WooCommerce: How to List Only Certain Products on Your Store
Introduction:
WooCommerce is a powerful and flexible e-commerce platform. While its default behavior is to display all products, there are times when you need to control which products are visible to your customers. This might be for creating targeted landing pages, showcasing specific collections, running limited-time promotions, or hiding products that are out of stock or not yet ready for sale. This article explores several methods for listing only certain products in your WooCommerce store, covering both basic and more advanced techniques. By the end, you’ll be equipped to curate your product displays precisely to meet your business needs.
Main Part: Methods for Selective Product Listing
There are various ways to list only certain products in WooCommerce. The best approach depends on your specific requirements and technical expertise. Let’s examine some common methods:
1. Utilizing Product Categories and Tags
One of the simplest ways to achieve targeted product displays is by using product categories and tags. This allows you to create specific category or tag pages that feature only the products associated with those terms.
- How it works:
- Assign relevant categories and tags to your products in the product editing screen.
- WooCommerce automatically generates category and tag archive pages that list all products assigned to that category or tag.
- Benefits:
- Simple to implement, especially for basic categorization needs.
- Leverages built-in WooCommerce functionality.
- User-friendly navigation for customers browsing by category or tag.
- Drawbacks:
- Can be less flexible for complex filtering scenarios.
- Requires consistent categorization when adding products.
- How it works:
- Utilize the `[products]` shortcode with specific attributes to filter products.
- You can filter by ID, SKU, category, tag, attributes, and more.
- Embed the shortcode in pages, posts, or even custom templates.
- Examples:
- Display specific products by ID:
- Display products from a specific category:
- Display products on sale:
- Benefits:
- More flexible than relying solely on category/tag archives.
- Allows creating highly customized product listings.
- Easy to implement for basic filtering requirements.
- Drawbacks:
- Can become complex for advanced filtering requirements.
- Requires understanding of shortcode attributes.
- How it works:
- Use the `WP_Query` class to create custom queries that filter products based on your specific criteria.
- Implement this code within your theme’s template files or a custom plugin.
2. Creating Custom Product Lists with Shortcodes
WooCommerce provides shortcodes that you can use to display products based on various criteria, offering greater control over what is displayed and where.
`[products ids=”123, 456, 789″]`
`[products category=”shirts”]`
`[products on_sale=”true”]`
3. Implementing Custom Queries with PHP (Advanced)
For the most granular control over product display, you can use custom PHP queries. This requires coding knowledge but offers the ultimate flexibility.
'product', 'posts_per_page' => 10, // Number of products to display 'tax_query' => array( array( 'taxonomy' => 'product_cat', 'field' => 'slug', 'terms' => 'featured', // Replace 'featured' with your desired category slug ), ), );
$loop = new WP_Query( $args );
if ( $loop->have_posts() ) {
while ( $loop->have_posts() ) : $loop->the_post();
wc_get_template_part( ‘content’, ‘product’ );
endwhile;
} else {
echo __( ‘No products found’ );
}
wp_reset_postdata();
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?>
- Benefits:
- Maximum flexibility in filtering and displaying products.
- Can create highly customized product listings based on any criteria.
- Allows integration with other custom functionality.
- Drawbacks:
- Requires strong PHP coding skills.
- Can be more time-consuming to implement.
- Risk of errors if the code is not written correctly.
4. Using Plugins for Product Filtering
Several WooCommerce plugins are designed to offer Discover insights on How To Set Shipping For Your Woocommerce Shop advanced product filtering capabilities. These plugins provide user-friendly interfaces for creating complex filter rules without requiring coding.
- Examples:
- Advanced Product Filters for WooCommerce: Offers a wide range of Check out this post: How Doi Change From Standard To Classic In Woocommerce filter options and customizable display settings.
- WooCommerce Product Table: Displays products in a table format with extensive filtering and sorting capabilities.
- Benefits:
- User-friendly interfaces for creating complex filter rules.
- No coding required for most filtering scenarios.
- Often includes additional features such as AJAX filtering and responsive design.
- Drawbacks:
- Can be more expensive than other methods.
- May require learning a new plugin interface.
- Potential compatibility issues with other plugins.
Conclusion:
Choosing the right method for listing only certain products in WooCommerce depends on the complexity of your requirements and your technical skills. Categories and tags are suitable for basic filtering, while shortcodes offer more flexibility. Custom PHP queries provide the ultimate control for advanced scenarios, and plugins offer user-friendly interfaces for creating complex filter rules without coding. By understanding these different approaches, you can effectively curate your product displays and optimize your WooCommerce store for sales and user experience. Experiment with different methods to find the best solution for your specific needs and remember to always back up your website before making any significant changes.