How to Showcase Product Categories in WooCommerce: A Comprehensive Guide
Introduction
WooCommerce is a powerful and flexible platform, but by default, it doesn’t always highlight your product categories in the most intuitive way. Well-organized product categories are crucial for improving user experience, boosting SEO, and driving sales. When customers can easily navigate through your products, they’re more likely to find what they’re looking for and make a purchase. This article provides a comprehensive guide to effectively showcasing your product categories in WooCommerce, covering various methods from simple widgets to advanced code customization.
Main Part: Showcasing Your WooCommerce Product Categories
There are several methods to display your WooCommerce product categories. Choose the one that best suits your website’s design and your technical expertise.
1. Using the Built-in WooCommerce Product Category Widget
This is the simplest and most common method, suitable for beginners.
- Where to find it: WordPress Dashboard > Appearance > Widgets
- How it works:
- Title: Enter a title for the widget (e.g., “Shop by Category”).
- Display as dropdown: Choose whether to display the categories as a list or a dropdown menu. Dropdowns are useful for a large number of categories.
- Show product counts: Display the number of products within each category. This can help users gauge category popularity.
- Show category hierarchy: Display parent and child categories in a nested structure, which is essential for complex product hierarchies.
- Only show top-level categories: If checked, only the main (parent) categories will be displayed.
- Pros: Easy to implement, requires no coding.
- Cons: Limited customization options.
- Where to find it: WordPress Dashboard > Appearance > Customize > WooCommerce > Product Catalog
- How it works:
- Show products: Displays Learn more about How To Change Font And Colors In Woocommerce only products.
- Show categories: Displays only categories.
- Show both products and categories: Displays categories first, then products. This is often the most effective option for user navigation.
- Show products: Display only products in the product category page.
- Show subcategories: Display subcategories if available in the product category page.
- Show both products and subcategories: Display both products and subcategories in the product category page.
- Pros: Directly integrates with the main shop page, improving visibility.
- Cons: Limited customization options within the WooCommerce customizer, may affect the visual flow of the shop page if not implemented carefully.
- Shortcode: `[product_categories]`
- How it works:
- `number`: The number of categories to display. Defaults to -1 (all). `[product_categories number=”5″]`
- `columns`: The number of columns to display the categories in. `[product_categories columns=”3″]`
- `orderby`: How to order the categories (e.g., name, count). `[product_categories orderby=”name”]`
- `order`: Ascending (ASC) or descending (DESC) order. `[product_categories order=”DESC”]`
- `hide_empty`: Hide categories with no products (1 to hide, 0 to show). `[product_categories hide_empty=”1″]`
- `parent`: Display only child categories of a specific parent category ID. `[product_categories parent=”15″]`
- Pros: More control over placement and appearance compared to the widget.
- Cons: Requires understanding of shortcode attributes.
- Example Code:
1. Drag the “WooCommerce Product Categories” widget into your desired sidebar or widget area.
2. Configure the widget options:
2. Displaying Categories on Your Shop Page
WooCommerce allows you to display either products or categories on your shop page.
1. Choose the “Shop page display” option:
2. Adjust the “Category display” option:
3. Using Shortcodes
Shortcodes offer more flexibility in placing product categories throughout your site, even within content pages.
1. Insert the shortcode `[product_categories]` into any page, post, or widget area where shortcodes are supported.
2. Customize the Read more about How To Edit Woocommerce Default Credit Card From shortcode with attributes:
3. Example: To show 4 categories with name as order in 2 columns: `[product_categories number=”4″ columns=”2″ orderby=”name”]`
4. Customizing with Code (PHP)
For ultimate control over the display of your product categories, you can use PHP code within your theme’s `functions.php` file or a custom plugin. This method is recommended for advanced users only.
function custom_woocommerce_category_list() { $args = array( 'taxonomy' => 'product_cat', 'orderby' => 'name', 'show_count' => 1, // 1 for yes, 0 for no 'pad_counts' => 1, // 1 for yes, 0 for no 'hierarchical' => 1, // 1 for yes, 0 for no 'title_li' => '', 'hide_empty' => 1 // 1 for yes, 0 for no );
echo ‘
- ‘;
wp_list_categories( $args );
echo ‘
‘;
}
// To display the category list, use this function in your template files:
//
Explanation:
- The `custom_woocommerce_category_list()` function retrieves the product categories using `wp_list_categories()`.
- The `$args` array defines various Discover insights on How To Make A Free Downloadable In Woocommerce parameters for the category list, such as the taxonomy, ordering, and whether to show counts or hide empty categories.
- The function then echoes an unordered list (`
- `) containing the categories.
- You can then use this function in your template files.
- Where to use: Within your theme’s template files (e.g., `sidebar.php`, `page.php`) or in a custom plugin.
- Pros: Complete control over the display, allowing for custom styling and functionality.
- Cons: Requires PHP coding knowledge, potential for theme conflicts, and the need for careful maintenance.
5. Using Plugins
Several WooCommerce plugins offer advanced features for displaying product categories. These plugins often provide visual builders, customizable templates, and improved filtering options.
- Examples of plugins:
- WooCommerce Category Showcase
- Product Category Grid for WooCommerce
- Visual Category Selector
- WooCommerce Product Category Filter
- Pros: Offers a user-friendly interface to customize and display categories.
- Cons: Plugins can be expensive. And too many plugins slow down your site.
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Conclusion
Effectively displaying your WooCommerce product categories is essential for creating a user-friendly and SEO-optimized online store. From the simple built-in widget to complex code customizations, there’s a method that suits your needs and technical abilities. By implementing these strategies, you can improve navigation, enhance the shopping experience, and ultimately increase sales. Remember to choose the option that best fits your design requirements and skillset.
