How to Reorder Items in WooCommerce: A Beginner’s Guide
So, you’re running a WooCommerce store? Awesome! You’ve got products, customers, and hopefully, lots of sales! But what happens when you want to rearrange the order in which your products appear in your shop or category pages? Maybe you want to highlight your best sellers, showcase new arrivals, or just freshen things up visually. Don’t worry, reordering items in WooCommerce is surprisingly simple, and this guide will walk you through it step-by-step.
Why Reorder Items in WooCommerce?
Before we dive into the “how,” let’s quickly touch upon the “why.” There are several compelling reasons to rearrange your product order:
* Boost Sales: Placing high-converting products at the top can significantly increase sales. Think of it like arranging the shelves in a grocery store – the most profitable items are always at eye level!
* Promote New Arrivals: Got a fresh batch of inventory? Feature them prominently to generate immediate interest and sales. Imagine a clothing store showcasing its new spring collection right at the entrance.
* Improve User Experience: A logical and well-organized product display makes it easier for customers to find what they’re looking for. This leads to a better shopping experience and increased customer satisfaction. Think about a bookstore; they wouldn’t just randomly throw books on shelves, would they?
* Seasonal Promotions: During holidays or special events, highlight relevant products to capitalize on the increased demand. For example, prominently featuring Christmas decorations in December.
* Strategic Prioritization: Emphasize products with higher profit margins or that align with your overall business goals.
Method 1: Using WooCommerce’s Default Sorting
WooCommerce offers a built-in way to reorder your products. This method is simple and requires no additional plugins.
1. Go to Products > All Products in your WordPress dashboard.
2. Look for the “Sorting” Option: In the top menu bar, you should see a “Sorting” dropdown. If you don’t see it, ensure you are in the list view, not the grid view.
3. Choose “Default Sorting (Custom Ordering + Name)”: Select this option from the dropdown menu. This tells WooCommerce to let Learn more about How To Remove Woocommerce Extensions you manually drag and drop products into your desired order.
4. Drag and Drop: Notice the reordering icon (usually four lines) that appears when you hover your mouse over a product. Click and drag the product to its new position in the list.
5. Update: After rearranging, click the “Update” button at the top of the page to save your changes. Don’t forget this step!
Example:
Let’s say you sell coffee. You have a “Dark Roast,” a “Medium Roast,” and a “Light Roast.” You know your “Medium Roast” is your best seller. By using the drag-and-drop method, you can move the “Medium Roast” to the top of the product list, ensuring it’s the first thing customers see.
Limitations:
- This method applies to the *entire* product catalog. You can’t have different sorting orders for different categories.
- If you have a lot of products, manually dragging and dropping can become tedious.
- Product A: Menu Order = 1
- Product B: Menu Order = 2
- Product C: Menu Order = 3
- Start with a gap: Instead of numbering products 1, 2, 3, start with 10, 20, 30. This gives you room to insert new products later without having to renumber everything.
- Negative Numbers: You can use negative numbers! If you want a specific product to *always* be first, give it a negative menu order.
- This method requires you to edit each product individually, which can be time-consuming.
- It’s harder to visualize the overall order compared to the drag-and-drop method.
- Category-Specific Sorting: Set different sorting orders for different product categories.
- Custom Sorting Options: Create your own sorting criteria (e.g., by color, material, size).
- Automatic Sorting: Automatically sort products based on sales, popularity, or other metrics.
Method 2: Reordering Products by Menu Order
This method is slightly less intuitive but offers a more precise way to control the product order, especially if you have a specific numbering system in mind.
1. Go to Products > All Products in your WordPress dashboard.
2. Edit the Product: Click “Edit” on the product you want to reorder.
3. Locate the “Product Data” Meta Box: This section contains all the specific details for your product.
4. Go to the “Advanced” Tab: In the Product Data meta box, click the “Advanced” tab.
5. Set the “Menu Order”: In the “Menu Order” field, enter a number. Products will be displayed in ascending order based on this number. Lower numbers appear first.
Example:
In this scenario, Product A will be displayed first, followed by Product B, and then Product C.
Important Considerations:
Limitations:
Method 3: Using a WooCommerce Sorting Plugin
If you need more advanced control over product ordering, especially if you have different sorting requirements for different categories, a plugin is the way to go. There are many WooCommerce sorting plugins available, both free and premium.
* Plugin Search: In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New and search for “WooCommerce Product Sorting” or similar terms.
* Popular Options: Some well-regarded plugins include “Product Sort and Display for WooCommerce” and “WooCommerce Category and Product Sorting.” (Note: Always check reviews and ratings before installing a plugin).
* Plugin Setup: Each plugin will have its own specific setup instructions, so refer to the plugin’s documentation. However, most plugins will offer features such as:
Example:
Imagine you have a clothing store with categories for “Shirts,” “Pants,” and “Shoes.” You want to sort shirts by color, pants by size, and shoes by popularity. A WooCommerce sorting plugin would allow you to do just that!
// Example: Hypothetical Plugin Function (this code is for illustrative purposes only) function custom_sort_by_color( $products ) { // Code to sort products by color based on a custom field return $sorted_products; }
// Add the custom sorting option to WooCommerce
add_filter( ‘woocommerce_get_catalog_ordering_args’, ‘add_custom_sorting_option’ );
function add_custom_sorting_option( $args ) {
$orderby_value = isset( $_GET[‘orderby’] ) ? wc_clean( $_GET[‘orderby’] ) : apply_filters( ‘woocommerce_default_catalog_orderby’, get_option( ‘woocommerce_default_catalog_orderby’ ) );
if ( ‘color’ == $orderby_value ) {
$args[‘orderby’] = ‘meta_value’;
$args[‘meta_key’] = ‘_product_color’; // Assuming you have a custom field called ‘_product_color’
$args[‘order’] = ‘ASC’; // Or ‘DESC’
}
return $args;
}
Considerations:
- Plugin Compatibility: Ensure the plugin is compatible with your version of WooCommerce and other installed plugins.
- Plugin Performance: Some plugins can impact your site’s performance, so choose a well-optimized plugin.
- Cost: Factor in the cost of the plugin if you choose a premium option.
Testing Your Product Ordering
After making any changes to your product order, always test it! Visit your shop or category pages to ensure the products are displaying in the correct order and that everything looks as expected.
Conclusion
Reordering items in WooCommerce is a simple yet powerful way to optimize your online store for sales, user experience, and overall business goals. Whether you choose the default sorting, menu order, or a dedicated plugin, understanding these methods will give you greater control over your product display and help you create a more engaging and profitable shopping experience for your customers. Good luck!
