How to Remove “In Stock” from Showing in WooCommerce: A Beginner’s Guide
Are you tired of the “In Stock” message cluttering your WooCommerce product pages? Maybe you sell digital products where stock levels are irrelevant, or you just prefer a cleaner look. Don’t worry, you’re not alone! Many WooCommerce store owners want to customize this aspect of their online shop. This guide will walk you through several easy ways to remove the “In Stock” message, even if you’re new to WordPress and WooCommerce.
Why Remove the “In Stock” Message?
Before we dive in, let’s quickly consider *why* you might want to do this:
- Digital Products: If you sell downloadable files, ebooks, or other digital goods, stock levels are usually infinite. Displaying “In Stock” is redundant and can even look unprofessional. Think of a SaaS platform; would you expect it to show “In Stock” for its subscription plans?
- Made-to-Order Items: For handcrafted or customized products, stock levels can be misleading. You might take orders regardless of “stock,” producing items as they’re ordered. Consider a personalized jewelry store; it makes more sense to say “ships in 2-3 weeks” than “in stock” if each piece is crafted individually.
- Clean Design: Sometimes, less is more! Removing the “In Stock” label contributes to a cleaner, more minimalist design, especially if you’re using a modern or high-end theme.
- Avoiding Scarcity Marketing: You might want to *avoid* highlighting availability to create a sense of urgency (which is often done in stock settings). Perhaps your strategy is based on quality and unique features rather than artificial scarcity.
- This must be repeated for each simple product.
- Doesn’t work directly for variable products (products with size/color options). You’ll need to edit *each variation* individually.
- Recommended: Use a code snippet plugin like “Code Snippets”. This is the safest and easiest way to add custom code without directly editing Explore this article on How To Edit Products In Woocommerce your theme files. Install and activate the plugin from your WordPress plugin repository.
- Alternative (Not Recommended for Beginners): Directly edit your theme’s `functions.php` file. Important: Make a backup of this file before making any changes. You can access it via FTP or the Theme File Editor (Appearance -> Theme File Editor). Be very careful when editing theme files directly!
Let’s get rid of that “In Stock” message!
Method 1: Using WooCommerce Settings (Simple Products Only)
The easiest way to remove “In Stock” is by managing the stock settings for each product individually, but this only works reliably for *simple* products.
1. Edit Your Product: Navigate to Products -> All Products in your WordPress dashboard and select the product you want to modify.
2. Product Data Section: Find the “Product data” metabox. This is usually located below the main text editor.
3. Inventory Tab: Click on the “Inventory” tab within the “Product data” section.
4. Manage Stock? Uncheck the “Manage stock?” checkbox. This tells WooCommerce that you don’t want to track inventory for this particular product.
5. Update Product: Click the “Update” button in the top-right corner of the screen.
Reasoning: By disabling stock management, WooCommerce no longer needs to display the “In Stock” message. This method is quick and easy for products where precise stock tracking isn’t essential.
Limitations:
Method 2: Using a Code Snippet (For All Products, Requires Basic Coding Knowledge)
If you want a more global solution that applies to all products (including variations) and avoids individual product editing, you can use a code snippet. This requires a small amount of PHP coding, but it’s quite simple.
1. Access Your Theme’s `functions.php` File (or Use a Code Snippet Plugin):
2. Add the Code Snippet:
Add the following PHP code snippet to your `functions.php` file (or through the Code Snippets plugin):
/**
function remove_in_stock_message( $html, $product ) {
return ”; // Return an empty string to remove the text.
}
3. Save Changes: Save the changes to your `functions.php` file (or activate the Code Snippet).
Explanation:
- `add_filter(‘woocommerce_get_stock_html’, ‘remove_in_stock_message’, 10, 2);`: This line hooks into the WooCommerce filter that controls the HTML output of the stock status.
- `remove_in_stock_message($html, $product)`: This Discover insights on How To Show Featured Products On Homepage In WordPress Woocommerce is the function that actually removes the “In Stock” text. It receives the existing HTML (`$html`) and the product object (`$product`).
- `return ”;`: By returning an empty string, we’re essentially replacing the default “In Stock” message with nothing, effectively hiding it.
Reasoning: This method uses the power of WordPress filters to modify the output of the `woocommerce_get_stock_html` function, which is responsible for displaying the stock status. It’s a more elegant and efficient solution for removing the message globally.
Important Considerations:
- Plugin Conflicts: If you’re already using a plugin that manages stock display, this snippet might conflict. Try disabling the plugin temporarily to see if that resolves the issue.
- Theme Updates: If you directly edited your theme’s `functions.php` file, your changes might be overwritten when you update your theme. Using a child theme or a code snippet plugin is a better practice to prevent this.
Method 3: Using CSS (Hides, but Doesn’t Remove, the Element)
While not recommended as the *primary* solution, you can use CSS to simply *hide* the “In Stock” message. This is the least effective approach as the “In Stock” HTML is still being generated, but it might be useful in certain specific situations.
1. Access Your Theme’s Custom CSS: Navigate to Appearance -> Customize -> Additional CSS (or a similar section depending on your theme).
2. Add the CSS Rule:
Add the following CSS rule to hide the “In Stock” message:
.stock.in-stock {
display: none !important;
}
3. Publish Changes: Click the “Publish” button to save your changes.
Explanation:
- `.stock.in-stock`: This CSS selector targets elements with both the `stock` and `in-stock` classes, which is typically the HTML element containing the “In Stock” message.
- `display: none !important;`: This rule hides the targeted element. `!important` ensures that this rule overrides any other conflicting CSS rules.
Reasoning: This method simply hides the message from view. The underlying HTML is still present in the page source.
Why This Isn’t Ideal:
- SEO Impact: While minimal, it’s generally better to remove unnecessary HTML from your page source for SEO purposes.
- Bandwidth: The “In Stock” HTML is still being downloaded, even though it’s hidden.
- Accessibility: Hiding content with CSS can sometimes create accessibility issues for users with screen readers.
When to Use CSS:
- Quick Fix: As a temporary solution while you implement a more permanent fix with PHP.
- Specific Theme Compatibility: If the PHP solution is causing conflicts with your theme’s styling.
Conclusion:
Removing the “In Stock” message in WooCommerce can be a great way to customize your store and improve the user experience. The code snippet method (Method 2) is generally the most robust and recommended approach. Choose the method that best suits your technical skill level and the specific needs of your WooCommerce store. Remember to test your changes thoroughly after implementing any of these solutions! Good luck!
