WooCommerce: Displaying Featured Products Like a Pro (Even if You’re a Newbie!)
Want to make your WooCommerce store shine? One of the easiest and most effective ways is to highlight your best-selling or most eye-catching products as “featured” products. Think of it like the premium real estate in your online Discover insights on How To Manage Woocommerce Orders shop – the first things visitors see when they arrive. This article breaks down how to render (that’s programmer-speak for “display”) featured products in WooCommerce, even if you’re just starting out. We’ll keep it simple, practical, and super useful.
What are Featured Products and Why Use Them?
Featured products are special products you designate in WooCommerce. They’re like the headliners Discover insights on How To Delete Items That Go Into Your Woocommerce Cart at a concert or the star dishes on a restaurant menu. Think of it this way:
* Real-life example: You visit a bakery. Right near the entrance, they have a display case with their most popular croissants and pastries. That’s their “featured” selection.
* WooCommerce equivalent: A website selling handcrafted jewelry might feature its best-selling silver pendant or a newly released, intricately designed ring.
Why bother featuring products?
* Boost Sales: Highlighting top-selling or high-margin items encourages purchases.
* Promote New Arrivals: Showcase your latest additions to generate excitement.
* Clearance Items: Draw attention to discounted products you want to move quickly.
* Improve User Experience: Guide visitors to your most interesting and worthwhile products.
How to Mark a Product as “Featured” in WooCommerce
Before we dive into the coding, let’s make sure you know *how* to actually make a product “featured” in WooCommerce. This is the foundation for everything else.
1. Log in to your WordPress admin area.
2. Go to Products > All Products.
3. Hover over the product you want to feature.
4. Click the “Quick Edit” link.
5. Check the “Featured” box.
6. Click the “Update” button.
That’s it! The product is now marked as featured. Now, let’s see how to *display* it.
Displaying Featured Products Using the `[products]` Shortcode
The easiest way to display featured products is by using the built-in `[products]` shortcode. Shortcodes are simple codes you can paste into pages, posts, or even widgets that tell WordPress to do something specific.
Example:
To display 4 featured products in a grid, you would use the following shortcode:
[products limit=”4″ columns=”2″ visibility=”featured”]
Let’s break down this shortcode:
* `limit=”4″`: This tells WooCommerce to display a maximum of 4 products.
* `columns=”2″`: This arranges the products in a grid with 2 columns. You can adjust this based on your layout.
* `visibility=”featured”`: This is the crucial part! It tells the shortcode to *only* display products marked as featured.
How to use it:
1. Edit the page or post where you want to display the featured products.
2. Paste the shortcode into the content area.
3. Update the page or post.
4. View the page to see your featured products in action!
Why this method is good for newbies:
* It’s code-free (mostly!). You just copy and paste the shortcode.
* It’s quick and easy to implement.
* It works right out of the box with WooCommerce.
Displaying Featured Products Using Code (for the more adventurous)
If you want more control over how your featured products are displayed, you’ll need to use a little bit of PHP code. Don’t worry, we’ll keep it simple!
Warning: This method requires editing your theme’s files or using a child theme. Always back up your site before making any changes! A child theme is recommended so you don’t lose your changes when the parent theme updates.
Here’s how to do it:
1. Open your theme’s `functions.php` file (or your child theme’s `functions.php` file).
2. Add the following code:
<?php
function display_featured_products() {
$args = array(
‘post_type’ => ‘product’,
‘posts_per_page’ => 4, // Number of products to display
‘tax_query’ => array(
array(
‘taxonomy’ => ‘product_visibility’,
‘field’ => ‘term_taxonomy_id’,
‘terms’ => ‘featured’,
‘operator’ => ‘IN’,
),
),
);
$loop = new WP_Query( $args );
if ( $loop->have_posts() ) {
echo ‘
- ‘; // Add a custom class for styling
- ‘;
echo ‘‘;
echo get_the_post_thumbnail( get_the_ID(), ‘shop_catalog’ ); // Display the product image
echo ‘
‘ . get_the_title() . ‘
‘;
echo ‘‘ . $product->get_price_html() . Read more about How To Add Colour Variations In Woocommerce ‘‘;
echo ‘‘;
echo ‘
while ( $loop->have_posts() ) {
$loop->the_post();
global $product;
echo ‘
‘;
}
echo ‘
‘;
} else {
echo ‘
No featured products found.
‘;
}
wp_reset_postdata(); // Reset the global post data
}
// Create a shortcode to call the function
add_shortcode( ‘featured_products’, ‘display_featured_products’ );
?>
3. Explanation:
* `$args`: This array defines the query to retrieve featured products. We’re specifying the `post_type` as ‘product’, limiting the number of posts to 4, and using a `tax_query` to filter for products in the ‘featured’ term within the ‘product_visibility’ taxonomy.
* `$loop`: This creates a new WordPress query using our defined arguments.
* `if ( $loop->have_posts() )`: This checks if there are any featured products.
* The `while` loop iterates through each featured product and displays its image, title, and price.
* `wp_reset_postdata()`: This is *essential*! It resets the global `$post` variable, preventing conflicts with other loops on your page.
* `add_shortcode( ‘featured_products’, ‘display_featured_products’ )`: This creates a new shortcode called `[featured_products]` that you can use in your pages and posts.
4. To display the featured products, use the `[featured_products]` shortcode in your page or post.
5. Styling (Important!): The code above creates a `
- ` element with the class `featured-products`. You’ll need to add CSS to your theme’s stylesheet (`style.css` in your child theme) to style the layout, colors, fonts, and other visual aspects of your featured products. For example:
.featured-products {
list-style: none;
padding: 0;
display: flex; /* Allows easy horizontal arrangement */
flex-wrap: wrap; /* Allows items to wrap to the next line */
justify-content: Read more about How To Start An Online Store With Woocommerce And WordPress space-around; /* Distributes items evenly */
}
.featured-products li {
width: 200px; /* Adjust the width of each product box */
margin-bottom: 20px;
text-align: center;
}
.featured-products img {
max-width: 100%;
height: auto;
}
.featured-products h3 {
font-size: 1.2em;
margin-top: 10px;
}
.featured-products .price {
color: #ff0000; /* Read more about How To Add One Images To Multiple Products In Woocommerce Example: Make the price red */
font-weight: bold;
}
Why this method is good for advanced users (and those who want to learn):
* Full control: You can customize every aspect of how the products are displayed.
* Flexibility: Integrate the featured product display into specific areas of your theme, beyond just pages and posts.
* Learning opportunity: It’s a great way to learn more about WordPress and WooCommerce development.
Conclusion
Displaying featured products is a powerful way to enhance your WooCommerce store and drive sales. Whether you choose the simple shortcode method or dive into the code, remember to prioritize a visually appealing presentation that highlights the best your store has to offer. Happy selling!
