WooCommerce Booster: Mastering Custom Out of Stock Options
Are you tired of the default “Out of Stock” message in your WooCommerce store? Do you want to provide a better customer experience and potentially recover lost sales even when products aren’t immediately available? WooCommerce Booster’s “Out of Stock” options offer a powerful way to customize the messaging, functionality, and appearance of your store when products run low or are completely unavailable. This article will guide you through using these features, even if you’re a WooCommerce newbie.
Why Customize Your Out of Stock Options?
Imagine this: a customer lands on your website, eager to buy your handcrafted, artisanal soaps. They click on their favorite scent, only to see the generic “Out of Stock” message. Disappointed, they likely leave your site and head to a competitor.
Now, imagine a different scenario: They see the same soap is out of stock, but this time, the message says: “Back in Stock Next Week! Enter your email to be notified.” They happily subscribe and are reminded to purchase next week when the soap is back in stock. Which scenario is better for your business?
Customizing your out-of-stock options offers several key benefits:
- Reduces Bounce Rate: Keeps customers engaged instead of immediately leaving your site.
- Recovers Potential Sales: Allows you to capture leads and notify customers when products are back in stock.
- Provides a Better Customer Experience: Offers transparency and helpful information.
- Enhances Branding: Allows you to maintain your brand voice even when dealing with stock issues.
- Hide Out of Stock Products from Shop: If enabled, products marked as out of stock will be hidden from your store entirely. Use with caution! Hiding products completely can be frustrating for returning customers who are already familiar with them. Consider using it only if you *never* plan to restock certain items.
- “Out of Stock” Products Text: This is where you can customize the text that appears on product listings and single product pages.
- Add to cart Button Visibility For Products With Zero Quantity: You can either hide or show add to cart button with disabled attribute.
- Override Global Settings: Learn more about Woocommerce How To Get Rid Of Search Text Box Check the box to enable custom out of stock options for this specific product.
- Custom Text: Enter a unique “Out of Stock” message that applies *only* to this product.
- Badge Text: Set the text for the badge (e.g., “SOLD OUT!”, “Out of Stock”).
- Text Color & Background Color: Choose colors that match your brand and make the badge stand out.
- Position: Define where the badge should appear on the product image (top-left, top-right, etc.).
Getting Started with WooCommerce Booster’s Stock Options
First things first, ensure you have the WooCommerce Booster plugin installed and activated. It’s a free plugin with a premium version offering more features. We’ll be focusing on features available in the free version.
Once installed, navigate to WooCommerce > Booster Settings. You’ll see a list of modules. We’re interested in the “Catalog (Product Listing) Options” and “Product Images & Product Info” modules to custom “Out of Stock” options.
Configuring Global Out of Stock Options
Let’s start Discover insights on How To Add Woocommerce To Bookly with global settings that apply to *all* out-of-stock products. These are excellent for creating a consistent and professional look across your store.
1. Enable the “Catalog (Product Listing) Options” module.
2. Go to “Catalog (Product Listing) Options” > “Out of Stock Products” Tab.
Here you’ll find several options:
Example: Instead of “Out of Stock”, try something more engaging like: “Temporarily Unavailable” or “Sold Out – More on the way!”.
Reasoning: Less abrupt and suggests a possibility of restocking.
Tailoring Out of Stock Options on Individual Products
Sometimes, a global message isn’t enough. You might want to provide specific information about *when* a particular product will be back in stock or offer a related alternative. WooCommerce Booster allows you to override the global settings on a product-by-product basis.
1. Edit the Product: Go to the product you want to customize in the WooCommerce Products section.
2. Find the “Booster: Product Options” section. You might need to scroll down below the product description.
3. Look for the “Out of Stock” tab. This will be added by catalog product booster settings.
Here, you can:
Example: “This Limited Edition Scarf is Currently Sold Out. New stock arriving on November 15th! Sign up for our newsletter to be notified.”
Reasoning: Provides a specific date and encourages newsletter sign-ups.
Using “Product Images & Product Info” options for dynamic “Out of Stock” Badges
This module lets you add badges to product images, which can highlight out-of-stock items visually. This is another valuable way to grab attention and inform customers quickly.
1. Enable the “Product Images & Product Info” module.
2. Go to “Product Images & Product Info” > “Out of Stock Badge”.
3. Enable the module.
4. Customize the badge:
Example:
* Badge Text: `Out of Stock`
* Text Color: `#FFFFFF` (White)
* Background Color: `#FF0000` (Red)
* Position: `Top Right`
Reasoning: A red “Out of Stock” badge in the top right corner is highly visible and immediately informs customers about the product’s availability.
Integrating with Back In Stock Notification Plugins
WooCommerce Booster’s Explore this article on How To Accept Payments Woocommerce customization options become even more powerful when combined with a “Back In Stock Notification” plugin. There are many available, both free and premium. These plugins allow customers to subscribe to notifications and receive an email when a product is back in stock.
You can customize your “Out of Stock” messages to encourage subscription to these notifications.
Example:
“This organic cotton t-shirt is currently unavailable, but don’t worry! Subscribe to our back-in-stock notification and we’ll email you the moment it’s available again.”
Reasoning: Clearly directs customers to subscribe and reassures them that they will be notified.
Example Code Snippets (Advanced)
While you can achieve a lot with WooCommerce Booster’s built-in options, you might want to delve into code for further customization. Here’s a simple example of how you could modify the “Out of Stock” message using a code snippet (add this to your `functions.php` file or a custom plugin):
add_filter( 'woocommerce_get_availability', 'custom_out_of_stock_message', 1, 2); function custom_out_of_stock_message( $availability, $_product ) { if ( ! $_product->is_in_stock() ) { $availability['availability'] = __('Currently Unavailable. Check back soon!', 'woocommerce'); } return $availability; }
Explanation:
- This code uses a filter to modify the product availability message.
- `woocommerce_get_availability` is a WooCommerce filter.
- The function `custom_out_of_stock_message` checks if the product is out of stock (`! $_product->is_in_stock()`).
- If it is, it changes the `availability[‘availability’]` text to your custom message.
Important: Always back up your website before making code changes.
Conclusion: Maximize Your WooCommerce Store’s Potential, Even When Out of Stock
WooCommerce Booster’s “Out of Stock” options are a valuable tool for improving your customer experience, recovering lost sales, and strengthening your brand. By taking the time to customize your messaging and visual cues, you can turn a potentially negative situation (a product being out of stock) into an opportunity to engage with your customers and drive future sales. Experiment with different messages, badges, and integrations to find what works best for your specific products and audience.
