Showing WooCommerce Product Categories: A Beginner’s Guide (2019)
So, you’ve got your WooCommerce store up and running, congratulations! But now you want to make it easier for your customers to browse and find what they’re looking for. A well-organized store is crucial for a good user experience and ultimately, more sales. One of the best ways to achieve this is by effectively displaying your product categories. This guide, tailored for WooCommerce 2019, will walk you through various methods to show categories on your site. Don’t worry if you’re new to this – we’ll keep it simple and practical!
Why Display Product Categories?
Imagine walking into a large bookstore with books randomly scattered everywhere. Overwhelming, right? The same applies to an online store. Here’s why showing your product categories is essential:
- Improved Navigation: Categories provide a clear roadmap for customers, allowing them to quickly narrow down their search. Think of it like aisles in a grocery store.
- Enhanced User Experience: A well-organized store is more inviting and easier to navigate. A happy customer is a buying customer!
- Better SEO: Categories contribute to your website’s structure, which search engines appreciate. They help search engines understand what your store offers and can improve your rankings for relevant keywords.
- Increased Sales: By making it easier for customers to find what they need, you’re more likely to convert visitors into buyers.
- Title: The title that will appear above the category list (e.g., “Shop by Category”).
- Display Type: Choose between “Dropdown” (a select box) or “List”. A list is generally more visually appealing.
- Show product counts: Display the number of products within each category in parentheses. This helps customers understand the size and scope of each category.
- Hierarchical: Display categories as a hierarchy (parent and child categories). For example, “Clothing” as a parent category and “Shirts” and “Pants” as child categories.
- Show only top-level categories: If checked, only the main parent categories will be displayed.
Method 1: Using the WooCommerce Product Category Widget
This is the easiest and most common method, requiring no coding knowledge.
1. Access Your WordPress Dashboard: Log into your WordPress admin area (usually at `yourwebsite.com/wp-admin`).
2. Navigate to Appearance > Widgets: This will take you to the Widgets page.
3. Find the “WooCommerce Product Categories” Widget: It should be in the list of available widgets.
4. Drag and Drop: Drag the “WooCommerce Product Categories” widget to the desired widget area. Common areas include the sidebar or footer.
5. Configure the Widget: Here’s where you can customize how the categories are displayed:
6. Save: Click the “Save” button.
That’s it! Check your website’s front end to see the product categories displayed in the widget area you selected.
Method 2: Using WooCommerce Shortcodes
Shortcodes are simple codes that allow you to embed dynamic content into your pages and posts. WooCommerce provides a shortcode for displaying product categories.
1. Identify the Page/Post: Decide where you want to display the categories. It could be a custom “Shop” page or even a blog post.
2. Edit the Page/Post: Open the page or post in the WordPress editor.
3. Insert the Shortcode: Add the following shortcode where you want the categories to appear:
[product_categories]
4. Customize (Optional): You can customize the shortcode with attributes to control how the categories are displayed. Here are a few examples:
- `number`: Specifies the number of categories to display.
[product_categories number="5"] // Show only 5 categories
- `columns`: Specifies the number of columns for the category display.
[product_categories number="5" columns="3"] // Show 5 categories in 3 columns
- `orderby`: Specifies how the categories should be ordered (e.g., `name`, `slug`, `count`).
[product_categories orderby="name"] // Order categories alphabetically by name
- `order`: Specifies the order direction (`ASC` for ascending or `DESC` for descending).
[product_categories orderby="name" order="DESC"] // Order categories alphabetically by name in reverse
- `hide_empty`: Show or hide categories with no products (`1` to hide, `0` to show).
[product_categories hide_empty="1"] // Hide empty categories
- `parent`: Only shows child categories of a specific parent ID. Set to `0` to only show top-level categories.
[product_categories parent="0"] // Show only top-level categories
5. Update/Publish: Update or publish the page/post.
Example: Let’s say you want to display 6 product categories in 2 columns, ordered alphabetically, hiding empty categories. The shortcode would be:
[product_categories number="6" columns="2" orderby="name" order="ASC" hide_empty="1"]
Method 3: Adding Category Links to Your Menu
Another excellent way to showcase your categories is by adding them to your main navigation menu.
1. Navigate to Appearance > Menus: In your WordPress dashboard.
2. Find the “Product Categories” Section: In the left-hand panel, you should see a section labeled “Product Categories.” If you don’t see it, click the “Screen Check out this post: How To Make Conditional Pages In Woocommerce With Php Code Options” tab at the top of the screen and make sure “Product Categories” is checked.
3. Select Categories: Check the boxes next to the categories you want to add to your menu.
4. Add to Menu: Click the “Add to Menu” button.
5. Arrange and Customize: The categories will be added to the bottom of your menu. Drag and drop them to reorder them. You can also create sub-menus by dragging a category slightly to the right, making it a child of the category above it.
6. Save Menu: Click the “Save Menu” button.
Example: You might have a main menu item called “Shop” and then sub-menu items for each of your product categories (e.g., “T-Shirts,” “Hoodies,” “Accessories”).
Important Considerations for WooCommerce Category Management
- Category Structure: Plan your category structure carefully. Think about how your customers will browse your products. Don’t overcomplicate it with too many categories.
- Category Images: Add appealing thumbnail images to your categories. This can significantly improve the visual appeal of your store and encourage clicks. You can set category images by going to Products > Categories, clicking “Edit” on a category, and then uploading an image in the “Thumbnail” section.
- Category Descriptions: Write concise and informative descriptions for each category. This helps both users and search engines understand what the category is about.
- SEO Optimization: Use relevant keywords in your category names, descriptions, and image alt text. This will help your categories rank higher in search results.
By following these tips and using one (or a combination) of the methods above, you can effectively showcase your WooCommerce product categories, creating a user-friendly and SEO-optimized online store that converts visitors into loyal customers. Good luck!
