WooCommerce: Display Products by Category – A Comprehensive Guide
Introduction:
WooCommerce, the leading e-commerce platform for WordPress, offers a wealth of customization options. One of the most fundamental is displaying your products by category. This article will guide you through several methods for achieving this, from simple built-in functionalities to more advanced code customizations. Displaying products effectively by category not only improves your website’s navigation but also significantly enhances the user experience, leading to higher conversion rates and improved SEO. Let’s explore how to achieve this!
Main Part:
There are several ways to display WooCommerce products by category. We’ll cover the most common and effective techniques:
1. Using WooCommerce’s Built-in Category Pages
The simplest method is utilizing WooCommerce’s default category archive pages. These pages are Explore this article on How To Customise Cart Layout In Woocommerce automatically generated for Read more about How To Redeem A Gift Subscription On Woocommerce each product category you create.
* Accessing Category Pages: You can typically access them by adding `/product-category/your-category-slug` to your domain. For example, if your site is `example.com` and your category slug is `shirts`, the URL would be `example.com/product-category/shirts`.
* Customizing the Category Page: While the default layout may be Read more about How To Show Sku On Woocommerce Product Page Divi basic, you can customize it through your theme options. Many themes provide specific settings for WooCommerce category pages, allowing you to change the number of products displayed, the display style (grid or list), and other elements. Look for these options within your theme customizer (Appearance > Customize).
* Linking to Category Pages: You can link to these category pages from your navigation menu or through strategically placed links within your content. This makes it easy for customers to navigate directly to specific product categories.
2. Utilizing WooCommerce Shortcodes
WooCommerce provides several powerful shortcodes that allow you to display products by category anywhere on your site, including pages, posts, and even widgets.
* `[products]` Shortcode: This is the most versatile shortcode for displaying products. You can use the `category` attribute to filter products by category.
* Example: `[products category=”shirts” limit=”8″ columns=”4″]`
* `category=”shirts”`: Displays products from the “shirts” category.
* `limit=”8″`: Limits the number of products displayed to 8.
* `columns=”4″`: Displays the products in a 4-column grid.
* `[product_category]` Shortcode: This shortcode displays products from a specific category in a single row or column.
* Example: `[product_category category=”accessories” columns=”3″]`
* Finding Category Slugs: To use these shortcodes effectively, you need to know the category slugs. You can find these by going to Products > Categories in your WordPress admin area. Click on the category you want to display, and the slug will be visible in the URL or the “Slug” field. Be sure to use the slug, not the category name, in the shortcode.
3. Using the WooCommerce Product Category Block (Gutenberg)
If you’re using the Gutenberg editor, you can easily display products by category using the “WooCommerce Product Category” block.
* Adding the Block: Simply search for “WooCommerce Product Category” when adding a new block to your page or post.
* Configuring the Block: The block allows you to select the category you want to display and customize various display options, such as the number of columns, the number Read more about How To Display Woocommerce Breadcrumb of products, and the order in which they are displayed. This is a visual and intuitive way to display products.
4. Custom Code Snippets (PHP)
For more advanced customization, you can use PHP code snippets within your theme’s `functions.php` file or a custom plugin. This method requires some coding knowledge and should be done with caution.
* Displaying Products by Category Using `WC_Query`: This is a more flexible approach that allows you to build custom loops.
'product', 'tax_query' => array( array( 'taxonomy' => 'product_cat', 'field' => 'slug', 'terms' => $category_slug, ), ), 'posts_per_page' => $number_of_products, // -1 for all products );
$products = new WP_Query( $args );
if ( $products->have_posts() ) {
echo ‘
- ‘;
while ( $products->have_posts() ) {
$products->the_post();
wc_get_template_part( ‘content’, ‘product’ ); // Standard WooCommerce template
}
echo ‘
‘;
} else {
echo ‘
No products found in this category.
‘;
}
wp_reset_postdata();
}
?>
Explanation:
- Check out this post: How To Add Background Video On Woocommerce The function takes the category slug and an optional number of products to display as parameters.
- It uses `WP_Query` to retrieve products belonging to the specified category.
- It then loops through the products and uses the standard WooCommerce `content-product.php` template to display each product.
- Finally, it resets the post data to avoid conflicts with other queries.
How to use it:
1. Add this code to your `functions.php` file or a custom plugin.
2. Call the function from your theme files like this:
This will display 6 products from the “shirts” category.
Important Note: When making changes to `functions.php`, it’s recommended to use a child theme to prevent your changes from being overwritten when the parent theme is updated. Alternatively, use a code snippets plugin.
Conclusion:
Displaying WooCommerce products by category is crucial for website navigation, user experience, and SEO. This article has provided you with several methods, ranging from simple built-in options to more advanced code customizations. Choose the method that best suits your technical skills and the level of customization you require. By strategically implementing these techniques, you can significantly improve the presentation of your products and drive more sales. Remember to test your changes thoroughly to ensure everything works as expected and that your website remains user-friendly and optimized for search engines. Good luck!
