The taxonomy type, in this case, ‘product_cat’.
• `$category->description`: The description of the category (if available).
• `$category->parent`: The ID of the parent category (if any).
• `$category->count`: Number of products in the category.

Example of accessing category description and product count:

 'product_cat',
'hide_empty' => false,
);

$product_categories = get_terms( $args );

if ( ! empty( $product_categories ) && ! is_wp_error( $product_categories ) ){

echo ‘

‘;

foreach ( $product_categories as $category ) {

echo ‘

• ‘;

  echo ‘‘ . esc_html( $category->name ) . ‘‘;

  echo ‘

  Description: ‘ . esc_html( $category->description ) . ‘

  ‘;

  echo ‘

  Product Count: ‘ . esc_html( $category->count ) . ‘

  ‘;

  echo ‘

‘;

}

echo ‘

‘;

} else {

echo ‘No categories found.’;

}

?>

Key Takeaway: Accessing these properties allows you to dynamically display category-related information on your website, enhancing the user experience.

Handling Parent-Child Relationships

WooCommerce categories can be hierarchical, meaning categories can have parent-child relationships. You can query and display these relationships using a recursive function.

Example:

 'product_cat',
'hide_empty' => false,
'parent' => $parent,
);

$categories = get_terms( $args );

if ( ! empty( $categories ) && ! is_wp_error( $categories ) ) {

echo ‘

‘;

foreach ( $categories as $category ) {

echo ‘

• ‘ . esc_html( $category->name ) . ‘‘;

  display_product_categories( $category->term_id ); // Recursive call to display child categories

  echo ‘

‘;

}

echo ‘

‘;

}

}

display_product_categories(); // Start with the top-level categories (parent = 0)

?>

Explanation:

• The `display_product_categories()` function recursively calls itself to display child categories.
• The `$parent` argument specifies the parent category ID. Passing `0` retrieves top-level categories.
• This method creates a nested list structure representing the category hierarchy. This makes creating category trees for navigation easier.

Key Takeaway: Recursion is a powerful technique for displaying and managing hierarchical category structures.

Conslusion:

Querying WooCommerce categories is fundamental for building dynamic and user-friendly online stores. This article explored the `get_terms()` function and the `WP_Term_Query` class, demonstrating their usage and highlighting the advantages of each method. We also covered accessing key category information and handling parent-child relationships with recursion. By mastering these techniques, you can effectively leverage WooCommerce category data to create custom product displays, enhance navigation, and provide a tailored shopping experience for your customers. Remember to choose the appropriate method based on the complexity of your query and performance requirements. Experiment with different options and adapt them to suit your specific needs.