How To Remove The Categories Option In Woocommerce

Removing WooCommerce Categories: A Beginner’s Guide

WooCommerce is a fantastic platform for building an online store, but sometimes you might want to customize it further to perfectly match your needs. One common Discover insights on How To Change Banner In Woocommerce customization is removing the category display in certain areas of your store. Maybe you only sell a few products and categories feel redundant, or perhaps you have a very specific layout in mind. Whatever the reason, this guide will walk you through how to remove the categories option in WooCommerce in a clear and easy-to-understand way.

We’ll cover a few different scenarios, from removing category links from your product pages to hiding category widgets entirely. No coding experience needed for some options, and the code snippets we do use are ready to copy and paste! Let’s dive in.

Why Remove Categories in WooCommerce?

Before we jump into the “how,” let’s briefly discuss the “why.” Here are a few common reasons:

• Simplified User Experience: If you only have a handful of products, categories might clutter the interface and confuse users. Imagine a bakery with only three types of bread: Sourdough, Rye, and Whole Wheat. Displaying a whole category section might seem overkill.
• Unique Design: You might have a very specific design in mind for your online store that doesn’t include traditional category navigation.
• Product Focus: You want to Learn more about How To Make A Woocommerce Menu drive users directly Check out this post: How To Create A Privacy Policy Page Woocommerce to the products and not distract them with category browsing. Think of a promotional landing page for a new product line; categories might dilute the message.
• Redundant Navigation: Your store might already have a robust navigation system that makes categories redundant.

Methods for Removing WooCommerce Categories

Here are several methods you can use to remove categories from your WooCommerce store, ranging from simple to slightly more advanced:

#### 1. Removing Categories from Product Pages

This method focuses on hiding the categories displayed *on the product page itself*, typically below the product title. You often see something like: “Category: T-Shirts”. We can remove that.

Method 1: Using CSS (Easiest)

This is the simplest and most non-intrusive method. You won’t need to modify any code.

• Reasoning: CSS allows you to hide elements on a page without actually deleting them. This is preferable when you simply want to visually remove the categories without affecting the underlying data.
• How:

1. Go to Appearance > Customize > Additional CSS in your WordPress dashboard.

2. Add the following CSS code:

.product_meta .posted_in {

display: none;

}

3. Click Publish.

• Explanation: The CSS code targets the `posted_in` class within the `product_meta` class, which is where the category information is usually displayed on product pages. `display: none;` simply hides the element.

Method 2: Using a Code Snippet (Slightly More Advanced)

This method uses a PHP function to unhook the category Discover insights on How To Add Price Range In Woocommerce display from the product page.

• Reasoning: This is a more direct approach that prevents WooCommerce from even generating the HTML code for the category display.
• How:

1. Important: Before editing your theme’s functions.php file, it’s highly recommended to use a child theme to avoid losing your changes when the theme is updated. Alternatively, use a plugin like “Code Snippets” to safely add PHP code.

2. Add the following code snippet to your theme’s `functions.php` file (or a Code Snippets plugin):

 function remove_product_categories() { remove_action( 'woocommerce_single_product_summary', 'woocommerce_template_single_meta', 40 ); } add_action('woocommerce_before_single_product', 'remove_product_categories'); 

• Explanation:
• `remove_action( ‘woocommerce_single_product_summary’, ‘woocommerce_template_single_meta’, 40 );` This line removes the default WooCommerce function that displays product meta information, including categories.
• `add_action(‘woocommerce_before_single_product’, ‘remove_product_categories’);` This line hooks our function to the `woocommerce_before_single_product` action, ensuring it runs before the product page content is displayed.

#### 2. Removing Category Widgets

Sometimes, you want to remove the entire category widget from your sidebar or other widget areas.

• Reasoning: If you’re not using categories for navigation, there’s no point in displaying the category widget.
• How:

1. Go to Appearance > Widgets in your WordPress dashboard.

2. Locate the “Product categories” widget (or any widget displaying categories you want to remove).

3. Drag the widget out of the sidebar or widget area, or simply click “Remove.”

#### 3. Removing Categories from the Shop Page (and other product listings)

If you want to prevent categories from displaying in places like your shop page, or any product archive page, you’ll likely need a more targeted approach. The CSS method described above may not be specific enough in these cases. You might need to adjust the theme’s templates or use WooCommerce hooks to achieve this. However, the exact approach can be different based on your theme’s structure.

• Reasoning: Your theme may use different code to display categories on different pages. Therefore you need to find out how the theme handles this.
• How:

1. Inspect the page’s HTML: Use your browser’s developer tools (usually by right-clicking and selecting “Inspect” or “Inspect Element”) to identify the CSS classes or IDs associated with the category display on the shop page.

2. Adjust the CSS: Use a more specific CSS rule, targeting those specific classes or IDs, to hide the categories.

For example, if you see a category link wrapped in a `div` with a class of `shop-category`, your CSS might look like this:

.shop-category {

display: none;

}

3. Theme Template Modification (Advanced): If CSS doesn’t work, you might need to edit your theme’s template files directly. *This is for advanced users only, as it can break your site if done incorrectly.* You’ll likely need to look in files like `archive-product.php` or `content-product.php` (within your theme’s WooCommerce folder) and remove the code responsible for displaying the categories.

Important: *Always back up your theme files before making any changes.*

Choosing the Right Method

The best method depends on your specific needs:

• Simplest: CSS for hiding elements on a single page.
• More control: PHP code snippets for more advanced customization.
• Widget Management: The widgets area for removing category widgets.
• Very Custom: Theme template modification for precise control, but only for experienced users.

Conclusion

Removing categories in WooCommerce can help streamline your store and create a more user-friendly experience. By using the methods described above, you can easily customize your store to perfectly match your needs, whether it’s a simple CSS tweak or a more advanced code modification. Remember to always back up your site before making any changes, and good luck!