How to Show Related Categories in WooCommerce: Boost Sales and Improve Navigation
Introduction:
In the competitive world of e-commerce, providing a seamless and intuitive user experience is paramount. One often overlooked yet powerful technique for enhancing your WooCommerce store is displaying related categories on product pages and category archive pages. By strategically showcasing relevant categories, you can significantly improve site navigation, encourage users to explore more of your offerings, and ultimately, boost your sales. This article will guide you through the process of how to effectively implement related categories in your WooCommerce store, allowing customers to discover products they might not have otherwise found.
Why Display Related Categories?
Displaying related categories offers numerous benefits for your WooCommerce store:
- Improved Navigation: Makes it easier for customers to find what they’re looking for by providing clear pathways to relevant product collections.
- Increased Product Discovery: Helps customers discover products they might not have initially considered, broadening their potential purchases.
- Enhanced User Engagement: Keeps users engaged on your site for longer, increasing the chances of a purchase.
- Boost Sales: By guiding customers to relevant products, you increase the likelihood of a purchase.
- Where to display the related categories (e.g., product pages, category archive pages).
- How many categories to display.
- How to determine relatedness (e.g., based on tags, attributes, or custom fields).
- The appearance of the related categories (e.g., using thumbnails, lists, or sliders).
Ways to Display Related Categories in WooCommerce
There are primarily two approaches to showing related categories in WooCommerce: using a plugin or custom coding. Let’s explore each method.
1. Using a WooCommerce Plugin:
This is the simplest and often the most recommended method, especially for users who are not comfortable with code. Several plugins available in the WordPress repository will enable you to display related categories easily.
Examples of Plugins:
While plugin recommendations can change rapidly, searching the WordPress plugin repository for terms like “WooCommerce related categories” or “WooCommerce category navigation” will yield viable options. Look for plugins with good ratings, recent updates, and positive reviews. Read the descriptions carefully to ensure they meet your specific needs.
General Steps for Using a Plugin:
1. Install and Activate the Plugin: Go to *Plugins > Add New* in your WordPress dashboard, search for the desired plugin, install it, and activate it.
2. Configure the Plugin: Most plugins will have their own settings page (usually under *WooCommerce* or a dedicated menu item). Configure the plugin to specify:
2. Custom Coding (Advanced):
If you prefer to have more control over the appearance and functionality of related categories, you can implement this feature using custom code. This method requires some knowledge of PHP, WordPress theming, and WooCommerce hooks.
Example Code Snippet (Showing Categories with Shared Tags on a Product Page):
<?php /**
if ( ! $product ) {
return;
}
$product_tags = wp_get_post_terms( $product->get_id(), ‘product_tag’, array( ‘fields’ => ‘ids’ ) );
if ( empty( $product_tags ) ) {
return;
}
$args = array(
‘taxonomy’ => ‘product_cat’,
‘hide_empty’ => true,
‘number’ => 4, // Adjust the number of categories to display
‘meta_query’ => array(
array(
‘key’ => ‘_product_tag_ids’, // Custom field to store associated tag IDs (explained below)
‘value’ => $product_tags,
‘compare’ => ‘IN’,
),
),
);
$categories = get_terms( $args );
if ( ! empty( $categories ) && ! is_wp_error( $categories ) ) {
echo ‘
Related Categories
‘;
echo ‘
‘;
}
}
add_action( ‘woocommerce_after_single_product_summary’, ‘display_related_categories_by_tags’, 20 );
Important Considerations for Custom Coding:
- Custom Field Setup: The code above relies on a custom field named `_product_tag_ids` being associated with each category. You’ll need to add this custom field to each category and store the IDs of the related product tags. You can use a plugin like Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) to easily manage custom fields. Another alternative is to loop through all products in each category to find common tags, which would be more resource-intensive.
- Location of Code: You should add this code to your theme’s `functions.php` file or create a custom plugin. Never directly edit your theme’s core files, as your changes will be overwritten when you update the theme.
- Styling: You’ll need to add CSS to style the related categories section to match your website’s design.
- Performance: Complex queries can impact your site’s performance. Test your code thoroughly to ensure it doesn’t slow down your website.
Explanation of the Code:
1. `display_related_categories_by_tags()` Function: This function encapsulates the logic for retrieving and displaying related categories.
2. `global $product;`: Accesses the global `$product` object, which contains information about the current product.
3. `wp_get_post_terms()`: Retrieves the product tag IDs associated with the current product.
4. `get_terms()`: Retrieves product categories based on the specified arguments.
5. `meta_query`: This is the key part. It filters categories based on the `_product_tag_ids` custom field, searching for categories that have at least one of the product’s tags assigned to them.
6. Looping and Output: The code iterates through the retrieved categories and displays them as a list of links.
7. `add_action()`: This line hooks the `display_related_categories_by_tags()` function into the `woocommerce_after_single_product_summary` action, which places the related categories section after the product summary on the product page. The `20` is the priority; lower numbers are executed earlier.
Implementing using a function that uses existing products in each category
<?php /**
if ( ! $product ) {
return;
}
$product_tags = wp_get_post_terms( $product->get_id(), ‘product_tag’, array( ‘fields’ => ‘ids’ ) );
if ( empty( $product_tags ) ) {
return;
}
$categories = get_terms( array(
‘taxonomy’ => ‘product_cat’,
‘hide_empty’ => true,
‘number’ => 4, // Adjust the number of categories to display
) );
$related_categories = array();
foreach ($categories as $category) {
$args = array(
‘post_type’ => ‘product’,
‘tax_query’ => array(
array(
‘taxonomy’ => ‘product_cat’,
‘field’ => ‘term_id’,
‘terms’ => $category->term_id,
),
),
‘fields’ => ‘ids’, // We only need the product IDs
‘posts_per_page’ => -1, // Get all products in the category
);
$products_in_category = get_posts($args);
$category_shared_tags = false;
foreach ($products_in_category as $product_id) {
$current_product_tags = wp_get_post_terms($product_id, ‘product_tag’, array(‘fields’ => ‘ids’));
if (array_intersect($product_tags, $current_product_tags)) {
$category_shared_tags = true;
break; // Found a shared tag, no need to check further
}
}
if ($category_shared_tags) {
$related_categories[] = $category;
}
}
if ( ! empty( $related_categories ) && ! is_wp_error( $related_categories ) ) {
echo ‘
Related Categories
‘;
echo ‘
‘;
}
echo ‘
‘;
}
}
add_action( ‘woocommerce_after_single_product_summary’, ‘display_related_categories_by_tags_dynamic’, 20 );
This approach offers the advantage of not requiring manual entry of the tags in the category section.
Performance
Consider that the last function presented can be very CPU intensive if you have a lot of products and categories.
Conclusion:
Displaying related categories in WooCommerce is a simple yet effective strategy to enhance user experience, improve site navigation, and ultimately, boost sales. Whether you choose the simplicity of a plugin or the flexibility of custom coding, implementing related categories will contribute to a more engaging and discoverable online store. Remember to test your implementation thoroughly and monitor its impact on your site’s performance and conversion rates. Continuously analyze your data to optimize the placement and presentation of related categories for maximum impact. By providing your customers with intuitive and relevant navigation, you’ll create a shopping experience that encourages exploration and drives sales growth.
