Woocommerce How To Remove Related Products

How to Remove Related Products in WooCommerce: A Comprehensive Guide

Introduction:

WooCommerce, the leading e-commerce platform for WordPress, automatically displays “Related Products” on your product pages. These are intended to encourage further browsing and increase sales by showcasing similar items to customers. However, there are situations where displaying related products can be detrimental to your user experience and conversion rates. Perhaps you want to streamline your product pages, avoid distracting customers from the main purchase, or curate a more specific browsing experience. In this article, we’ll explore various methods on how to remove related products in WooCommerce, catering to different technical skill levels and preferences. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned developer, you’ll find a solution that works for you.

Why Remove Related Products?

Before diving into the “how,” let’s briefly touch upon the “why.” Understanding the potential reasons behind removing related products can help you decide if it’s the right choice for your store:

• Simplified Product Pages: Removing related products can declutter your product page, creating a cleaner and more focused user experience. This can be particularly beneficial for products that require careful consideration or detailed information.
• Reduced Distraction: Customers already considering a specific product might be diverted by related products, potentially abandoning the purchase. Focusing on a single, clear call-to-action can improve conversion rates.
• Improved Mobile Experience: On smaller screens, related products can push essential product information further down the page, making it less accessible and hindering the mobile user experience.
• Brand Consistency: In some cases, the automatically generated related products might not align with your brand’s curated selection or target audience.
• Upselling and Cross-selling Strategies: You might prefer to implement more targeted upselling and cross-selling techniques using plugins or custom coding, rather than relying on the default related products.

Now that we’ve established the reasoning behind removing related products, let’s explore the various methods available.

Methods for Removing Related Products

Here’s a breakdown of different methods, ranked by increasing complexity, to remove related products in WooCommerce:

#### 1. Removing Related Products Using WooCommerce Settings (Theme Dependent)

Some WooCommerce themes offer built-in options to disable related products directly from the theme settings. This is the easiest method, but its availability depends entirely on your chosen theme.

• Steps:

1. Navigate to your WordPress Dashboard.

2. Look for your theme’s options panel. This is usually found under “Appearance” -> “Theme Options” or similar.

3. Search for settings related to WooCommerce or product pages.

4. Check if there’s an option to disable “Related Products” or “Display Related Products.”

5. If found, disable the option and save your theme settings.

If your theme provides this option, you’re done! If not, proceed to the following methods.

#### 2. Using WooCommerce Hooks and Functions (Code Snippets)

This method involves using code snippets to remove the related products section. It’s a slightly more technical approach but offers more control. You can implement this in your theme’s `functions.php` file or, preferably, using a code snippets plugin to avoid directly modifying your theme (recommended for beginners).

• Steps:

1. Install and activate a code snippets plugin like “Code Snippets.”

2. Go to the plugin and add a new snippet.

3. Paste the following code into the snippet editor:

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

4. Activate the snippet.

• Explanation:
• `remove_action()`: This is a WordPress function that removes a specific action hook.
• `woocommerce_after_single_product_summary`: This is a WooCommerce action hook that determines where related products are displayed (after the single product summary).
• `woocommerce_output_related_products`: This is the function responsible for displaying the related products.
• `20`: This is the priority of the action.

This code effectively removes the function responsible for rendering the related products from its designated position on the product page.

#### 3. Using a Plugin Dedicated to Removing Related Products

Several plugins are specifically designed to remove related products and offer additional control over your WooCommerce store. Some examples include “YITH WooCommerce Related Products” (for more control, including removal) and lightweight plugins that specifically offer the removal functionality.

• Steps:

1. Install and activate a plugin designed for related product control or removal.

2. Navigate to the plugin settings (usually under “WooCommerce” or a separate menu item).

3. Look for options to disable or remove related products.

4. Configure any additional settings as desired.

5. Save the plugin settings.

This option offers a user-friendly interface for those less comfortable with code.

#### 4. Customizing the WooCommerce Template (Advanced)

This is the most advanced method and involves directly modifying the WooCommerce template file responsible for displaying related products. This method is strongly discouraged unless you have a thorough understanding of WooCommerce templates and PHP, and you are using a child theme to avoid losing changes during theme updates.

• Steps:

1. Create a child theme if you haven’t already. This is crucial to protect your modifications from being overwritten by theme updates.

2. Locate the `content-single-product.php` file in your parent theme’s WooCommerce folder.

3. Copy this file to your child theme’s WooCommerce folder, maintaining the same directory structure.

4. Open the `content-single-product.php` file in your child theme.

5. Look for the code that calls the `woocommerce_output_related_products` function (it might be wrapped in a conditional statement). The exact location will vary depending on your theme.

6. Remove or comment out this code block. For example:

7. Save the changes to the file.

Important Considerations for Template Customization:

• Child Theme: Always use a child theme to avoid losing your modifications during theme updates.
• Template Structure: The location of the related products code can vary depending on the theme. Consult your theme documentation or inspect the code carefully.
• Updates: Be mindful of potential conflicts when updating WooCommerce or your theme. Regularly test your customizations after updates.

Conclusion:

Removing related products in WooCommerce is a straightforward process with several methods available to suit varying levels of technical expertise. From simple theme settings to more advanced code snippets and template customizations, you have the flexibility to tailor your product pages to best suit your store’s needs and enhance the user experience. Remember to back up your website before making any code changes and choose the method that aligns with your comfort level. By thoughtfully managing related products, you can optimize your product pages for conversions and create a more focused and engaging shopping experience for your customers.