How To Sort Woocommerce Products By Category

How to Sort WooCommerce Products by Category: A Comprehensive Guide

Introduction

WooCommerce, the leading e-commerce platform for WordPress, offers a vast array of functionalities to create and manage online stores. Product categorization is a crucial element for effective store organization and improved user experience. Customers often browse by category to find the products they need. This article delves into various methods for sorting WooCommerce products by category, ranging from the simple drag-and-drop interface to more advanced code-based solutions. We’ll explore the pros and cons of each method, allowing you to choose the approach that best suits your needs and technical expertise. A well-organized product catalog not only enhances navigation but also contributes to better SEO performance and increased sales. Let’s get started!

Sorting WooCommerce Products by Category: Different Approaches

WooCommerce offers multiple ways to organize your products by category. Here’s a breakdown of the most common methods:

#### 1. Manual Product Sorting Within Categories (Drag & Drop)

This is the simplest method, ideal for stores with a relatively small number of products. It allows you to manually arrange products within each category, offering precise control over their order.

How to do it:

1. Navigate to Products > Categories in your WordPress admin panel.

2. Select the category you want to sort.

3. Click the “Display type” dropdown and choose any display type besides “Default”. This is crucial for enabling manual sorting.

4. Go to Products > All Products.

5. Filter the products by the category you selected in Step 2 using the dropdown menu above the product list.

6. Look for the “Sorting” option at the top. If it isn’t there, make sure you are in “List View”.

7. Drag and drop the products to reorder them as desired.

Pros:

• Easy to implement, no coding required.
• Provides granular control over product order within each category.
• Suitable for small product catalogs where manual sorting is manageable.

Cons:

• Time-consuming for stores with a large number of products.
• Doesn’t scale well as your product inventory grows.
• Manual sorting can be tedious and prone to errors.

#### 2. Using a Plugin for Advanced Sorting

Several WooCommerce plugins offer enhanced sorting capabilities, allowing you to sort products by various criteria, including price, popularity, rating, and more. These plugins often provide more flexible and Check out this post: How To Set Up Woocommerce Store automated solutions compared to manual sorting. Some popular options include:

• Product Sort and Display for WooCommerce: Offers a wide range of sorting options and display customizations.
• YITH WooCommerce Category Accordion: Helps organize categories into an accordion-style menu for easy navigation.
• WooCommerce Product Table Ultimate: Presents products in a table format with advanced sorting and filtering features.

How to do it:

1. Install and activate your chosen WooCommerce sorting plugin.

2. Configure the plugin settings according to your desired sorting options. The specific settings will vary depending on the plugin.

3. Typically, you’ll find options to enable specific sorting criteria (e.g., best selling, average rating) on the category pages.

Pros:

• More automated than manual sorting.
• Offers a wider range of sorting options beyond basic drag-and-drop.
• Often includes features like AJAX filtering for improved user experience.

Cons:

• Requires installing and configuring a plugin.
• Plugin compatibility issues may arise.
• Paid plugins may be required for advanced features.

#### 3. Custom Code Snippets for Category Sorting

For developers or those comfortable with code, custom code snippets can provide the most flexible and tailored solution for sorting products by category. This method allows you to implement very specific sorting logic.

Example Code: Sorting by Custom Field within a Category

Let’s say you want to sort products within a specific category based on a custom field called `_my_custom_field`.

 add_filter( 'woocommerce_get_catalog_ordering_args', 'custom_woocommerce_category_sorting' ); 

function custom_woocommerce_category_sorting( $args ) {

if ( is_product_category( ‘your-category-slug’ ) ) { // Replace ‘your-category-slug’ with your category slug

$args[‘orderby’] = ‘meta_value_num’;

$args[‘meta_key’] = ‘_my_custom_field’; // Replace ‘_my_custom_field’ with your actual custom field key

$args[‘order’] = ‘ASC’; // or ‘DESC’ for descending order

}

return $args;

}

Explanation:

• `add_filter( ‘woocommerce_get_catalog_ordering_args’, ‘custom_woocommerce_category_sorting’ );`: This line hooks into the WooCommerce filter responsible for defining the catalog ordering arguments.
• `is_product_category( ‘your-category-slug’ )`: This condition checks if the current page is a specific product category. Remember to replace `’your-category-slug’` with the actual slug of your category. You can find the category slug in the “Categories” section of the WordPress admin panel.
• `$args[‘orderby’] = ‘meta_value_num’;`: This sets the ordering method to use a custom field (meta value). Use `meta_value` for string values or `meta_value_num` for numeric values.
• `$args[‘meta_key’] = ‘_my_custom_field’;`: This specifies the name of the custom field you want to sort by. Replace `’_my_custom_field’` with the actual key of your custom field.
• `$args[‘order’] = ‘ASC’;`: This sets the sorting order to ascending (A-Z or smallest to largest). You can change it to `’DESC’` for descending order (Z-A or largest to smallest).

Important:

• Add this code to your theme’s `functions.php` file or use a code snippets plugin. Do not directly edit your theme’s files if you’re not comfortable doing so, as it can break your website. A code snippets plugin is generally safer.
• Always test your code snippets on a staging environment before implementing them on your live site.
• Adjust the code to match your specific category slug and custom field name.

Pros:

• Highly customizable and flexible.
• Allows for complex sorting logic based on custom fields or other criteria.
• Avoids the need for additional plugins (depending on the complexity of your sorting needs).

Cons:

• Requires coding knowledge.
• Code errors can break your website.
• Maintenance is required to ensure code compatibility with future WooCommerce updates.

Conclusion

Sorting WooCommerce products by category is crucial for creating a user-friendly and well-organized online store. Whether you choose the simple drag-and-drop method, leverage the power of a plugin, or implement custom code snippets, the key is to select the approach that best aligns with your technical skills and the complexity of your product catalog. Remember to prioritize the user experience and test your sorting methods thoroughly to ensure they function correctly. A well-sorted product catalog can significantly improve customer satisfaction, boost sales, and enhance your store’s overall SEO performance. By following the guidelines outlined in this article, you can effectively sort Read more about How To Downgrade Woocommerce your WooCommerce products by category and create a more engaging and profitable online shopping experience.