Woocommerce How To Edit Related Products

WooCommerce: How to Edit Related Products for Increased Sales

Introduction:

In the world of e-commerce, cross-selling and upselling are crucial strategies for maximizing sales. WooCommerce, being one of the most popular platforms, offers a built-in feature to display “Related Products” on your product pages. These related products are typically chosen automatically based on shared categories and tags. However, sometimes the automatically selected products aren’t the most relevant or profitable choices. This article will guide you through the various ways to edit and customize your WooCommerce related products, allowing you to strategically suggest items that will truly benefit your customers and boost your store’s revenue. We will explore both manual and code-based methods, so you can choose the approach that best suits your technical skills and specific needs.

Main Part: Editing Your WooCommerce Related Products

The key to successful related product suggestions is relevancy. You want to show customers items that complement their current selection, offer upgrades, or fill a need they might not even be aware of yet. Here’s how to take control of your WooCommerce related products:

1. Understanding the Default WooCommerce Related Products Behavior

By default, WooCommerce selects related products based on:

• Shared Categories: Products within the same category as the current product are more likely to be shown.
• Shared Tags: Similarly, products sharing tags with the current product have a higher chance of being displayed.
• Product Attributes: While not as direct, attributes can also influence related product selection indirectly through categorization and tagging.

The automatic selection is a good starting point, but often requires manual fine-tuning for optimal results.

2. Manually Linking Products using Cross-Sells and Upsells

WooCommerce provides dedicated fields for manually linking products: “Cross-sells” and “Upsells.” While technically not *related products* (cross-sells appear in the cart and upsells on the product page before adding to the cart), they offer a similar function and are powerful tools for influencing customer purchase decisions. Furthermore, you can influence related products via tags and categories as well.

Here’s how to use them:

1. Navigate to your product edit page: Go to Products in your WordPress dashboard and select the product you want to edit.

2. Look for the Product Data meta box: This box is usually located below the main text editor. Ensure it is set to “Simple product” (or Variable, Grouped, or External/Affiliate product if applicable).

3. Go to the “Linked Products” tab: Within the Product Data meta box, find the “Linked Products” tab.

4. Use the “Upsells” and “Cross-sells” fields: Start typing the name of the product you want to link. WooCommerce will provide suggestions as you type. Select the desired product. You can add multiple products to both fields.

• Upsells: These are products you want to *convince* the customer to buy *instead* of the current product. They are typically higher-priced or more feature-rich versions.
• Cross-sells: These are products you want to *add on* to the customer’s current purchase. They are often complementary items.

5. Update the product: Click the “Update” button to save your changes.

3. Leveraging Categories and Tags Strategically

While manual linking is effective, strategically using categories and tags can also influence related product display:

• Review your category structure: Ensure your categories are logical and well-organized. Products within the same, highly specific category are more likely to be genuinely related.
• Use relevant tags: Add tags that accurately describe your products. Don’t overuse tags, but make sure they capture the essence of the item.
• Consider tag and category hierarchy: If you have parent and child categories, be mindful of how this structure affects related product display.

4. Customizing Related Products with Code (Advanced)

For more advanced customization, you can use code snippets to modify the related products query directly. This allows you to control the number of related products displayed, filter them based on custom criteria, or completely replace the default related products functionality. Use caution when editing theme files or adding custom code. Always back up your site first and consider using a child theme.

Here’s an example of a code snippet to modify the number of related products displayed (add this to your theme’s `functions.php` file or a code snippet plugin):

/**
Filter the query arguments for related products.
* @param  array $args       Query arguments.
@param  int   $product_id Product ID.
@return array             Modified query arguments.
*/
function my_theme_related_products_args( $args, $product_id ) {
$args['posts_per_page'] = 6; // Number of related products to display
$args['columns'] = 3; // Arrange in columns
return $args;
}
add_filter( 'woocommerce_output_related_products_args', 'my_theme_related_products_args', 20, 2 );

Explanation:

• The `woocommerce_output_related_products_args` filter allows you to modify the arguments passed to the `WP_Query` object used to retrieve related products.
• `$args[‘posts_per_page’]` controls the maximum number of related products displayed.
• `$args[‘columns’]` determines the layout and how many products appear per row.

Another example: Removing Related Products Entirely

If you’d rather not display related products at all, you can use this code snippet:

remove_action( 'woocommerce_after_single_product_summary', 'woocommerce_output_related_products', 20 );

Important Considerations when using code:

• Child Theme: Always use a child theme to avoid losing your customizations when the main theme is updated.
• Testing: Test any code changes thoroughly on a staging environment before implementing them on your live site.
• Backup: Always back up your website before making any code modifications.
• WordPress Coding Standards: Adhere to WordPress coding standards to ensure your code is clean, readable, and maintainable.

5. Using Plugins

Several WooCommerce plugins can simplify the process of customizing related products. These plugins often provide a user-friendly interface to manually select related products, define rules for automatic selection, and control the layout and display. Search the WordPress plugin repository for terms like “WooCommerce related products,” “cross-selling,” or “upselling” to find suitable options. Before installing any plugin, carefully review its ratings, reviews, and compatibility with your version of WooCommerce.

Conclusion:

Customizing your WooCommerce related products is a vital step towards optimizing your online store for increased sales and improved customer experience. By understanding how WooCommerce selects related products by default and leveraging the manual linking options, strategic category and tag usage, custom code, or plugins, you can take control and display highly relevant product suggestions that encourage customers to add more items to their carts. Remember to test and analyze the performance of your related product strategies to continuously refine your approach and maximize your revenue. A well-thought-out related products strategy can significantly improve your conversion rates and overall sales performance.