How to Remove Related Products in WooCommerce: A Comprehensive Guide
Introduction:
WooCommerce, the leading eCommerce platform for WordPress, automatically displays “Related Products” on your product pages. These are intended to cross-sell and up-sell, encouraging customers to explore other items in your store. While helpful in some situations, they can sometimes be distracting, irrelevant, or even detrimental to the customer experience. Perhaps you want a cleaner product page, are focusing on specific conversion goals, or simply don’t find the related products feature beneficial. This article will guide you through several methods to remove related products in WooCommerce, from simple theme tweaks to more advanced code customizations.
Main Part: Removing Related Products
There are several approaches to removing related products, catering to different levels of technical expertise and Check out this post: How To Update Ids Of Woocommerce Products specific needs. We’ll cover the most common and effective methods:
1. Using WooCommerce Settings (Limited Control)
While WooCommerce itself doesn’t offer a direct “remove” button for related products, you can influence their appearance. For example, reducing the number of columns displayed might make them less prominent, although they won’t be entirely gone.
* Navigate to Appearance > Customize > WooCommerce > Product Catalog.
* Look for options to control the number of products displayed per row and the number of rows. Experiment with lowering these values, especially the rows, to minimize the presence of related products.
This method offers the least control, but it’s the simplest and requires no code modifications.
2. Theme Customization (Potentially Risky – Use Child Theme!)
Some WooCommerce themes provide built-in options to disable related products directly within their settings. Always create and use a child theme before making any modifications to your theme files!
* Check your Theme Options/Customizer: Many themes have dedicated sections in their customizer settings for WooCommerce, where you might find a checkbox to disable related products. Look for settings related to single product pages.
* Theme Documentation: Consult your theme’s documentation or support channels to see if they offer specific instructions for disabling related products.
If your theme doesn’t offer a built-in option, you’ll need to proceed with code customization.
3. Code Snippets (Recommended: Via Child Theme’s `functions.php`)
This is the most common and reliable method. By adding a simple code snippet to your child theme’s `functions.php` file, you can effectively remove related products.
<?php /**
- Remove related products output */ function woo_remove_related_products( $args ) { return array(); } add_filter('woocommerce_related_products_args','woo_remove_related_products', 9999); ?>
- The code defines a function `woo_remove_related_products` that takes arguments ( `$args` ) related to the related products section.
- It then returns an empty array, effectively telling WooCommerce to display no related products.
- `add_filter(‘woocommerce_related_products_args’,’woo_remove_related_products’, 9999);` hooks this function into the `woocommerce_related_products_args` filter. The priority `9999` ensures that our function runs after any other functions hooked into the same filter.
- Create a Child Theme: If you don’t already have one, create a child theme for your active theme. This is crucial to prevent your changes from being overwritten when you update your theme.
- Edit `functions.php`: Open your child theme’s `functions.php` Explore this article on How To Link Woocommerce Buy Now Button To Divi Button file. Add the code snippet provided above to the end of the file.
- Save and Test: Save the `functions.php` file and refresh a product page on your website. The related products section should now be gone.
* Explanation:
* How to implement:
4. Using a Plugin
Several plugins are available that simplify the process of removing related products. While this is an easy solution, be mindful of installing too many plugins, as they can impact your website’s performance. Search for plugins like “WooCommerce Related Products Manager” or similar, and check their reviews and ratings before installing.
* Install and Activate: Install and activate your chosen plugin.
* Configure Plugin Settings: Navigate to the plugin’s settings page (usually found within the WooCommerce or WordPress settings menu) and look for options to disable related products.
Plugin options offer an user-friendly interface, but adds an extra dependency to your site.
5. CSS (Not Recommended for Permanent Removal)
While not a true removal, you can technically hide related products using CSS. However, this is generally discouraged as the related products are still being loaded in the background, potentially impacting performance. This is also easily bypassed by users disabling CSS in their browsers.
* Inspect Element: Use your browser’s “Inspect Element” tool to identify the CSS class or ID that wraps the related products section. It often includes the word “related” or “related products.”
* Add CSS: Add the following CSS to your theme’s customizer (Appearance > Customize > Additional CSS) or child theme’s stylesheet:
.related.products {
display: none !important;
}
Replace `.related.products` with the actual CSS selector you identified. The `!important` rule ensures that your CSS rule overrides any conflicting styles.
Conclusion:
Removing related products in WooCommerce can be achieved through various methods, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. For a clean, code-based solution that’s easily maintainable, using a code snippet in your child theme’s `functions.php` is highly recommended. While themes and plugins offer simpler approaches, always consider the potential impact on performance and the importance of using a child theme for any code modifications. By choosing the method that best suits your needs and technical expertise, you can effectively customize your product pages and optimize the shopping experience for your customers. Remember to always test your changes thoroughly to ensure they are working as expected and haven’t introduced any unexpected issues.
