How To Remove Product Archieve From Woocommerce

How to Remove the Product Archive Page in WooCommerce: A Beginner’s Guide

So, you’re diving into Read more about How To Make A Coupon In Woocommerce the world of WooCommerce and want to customize your online store’s appearance. One common task is removing the product archive page (the page that lists all your products by default, often found at `/shop`). Maybe you want to present products in a different way, like through custom landing pages or using shortcodes within your existing site structure. Don’t worry, it’s achievable! This guide will walk you through different methods to remove the WooCommerce product archive, catering to various technical skill levels.

Think of it like rearranging furniture in your online store. The product archive is like a default display case. Sometimes, you want to ditch that case and showcase your products in a more curated or dynamic way.

Why Remove the Product Archive Page?

Before we dive in, let’s briefly understand *why* someone might want to remove this page:

Custom Landing Pages: You might want to design specific landing pages for different product categories or promotional campaigns, offering a more tailored experience.
Simplified Navigation: You may prefer to guide customers directly to specific product categories or individual product pages, rather than presenting a general listing.
Improved SEO (Sometimes): While generally not recommended to *permanently* remove the product archive for SEO, you might temporarily disable it while focusing on other, more targeted pages. (More on this later).
Design Aesthetics: The default WooCommerce product archive may not align with your desired design, and you want a completely custom product showcase.

Important Note: Remember to back up your website before making any changes to your theme or its files. This helps prevent any data loss if something goes wrong.

Method 1: The “Easy” Way – Redirection (Recommended for Beginners)

This is the simplest and safest approach. Instead of completely deleting the product archive, we’ll redirect visitors from `/shop` to another page, such as your homepage or a specific category page.

Why is this good for beginners?

Non-destructive: You don’t edit any code directly.
Reversible: If you change your mind, you can easily undo the redirection.
SEO-friendly (in some cases): Using a 301 redirect tells search engines that the page has moved permanently, preserving link equity (if you have external links pointing to `/shop`). However, if you remove the product archive completely without a redirect, this can negatively impact your SEO if other sites link to your `/shop` page.

How to do it:

1. Install a Redirection Plugin: A popular choice is “Redirection” by John Godley. Install and activate it from your WordPress dashboard (Plugins -> Add New).

2. Configure the Redirection:

Check out this post: How To Add Map To Field In Woocommerce

Go to Tools -> Redirection.
In the “Source URL” field, enter `/shop/`. Make sure to include the trailing slash!
In the “Target URL” field, enter the URL of the page you want to redirect to (e.g., your homepage, a specific category page: `/category/shoes/`).
Choose the “301 – Moved Permanently” redirect type.
Click “Add Redirect.”

Now, when someone tries to access `/shop/`, they’ll automatically be redirected to your chosen page.

Example: Let’s say you sell shoes and want to drive traffic to your “shoes” category page. You would set the “Source URL” to `/shop/` and the “Target URL” to `/category/shoes/`.

Method 2: Code Snippets (For the Slightly More Adventurous)

This method involves adding a small code snippet to your theme’s `functions.php` file or using a code snippets plugin. This method is more direct, but requires some caution.

Important: Editing `functions.php` incorrectly can break your site. Use a child theme to avoid losing changes during theme updates. A code snippets plugin like “Code Snippets” provides a safer alternative to directly modifying your theme files.

Here’s the code snippet to redirect the `/shop/` page:

 add_action( 'template_redirect', 'remove_shop_page' ); function remove_shop_page() { if ( is_shop() ) { wp_redirect( home_url() ); // Redirect to homepage exit(); } }

Explanation:

`add_action( ‘template_redirect’, ‘remove_shop_page’ );`: This tells WordPress to run the `remove_shop_page` function before the page template is loaded.
`function remove_shop_page() { … }`: This defines the function that will perform the redirection.
`if ( is_shop() ) { … }`: This checks if the current page is the product archive page (`/shop/`).
`wp_redirect( home_url() );`: If it *is* the product archive page, this redirects the user to the homepage (`home_url()` returns the URL of your homepage). You can replace `home_url()` with another URL if desired (e.g., `/category/shoes/`).
`exit();`: This stops further execution of the script.

How to use it:

1. Using a Child Theme: Create a child theme of your current theme. This prevents your customizations from being overwritten during theme updates.

2. Discover insights on How To Test Woocommerce Memberships Edit `functions.php` (Child Theme): Open the `functions.php` file in your child theme.

3. Paste the Code: Add the code snippet to the end of the `functions.php` file.

4. Save the File: Save the changes to `functions.php`.

1. Install the Code Snippets Plugin: Install and activate the “Code Snippets” plugin from your WordPress dashboard (Plugins -> Add New).

2. Add a New Snippet: Go to Snippets -> Add New.

3. Paste the Code: Paste the code snippet into the “Code” area.

4. Name the Snippet: Give the snippet a descriptive name (e.g., “Redirect Shop Page”).

5. Save and Activate: Save and activate the snippet.

This code will automatically redirect visitors away from the `/shop/` page.

Method 3: Completely Removing the Product Archive (Advanced – Use with Caution!)

This method completely removes the product archive page from your WooCommerce installation. This is generally NOT recommended unless you have a very specific reason and understand the implications.

Why?

SEO Risks: If other websites link to your `/shop/` page, completely removing it without a redirect will result in broken links and negatively impact your SEO.
Potential Conflicts: Removing core WooCommerce functionalities can sometimes cause conflicts with other plugins or theme features.

How to do it (If you’re sure you want to):

This involves preventing the product archive from being registered in the first place. You can achieve this through code. Again, use a child theme or a code snippets plugin.

 function remove_woocommerce_shop_page() { remove_post_type_support( 'product', 'woocommerce'); remove_action('woocommerce_before_main_content', 'woocommerce_breadcrumb', 20, 0);

// Optional: Prevent product category pages from being shop pages

add_filter( ‘woocommerce_is_shop’, ‘__return_false’);

}

add_action( ‘after_setup_theme’, ‘remove_woocommerce_shop_page’ );

Explanation:

`remove_post_type_support( ‘product’, ‘woocommerce’);`: This attempts to prevent the standard shop archive from working.
`remove_action(‘woocommerce_before_main_content’, ‘woocommerce_breadcrumb’, 20, 0);`: This prevents the breadcrumb displaying (if it still appears)
`add_filter( ‘woocommerce_is_shop’, ‘__return_false’);`: This makes category archives separate and no longer behave as “shop” pages.
`add_action( ‘after_setup_theme’, ‘remove_woocommerce_shop_page’ );`: Calls this function after the theme has loaded.

Even if you do this, the `/shop/` URL might still be accessible and show a 404 error. You’ll likely need to also use the redirection method (Method 1) in conjunction with this code to properly handle the `/shop/` URL.

Important considerations for Method 3:

Check your robots.txt: Make sure you’re not accidentally blocking search engines from crawling your product pages or categories.
Monitor your search console: Keep an eye on your Google Search Console to identify any crawl errors or broken links.
Consider a 410 (Gone) header: Instead of a 404, you could return a 410 status code (Gone), indicating that the page is permanently unavailable. This is a stronger signal to search engines than a Discover insights on Built With Storefront & Woocommerce How To Remove 404, but use it carefully.

Choosing the Right Method

Beginners: Start with Method 1 (Redirection). It’s the safest and easiest to implement.
Intermediate Users: If you’re comfortable with code snippets, Method 2 offers a slightly more direct approach.
Advanced Users: Only use Method 3 if you fully understand the implications for your website and SEO.

Remember to test your changes thoroughly after implementing any of these methods. Happy selling!