How To Use Essential Grid With Woocommerce

Unleash the Power of Visuals: How to Use Essential Grid with WooCommerce (Even if You’re a Newbie!)

WooCommerce is fantastic for selling products online, but sometimes the default layouts can feel a bit… bland. Enter Essential Grid! This powerful WordPress plugin lets you create stunning, visually-rich displays for your products, boosting engagement and sales. Think of it as the difference between a grocery store aisle packed with brown boxes and a beautifully arranged farmer’s market. Which one makes you want to browse and buy?

This guide is designed for WooCommerce newbies, so we’ll break down how to use Essential Grid to transform your product pages and make them irresistible.

What is Essential Grid and Why Should You Use It?

Essential Grid is a premium WordPress plugin that lets you create beautiful, customizable grids for displaying various content. It’s far more than just a simple image gallery plugin. It’s a versatile tool capable of showcasing:

WooCommerce Products: The primary focus of this article! Highlight product features, sales, or create unique browsing experiences.
Blog Posts: Create eye-catching blog post grids to encourage readership.
Image Galleries: Showcase your portfolio or product photos in a dynamic and engaging way.
Videos: Embed videos to showcase product demos or testimonials.

Why is it beneficial for WooCommerce?

Increased Engagement: Beautiful product grids grab attention and keep visitors browsing longer. Think of scrolling through Instagram’s explore page – that’s the kind of experience you can create!
Improved Conversion Rates: Visually appealing products are more likely to convert into sales. A well-designed grid highlights key selling points and builds trust.
Enhanced Branding: Consistent visual design strengthens your brand identity.
Mobile-Friendly: Essential Grid is fully responsive, meaning your grids will look great on any device.
Highly Customizable: You have complete control over the look and feel of your grids.

Step-by-Step: Creating Your First WooCommerce Product Grid

Okay, let’s dive into the practical stuff.

1. Installation and Activation:

Purchase and Download: First, you’ll need to purchase Essential Grid from CodeCanyon (Envato Market). Once purchased, download the plugin files.
Install the Plugin: In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins -> Add New -> Upload Plugin. Upload the ZIP file you downloaded.
Activate the Plugin: Once uploaded, activate the plugin. You might need to enter your license key.

2. Creating a New Grid:

Navigate to Essential Grid: After activation, you’ll see “Essential Grid” in your WordPress menu. Click on it.
Create a New Grid: Click the “Create New Grid” button.

3. Naming Your Grid:

Give it a Descriptive Name: This helps you identify the grid later. For example, “Featured Products Grid” or “Summer Sale Collection.”

4. Choosing the Source:

Select “Post” Source: In the “Source” tab, select “Post.”
Post Type: Choose “Products” from the “Post Type” dropdown. This tells Essential Grid to pull data from your WooCommerce products.

5. Skin Selection (The Look and Feel):

Browse the Skins: Go to the “Skins” tab. Essential Grid comes with a variety of pre-designed skins. Think of these as pre-made templates for your grid.
Preview Skins: Hover over a skin and click the “Eye” icon to preview how it looks.
Choose a Skin: Select a skin that complements your website’s design and highlights your products effectively. Don’t be afraid to experiment! For example, a skin with a “Quick View” button can be extremely useful for WooCommerce.

6. Adjusting the Grid Layout:

Grid Settings: In the “Grid Settings” tab, you can customize the grid layout.
Number of Columns: Adjust the “Columns” setting to control how many products are displayed per row.
Spacing: Control the spacing between items with the “Space” setting.
Layout Type: Experiment with different layout types (e.g., Even, Masonry). “Even” is usually a good starting point for a clean, organized look.

7. Element Styling (The Details Matter):

Item Skin Editor: This is where you fine-tune the appearance of individual product items. You can adjust:
Product Title: Font size, color, alignment.
Price: Font size, color, position.
Button (Add to Cart/View Product): Text, background color, hover effects.

Example: Let’s say you want to make the product titles bigger and bolder. In the Item Skin Editor, find the “Product Title” element, and increase its font size and set the font-weight to “bold.”

8. Filtering and Sorting:

Source Tab – Filtering: Essential Grid allows you to filter products based on categories, tags, custom fields, and more.
Example: If you want to create a grid showcasing only products in the “Summer Collection” category, you can add a filter to select only products with that category.

9. Saving Your Grid:

Click the “Save Grid” Button: This is crucial! Don’t forget to save your changes.

10. Displaying Your Grid on a Page:

Copy the Shortcode: After saving, you’ll see a shortcode for your grid. It looks something like this: `[ess_grid alias=”my-awesome-grid”]`
Paste the Shortcode: Go to the page or post where you want to display the grid. Edit the page and paste the shortcode into the content area.
Update the Page: Save the page, and you should now see your beautiful product grid!

Example Use Cases and Tips

Featured Products: Create a grid showcasing your best-selling or newly launched products on your homepage. Use a skin with a prominent “Add Discover insights on How To Configure Grouped Products In Woocommerce to Cart” button.
Category-Specific Grids: Create a grid showcasing products within a specific category on the category archive page. This helps customers find what they’re looking for quickly.
Sale Items: Highlight discounted products with a grid that emphasizes the sale price. Consider using a skin with a “Sale” badge or banner.
Upselling/Cross-selling: Display related products (upselling) or complementary products (cross-selling) on the product details page.
Use High-Quality Images: Essential Grid makes your products look good, but it can’t fix bad images. Invest in professional product photography.
Optimize for Mobile: Test your grids on different devices to ensure they look great on smaller screens.

Advanced Tips (For When You’re Feeling Confident)

Custom Meta Data: You can use custom meta data (custom fields) to display extra information about your products in the grid (e.g., material, dimensions). This requires some PHP knowledge.

 // Example: Displaying a custom field called "product_material" function my_essential_grid_custom_meta( $field ) { global $post; $value = get_post_meta( $post->ID, 'product_material', true ); return $value; } add_filter( 'essgrid_the_meta_value', 'my_essential_grid_custom_meta', 10, 1 );

Custom Read more about How To Change Product Options In Woocommerce CSS: Use custom CSS to further customize the look and feel of your grids. This gives you complete control over every detail.
Integrations: Essential Grid integrates with other plugins, such as Slider Revolution, for even more advanced visual effects.

Troubleshooting

Grid Not Displaying: Double-check that you’ve copied the shortcode correctly and pasted it into the correct place. Make sure Essential Grid is activated.
Images Not Loading: Ensure your product images are properly uploaded and linked. Check your media library.
Layout Issues: Experiment with different grid settings and skin options. Clear your browser cache.
Conflict with Other Plugins: If you’re experiencing unexpected behavior, try deactivating other plugins to see if there’s a conflict.

Conclusion

Essential Grid is a game-changer for WooCommerce. By following this guide, you can create stunning product displays that engage your customers, boost sales, and elevate your brand. Don’t be afraid to experiment, try different skins, and customize the grids to match your unique style. Happy selling! Remember, a visually appealing store is a successful store.