Our WooCommerce Product Table plugin comes with a lazy load option for loading product tables with large numbers of products. In response to popular demand, you can now search and sort your lazy loaded tables by SKU.
For those of you who don't know, an SKU stands for 'Stock Keeping Unit'. The SKU field is built into WooCommerce, providing a way to store a unique identifier code for each product. An SKU is a bit like the ISBN number for a book, but you can use it to store any type of code (text or numeric) for your products, in any format. While the SKU field is optional, WooCommerce.com have published a convincing article about the benefits of using SKU's in your Woo store.
What is lazy load?
Because of the structured tabular layout, lots of store owners use WooCommerce Product Table to list hundreds or even thousands of products. For example, it's a popular way to sell technical or wholesale products that require lots of extra data and don't need big images. You can use it to create a one-page WooCommerce order form, with all the purchasing options such as add to cart buttons or checkboxes, quantity pickers and variation dropdowns directly in the product table view.
Most WooCommerce stores only display 9 or maybe 12 products per page, without variations. The product table layout means that you’re likely to be loading many times more data than this. Inevitably, this can cause performance problems and slow page load times. And that's where lazy load comes in...
Lazy load is an alternative method of loading the product table, which you can activate by ticking a box on the plugin settings page. Instead of loading all the products with the initial page load, it just loads 1 page of the table at a time.
For example, let's say you have a table with 1,000 products in total, set to list 25 products per page. Without lazy load, you'd be loading all 1,000 products at once - ouch! That's a lot of data and most servers won't cope with this. Instead, you can enable lazy load and just load 25 products at once. Much better!
The problem with lazy load
As you can see, lazy load is a fantastic way of creating product tables such large numbers of products. However, it's never been perfect.
The problem is that with lazy load, WooCommerce Product Table only knows about the products on the current page. It simply hasn't loaded the others yet! This means that the searching and sorting is limited. You can search and sort by product name or description because WordPress indexes these fields in a way that the plugin can access without having loaded the entire table. However, until now it wasn't possible to sort or search by SKU and other data.
Because WooCommerce Product Table is popular for selling technical or wholesale products, people often want to use it to find products based on their SKU. This means that not being able to sort/search by SKU was a big limitation. As a result, this has become one of the most in-demand items on our feature request list.
We're always looking for ways to improve our WP plugins based on customer feedback. After some head scratching, we found a solution.
New feature: search & sort lazy loaded tables by SKU
Version 2.2 of WooCommerce Product Table is now available. While it looks the same as previous versions, there are lots of improvements and code changes under the hood.
When you create a Woo table with lazy load and an SKU column, a sort arrow will now appear at the top of this column. Users can click on this to sort by SKU in either direction. You can also sort the product table by SKU when the table first loads.
In addition, the AJAX-powered keyword search box above the table will now search by SKU field as well as the product name and description.
Example use case
Here's a common use case to help you to visualise the new features:
A WooCommerce wholesale store uses WooCommerce Product Table to create a one-page wholesale order form for their WordPress site. They have a large number of products, so they activate the lazy load option to boost performance.
The B2B wholesale buyers already know what products they want to buy, and have a list of SKU's for their regular products. They simply type a product code into the search box to search by SKU. They then add the product to the cart, and repeat the process to quickly create their order.
This is far more user-friendly than other ways of ordering your regular products. The customer doesn't have to scroll through multiple pages. Instead, they just type the product code and order much more quickly. Perfect!
Where to get the plugin
If you're already using WooCommerce Product Table, just upgrade to the new version from the WordPress Dashboard. If you haven't got it yet, buy it today and start adding searchable, sortable product tables to your store.
If you run a pizza delivery, Chinese, Indian, or other types of fast food restaurant, you know how important a quality takeaway ordering system is. A huge variety of paid services exist to help you accept takeaway orders. But if you're looking to cut costs, consider using a WooCommerce takeaway plugin for your WordPress site. This plugin allows you to handle everything in-house and avoid paying commissions to third-party platforms.
If you've peeked at a third-party takeaway service like Uber Eats or Grub Hub, then you've probably seen that using one of those tools will cost you at least ~$100 per month, plus a hefty setup fee. For example, ChowNow costs $149 per month plus a $399 setup fee for every single location. Yikes - hopefully you're selling a lot of takeaway food!
If you run a restaurant with a takeout business - e.g. pizza shops, sandwich shops, etc. - you need a better option. It must be convenient for your customers, and profitable for your takeaway restaurant.
To make that happen, we're going to show you how to use the WooCommerce Restaurant Ordering plugin to create your own WooCommerce takeaway plugin setup with no monthly fees or commission to pay. You'll have full control to customize it, and it costs a fraction of what you'd pay for ChowNow's setup fee alone. In the end, it will look something like this:
Example of a WooCommerce online takeaway ordering system
Importance of having a restaurant takeaway ordering system
Having a restaurant take away system is crucial for any restaurant that wants to offer takeout or delivery options services. It allows customers to browse the food menu, place their order, and pay online, all from the comfort of their homes or office. Here are some reasons why having a restaurant take away ordering system is important:
Convenience: Customers can place their order whenever they want, without having to wait on hold or in a long line. They can also choose to pick up their order at the restaurant or have it delivered to their door.
Increased Sales: A take away system can help increase sales for restaurants by making it easier for customers to order food. Customers are more likely to order online than over the phone, which can lead to more orders and higher revenue.
Order Accuracy: With a take away system, there is less room for error when taking orders. Customers can select their items and customize them as they like, which reduces the chance of miscommunication or mistakes.
Customer Loyalty: Offering a convenient and efficient ordering experience can help build customer loyalty. When customers have a positive experience, they are more likely to return to the restaurant and recommend it to others.
Data Collection: A take away system can also provide valuable data to the restaurant, such as popular menu items, peak ordering times, and customer feedback. This information can be used to improve the restaurant's menu, marketing, and overall operations.
Using WooCommerce to create a restaurant takeaway ordering system
By using WooCommerce takeaway plugin, You can take advantage of its robust features, customization options, and flexibility to build an online food ordering system tailored to their specific needs.
It offers a wide range of features that make it easy to manage orders, track inventory, accept different payment gateways, and even set up shipping options. This means that restaurant owners can have all the tools you need to manage you online ordering system in one place.
Restaurant owners can also easily customize your online ordering system to match your brand and the specific needs of your business. You can choose from a wide range of templates and themes to create a unique look and feel for your online ordering system. You can also add custom fields to your order forms to collect specific information from customers, such as dietary restrictions or special requests.
All you'll need is a WordPress website and the WooCommerce takeaway plugin. And the best news is that it only takes a few minutes to set up your WordPress takeaway order system!
What you need for a WooCommerce takeaway system, plus how much it will cost
This is a more condensed, takeaway-focused version of our bigger guide on how to create a WooCommerce restaurant ordering system. If you want more detail, that tutorial covers everything you ever need to know about using WordPress with your restaurant.
To create a successful WordPress takeaway order system, there are a few tools you'll absolutely need. There are others that are optional and can help you refine how the WordPress takeaway plugin functions.
On the must-have front, you'll need:
WooCommerce - free WooCommerce will handle organizing your different menu items. It can also let you accept online payments if desired. But, most people will probably pay for take away orders in person anyway, so you can skip the payment functionality if you want to accept payments in person.
WooCommerce Restaurant Ordering - premium By default, the way WooCommerce displays items isn't good for a takeaway menu. The WooCommerce Restaurant Ordering plugin fixes that by listing your entire takeaway menu on one organized page, divided by food category. It also has other essential features such as setting delivery times and preventing customers from ordering while you're closed.
Those two WordPress restaurant plugins comprise the core of your WordPress takeaway plugin stack. Later in this article, I'll tell you about some extra plugins you might like for adding extra features such as opening hours, delivery slots, and automatic order printing.
Here's how to put it all together…
How to create a WooCommerce takeaway order system
Below, you'll find a full written tutorial about how to take fast food orders online with WordPress takeaway plugin or WooCommerce takeaway plugin. Alternatively, watch this video and watch me set it up in 10 minutes, or sign up for my free online course for restaurants.
You can divide the process into three rough steps:
Step 1: Add your menu items as WooCommerce products
To get started, make sure you've installed and activated the free WooCommerce takeaway plugin, as well as configured basic information using the plugin's setup wizard. During the setup wizard, either follow the onscreen instructions to set up PayPal or Stripe (credit/debit card) payments, or just choose 'Local Pickup' and have customers pay when they pick up their order at the restaurant or curbside.
Once you have WooCommerce running, you'll need to add each item on your menu as a WooCommerce product.
To do that, go to Products → Add New in your WP dashboard. Because WooCommerce is a general ecommerce plugin, not all of the settings here will apply to your takeaway order system.
Essential product data
Title - the name of the food item as it appears on your menu.
Long description (optional) - the full description of that menu item if you want to display extra text in a lightbox popup for each product.
Product data - this is where you'll add the price and, if needed, let people customize the dish with their own toppings, substitutes, etc. (more on this in the next section).
Short description (optional) - if you want, you can create a separate shorter description that will appear on the fast food ordering system page.
Category - this helps you divide your menu into different categories. For example, you could have one category for "Pizza", another for "Subs", etc.
Image (optional) - the image for your menu item. Make it as mouth-watering as possible!
Publish - once you finish configuring everything, you click this button to save your menu item and make it live.
Once you're done, you'll need to repeat the process for all of your takeaway food items. And you can also give your customers options, which we'll talk about next...
Use product variations or add-ons to let shoppers customize their food choices
You'll probably have some menu items where your customers get to pick different toppings or sizes as part of their takeaway orders. Or, you might even have items where a customer needs to pick both.
To give customers the power to customize their own orders, you can use two more options called variations or add-ons:
Variations - variations are good for core options - like a food item's size. Variable product are built into the free WooCommerce plugin.
Add-ons - product add-ons are better for upgrades - like toppings to add on to a pizza. You'll need the official Product Options plugin to add these extra options to your takeaway meals.
You can see the difference between variations and add-ons in the screenshot below:
Step 2: Create your WooCommerce takeaway order form with the Restaurant Ordering plugin
Once you've added all of your takeaway food items as WooCommerce products, you need a user-friendly way to display them. This makes it easy for your shoppers to browse your entire takeout menu and build their order without needing to click around to different pages.
Display all of your menu items in one list, divided by category (just like your printed takeaway menu!).
Control exactly what information displays, like product images, descriptions, and so on.
Prevent customers from ordering outside of your opening hours.
And your customers will be able to:
Customize menu items
Add all the food they want to their cart without leaving the page
To get started, make sure you've purchased and installed the WooCommerce Restaurant Ordering plugin:
Configure the takeaway order form
When you install WooCommerce Restaurant Ordering, it instantly creates a food ordering page listing all your products. The page is structured by category.
You can customize this page on the plugin settings page. For example, you can choose which information to display about each food item, and change the order form layout to 1, 2, or 3 columns.
WooCommerce Restaurant Ordering provides flexible layouts for your takeaway order forms
For even greater flexibility, the takeaway plugin comes with a shortcode that you can use to add different food order forms anywhere on your restaurant online store. This is handy if you want each category to be displayed differently, or on different pages.
Customers can click on each food item to add it instantly to the cart, or if you prefer then they can open up a lightbox to view more information, select options and add to the cart from there.
Customers can learn more and choose options from a product lightbox
Add a cart to the takeaway ordering page
Most online takeaway order forms show the contents of your cart on the page.
While you could add a sidebar to the page and add the standard 'Cart' widget, this wastes valuable real estate. Most takeaway food order forms look best if they take up the full width of the page. Installing WooCommerce Fast Cart is a better solution.
A fast cart pops up on the page - either automatically, or when the customer clicks on the floating cart icon. Either way, hungry shoppers can quickly review their selections, pay and order takeout food without leaving the page.
Use WooCommerce Fast Cart to add a popup cart to the takeaway ordering page
Add any type of extra options using WooCommerce Product Options + filter plugin
You can create a seamless restaurant takeaway ordering system with the help of two WooCommerce plugins. The WooCommerce Product Options plugin is the perfect choice for adding extra options to restaurant menu items, with the ability to create and manage customizable product options in various formats, including checkboxes, radio buttons, clickable images, and text boxes. It works by adding groups of options globally to selected products or categories, streamlining the process of creating combinations of options, and eliminating the limitations of creating variations.
In addition, the WooCommerce Product Filters plugin can enhance the browsing experience for customers by allowing you to create filters for menu items based on categories like appetizers, entrees, desserts, or dietary restrictions like gluten-free or vegetarian. The plugin offers the flexibility to create multiple filter layouts, including display filters above the list of products or as sidebar widgets, with filter visibility options and mobile-friendly slide-out panels.
Add filters with WooCommerce Product Filters
With the ability to customize the filter styles and layouts, you can create a seamless ordering experience that matches your restaurant's branding and WordPress site design. Together, these two plugins can help you create a streamlined and efficient restaurant takeaway system like a WooCommerce pizza ordering system.
Step 3: Extend your Woo ordering system (delivery slots, order notifications to the kitchen, etc.)
At this point, you have a working WooCommerce takeaway ordering system. But there are still a few potential problems:
People will always receive their takeout order as soon as it's ready - they can't schedule an order in advance.
You have to pay attention to your email or refresh the website to see when a new takeaway order comes in.
To refine your WooCommerce takeaway system's functionality and fix some of these issues, you can optionally use some of the plugins we discussed earlier to change how things work.
Again, consider:
Twilio SMS Notifications to receive SMS notifications whenever a customer places a new takeaway order. Or, optionally, to send automatic SMS notifications to customers when their order is ready to be picked up.
If you have a smartphone or tablet, you can also install the free WooCommerce iOS mobile app. This app allows you or your staff to mark orders as fulfilled when the customer picks the order up without needing to hop on your computer.
Bonus: Increase your average order value by taking tips on your WooCommerce takeaway website!
When you accept takeaway orders online via WooCommerce, it's easy to miss out on tips. This is because ordering and paying in person is personal and people are in the habit of adding a tip to their order. To increase the average order value from your takeaway restaurant customers, you need to replicate this on your website.
Fortunately, you can do this using the WooCommerce Donation Or Tip On Cart And Checkout plugin. It adds a 'Tip' field, pre-filled with a suggested tip amount, to the checkout page. This is a great way to increase your revenue and accept tips from your online takeaway orders.
Save money with this WordPress takeaway plugin stack today
By creating a WooCommerce takeaway system, you both gain the flexibility to create a truly custom takeaway order system and bypass huge setup fees and monthly fees for other restaurant ordering systems.
That means happier customers and a better bottom line for your restaurant! Whether you need a WooCommerce pizza ordering and food delivery system or automated ordering for Chinese fast food, it's the perfect solution.
Get started today with WooCommerce and WooCommerce Restaurant Ordering.
If you use your WordPress website to sell upcoming events, you'll need an effective way to display them. While you can use a dedicated WooCommerce events plugin, these can be complex and weigh down your site – which is the last thing you want. Keep reading to learn the pros and cons of both options, and how to set them up.
Are you looking to create an events page for your WooCommerce store but not sure where to start? Look no further! In this comprehensive guide, I'll walk you through the process of creating a dynamic and engaging events page, with or without using an events plugin.
What are WooCommerce events?
WooCommerce events are products which are configured to represent bookable occasions with specific dates and times. These products function as tickets or registrations for live performances, conferences, courses, or online webinars.
There are two main approaches to add events to WooCommerce. You can either:
Use a traditional WooCommerce events plugin like Events Calendar with the Tickets add-on.
Product with date picker field
Events listed in a product table
Each method has distinct advantages. The date picker approach offers simplicity and lightweight implementation. A dedicated events plugin provides advanced features like attendee management and recurring events.
After setting up your events, you can list them in a searchable table. Install the WooCommerce Product Table plugin to create an organized display. This format helps customers find and book events more efficiently.
In this post, I'm going to tell you all about both ways to create a WooCommerce events page. I'll also show you how to list your events in a table so that more people will find and book your events.
Let's get started!
Comparison: 2 ways to add events to WooCommerce
Feature
Method 1: Date picker field
Method 2: Events plugin
Setup complexity
Simple - install one plugin, add date field
Complex - multiple plugins and configuration
Setup time
15-30 minutes
1-2 hours
Cost
$69 (Product Options plugin)
$99+ (Events Calendar Pro + Tickets)
Site performance impact
Minimal - lightweight solution
Moderate - additional database queries
Date and time selection
Yes - calendar picker
Yes - advanced scheduling
Recurring events
No
Yes - weekly, monthly, custom
Capacity limits
No - uses stock management
Yes - per event and ticket type
Multiple ticket types
Limited - through product variations
Yes - unlimited ticket tiers
Attendee management
Basic - through WooCommerce orders
Advanced - dedicated attendee lists
Waitlist functionality
No
Yes
Calendar view display
No
Yes - month, week, day views
Google Maps integration
Manual
Automatic
Event import/export
No
Yes - CSV, iCal formats
Email notifications
Standard WooCommerce emails
Custom event-specific emails
Best for
Simple bookings, classes, appointments
Complex events, conferences, festivals
Which method should you choose?
Answer these questions to find your best WooCommerce events solution:
1. How many events do you run monthly?
Less than 10 → Use date picker method
More than 10 → Consider events plugin
2. Do you need recurring events?
No → Date picker method works fine
Yes → You need the events plugin
3. Do you sell multiple ticket types per event?
No, just one type → Date picker method
Yes, various tiers → Events plugin recommended
4. What's your technical skill level?
Beginner → Start with date picker method
Intermediate/Advanced → Either method works
5. What's your budget?
Under $70 → Date picker method
Over $100 → Events plugin viable
6. Do you need attendee capacity limits?
No → Date picker sufficient
Yes → Events plugin required
Overall recommendation: If you answered mostly with the first option, choose the date picker method (Method 1). If you answered mostly with the second option, invest in a dedicated events plugin (Method 2).
Method 1: Add an event date field to your WooCommerce products
A date field conversion is the simplest method to transform WooCommerce products into bookable events. The WooCommerce Product Options plugin enables this transformation through customizable field additions.
The plugin adds a calendar-based date field to product pages. Customers select their preferred date and time directly from this calendar. You can include additional fields to collect attendee information or sell event extras.
A WooCommerce product with a date picker field added by the Product Options plugin
This method provides essential event management features without plugin complexity. You control available dates and booking windows. You set time slot restrictions and advance booking limits. The system handles event scheduling through standard WooCommerce orders.
The date picker lacks some specialized features. It doesn't include attendee capacity limits or waitlist management. However, it delivers a streamlined solution for basic event sales.
How to add a date field to a product
The event date field comes with lots of options for controlling your events
First, create the products that you will be adding the event date field to (Products → Add New).
Go to Products → Product Options in the WordPress Dashboard.
Create a new options group and give it a name that you will remember. Select the product(s) that you want the date field to appear on, or leave this field blank to add it to all products.
Next, click 'Add Option'. Choose the 'Date' option type.
Fill in all the options for your event date field.
Finally, visit the product page. You will see the event date field above the add to cart button.
Now go back and add any other fields that you need for your event pages. This is an excellent way to collect information about the people who will be attending your events. You can also sell extras, such as training handbooks or lunch.
Method 2: Use a WooCommerce events plugin
A dedicated WooCommerce events plugin is software that adds comprehensive event management capabilities to your store. These plugins provide features like capacity management, ticket tiers, and attendee tracking.
The Events Calendar stands as the leading event management solution for WooCommerce. It integrates seamlessly with WooCommerce through the Event Tickets add-on. The combination enables full-featured event creation and ticket sales.
The plugin offers both simplicity and advanced functionality. Beginners find the interface intuitive. Advanced users access powerful customization options. The system handles everything from basic event listings to complex ticketing scenarios.
Features
The Events Calendar includes these core capabilities:
Easy event creation: The interface streamlines event setup. Add event name, date, time, location, description, and organizer information through simple forms.
Calendar view and list view: Display options include visual calendar layouts and straightforward list formats. These work well for small event collections. For larger catalogs, combine Events Calendar with WooCommerce Product Table for enhanced searchability.
Responsive design: The plugin adapts to all screen sizes. Events display correctly on desktop, tablet, and mobile devices.
Integration with Google Maps: Location data automatically generates map displays. Attendees receive visual navigation assistance.
Recurring events: Schedule repeating events once. The system automatically creates weekly or monthly occurrences.
Import and export functionality: Transfer events between platforms. Import existing event data or export for backup.
Event Tickets add-on: Sell multiple ticket types per event. Manage attendees and track sales. Offer general admission, VIP, and custom ticket categories.
Using Events Calendar to create WooCommerce events
Install and activate The Events Calendar plugin: Navigate to the 'Plugins' section in your WordPress dashboard. Click 'Add New', search for 'The Events Calendar', and then install and activate the plugin.
Install and activate the Event Tickets add-on: Similarly, search for 'Event Tickets' in the 'Add New' plugin section, then install and activate the plugin.
Now you need to purchase and install the premium version of Event Tickets. This is what adds the WooCommerce integration for selling access to your events.
Configure plugin settings: Go to Events → Settings in your WordPress dashboard to configure the plugin settings, such as your preferred calendar view, timezone, currency, and more.
Create an event: Click on Events → Add New to start creating your first event. Fill in the required event details, such as title, date, time, location, and description.
Add tickets to your event: With the Event Tickets add-on installed, you can add tickets to your events by scrolling down to the 'Tickets' section on the event editing page. Set ticket prices, quantity, and any other relevant details. This creates a WooCommerce product, which is your 'ticket'.
As you can see, Events Calendar is harder to set up than the Product Options method. However, it's worth it if you need the extra WooCommerce events management features.
Why you need a better way to display WooCommerce events on your website
With both of the methods described above, each event has its own unique product page. Visitors must click through numerous pages to compare events or book multiple tickets.
The solution is to list all your events in a single, searchable interface. You can do this with the WooCommerce Product Table plugin, which presents all events in a structured table view.
Why list events in a WooCommerce table?
A WooCommerce event table is a structured display format which shows multiple events in rows and columns. This layout provides immediate access to event details and booking options. Customers can compare events and access essential information without leaving the main events page. It's an excellent way to peak your visitors' interest and encourage them to sign up for more events.
You can include the essential information about each event, providing visitors with what they need to make a decision without overwhelming them with details.
Customers can quickly search and filter the list of events to find what they're looking for.
Plus, they'll be able to make comparisons easily, choose the number of places they want to book, and even purchase tickets to several events at once.
How to create a WooCommerce events page
Creating a WooCommerce events table requires initial event setup and plugin installation. Both event creation methods described earlier work with this display system.
Follow the simple steps below to display your WooCommerce events effectively.
Step 1: Install the WooCommerce Product Table plugin
Download the plugin zip file after purchase.
Install the plugin through WordPress admin via Plugins → Add New.
Upload and activate the downloaded file.
Navigate to Products → Product Tables → Add New to access the table builder.
Step 2: Create your WooCommerce events table
First, select the option to add the table to a page using a block or shortcode.
Next, choose which products to include in the table. For example, if you use WooCommerce to sell products that aren't events then you should just select the event categories here. The rest of your store will be unaffected.
Choose which columns of information about your WooCommerce events to include in the table. Try to strike a balance between providing all the necessary information, and not overwhelming your visitors. For an events table, we’d recommend the following columns at a minimum: image, name, summary, categories, price, and buy.
You may want to rename some of the labels in your events table. For instance, instead of using Buy above the final column, you could use something more events-specific, such as Book Now. To do that, click on the pencil icon for each column and rename it as needed.
On the 'Add to cart' page, you’ll definitely want to check the Quantity selectors box. That way, if people want to bring along friends or family to the event, they can reserve multiple places at once.
If you choose Button and checkbox for the 'Add to cart method', then customers will be able to purchase tickets for more than one event at a time, and add everything to their cart with a single click. This is a smart way to streamline their experience.
After that, take a look at the Filter dropdowns field. You may want to add filters for data such as product categories, tags or attributes. This will place one or more dropdown menus above your WooCommerce events table. If you offer more than a few events, this makes the events list much more user-friendly.
Step 3: Change the add to cart button text
The default "Add to cart" text doesn't suit event bookings.
Go to Products → Product Tables → Settings to modify button text. Change the label to "Book Now" or similar event-appropriate wording.
This small change clarifies the action for event purchasers, giving them the confidence to add the event to their cart.
Step 4: Create your WooCommerce events page
Now, it’s time to create the page where your WooCommerce events will be displayed. To do that, just navigate to Pages → Add New.
If you're using the WordPress block editor then insert a 'Product Table' block and select your table. Otherwise, get the shortcode from Products → Product Tables and add the table that way.
After that, view the page to see the WooCommerce events plugin in action:
Or if you decided to keep things simple then it might look more like this:
Note: If you're using WooCommerce Product Table with the Events Calendar plugin, then these instructions will list your tickets in a table - not the actual events. If you want to list the events instead of the tickets then we have another tutorial on how to do that.
Step 5 (optional): Add quick view to the list of events
Quick view is a lightbox popup which displays detailed event information without needing to load a separate page. You can use the WooCommerce Quick View Pro plugin to add this feature to your WooCommerce event lists.
The plugin keeps the customer's focus on the main events page. They can view extra details in overlays rather than separate pages. This reduces friction in the booking process, keeping customers where you want them.
By using quick view, you can take advantage of advanced display options. For example, you can show image galleries from previous events in the popup. You can also display ticket variations and pricing tiers, along with extended descriptions and additional event details. All of this works together to increase booking confidence and conversion rates.
What types of event can I sell in WooCommerce?
WooCommerce events can accommodate any bookable occasion or time-based product. The flexible system adapts to diverse event types and industries. For example:
Live in-person eventsAdmissions tickets, live music or comedy events, charity events, concerts, conferences, dating events, festivals, meet-ups, performances
Online eventsLivestreams, live coaching, online conferences, webinars.
CoursesBootcamps, classes, crash courses, test preparation or interview training, training courses, webinars.
Each event type benefits from being listed in a table layout. For example, it's ideal for showing multiple sessions at conferences. Course providers can display semester offerings in a table. It's also an excellent way of listing seasonable performances at entertainment venues.
Now let's see what a lightweight list of WooCommerce events looks like in action.
Case study: Using WooCommerce to sell event tickets
To get a taste for what you can accomplish using the WooCommerce Product Table plugin, check out Weave The Ring:
Weave The Ring is the perfect example of listing WooCommerce events in a table. Each row contains complete event information. The layout includes descriptions, categories, prices, and featured images. As a result, there's no need for customers to visit multiple pages to learn about each event.
The smart navigation features enhance user experience even further. Customers can use the category filters and search box to view events by type.
Case study - Selling WooCommerce events imported from Moodle
Tallahassee Christian College and Training Center integrates WooCommerce with their learning management system. The Edwiser Bridge plugin connects WooCommerce to Moodle. Courses automatically import into WordPress as WooCommerce products.
Once imported, WooCommerce Product Table displays the imported events in an organized format. Students can filter by category or tag to find relevant programs. They can also visit the sngle product pages to view detailed course information and registration forms.
Bonus: How to sell entry tickets in WooCommerce
You can use the techniques discussed in this tutorial to sell entry tickets to a range of locations including museums, art galleries, tourist attractions, or events.
Enable the add to cart checkboxes in WooCommerce Product Table for family purchases. Parents can select multiple ticket types before adding to the cart. The system calculates totals automatically and processes all the entry tickets together.
Bonus: Set the default ticket quantity to zero
In WooCommerce, the default quantity for buying products is always 1. This applies to any type of products, including events and entrance tickets. However, a default quantity of 0 is actually more appropriate when selling tickets, seats for theatre shows, or places on courses or events.
You can easily change the default quantity to zero by installing the WooCommerce Quantity Manager plugin. That way, shoppers can change the required quantity for each ticket to any number they choose before adding them to the cart.
Where to get the plugins
In conclusion, creating a dynamic and engaging events page for your WooCommerce store doesn't have to be a daunting task. This guide has outlined two primary methods to achieve this goal:
Opting for a traditional WooCommerce events plugin like Events Calendar with the Tickets add-on.
To further enhance your events page, you can use the WooCommerce Product Table plugin for a searchable and user-friendly event listing experience.
By carefully considering the pros and cons of each option and assessing your specific needs, you can make an informed decision that best suits your website. Whichever method you choose, remember that the ultimate goal is to create an events page that is both visually appealing and functional. It must make it easy for your customers to discover and book your events. With the right tools and strategies, your WooCommerce events page can become a valuable asset for promoting your upcoming events and driving sales.
Do you have any questions about how to set up the perfect WooCommerce events page? Ask away in the comments section below!
If you run a WooCommerce store, you might need to restrict access to certain products or categories based on who is browsing. Whether you’re managing a wholesale store, a membership site, or an exclusive VIP shopping experience, controlling product visibility ensures that the right customers see the right products—while keeping others out.
WooCommerce doesn’t provide built-in options for restricting products by user role or specific logged-in users. Without a proper system in place, you may find yourself manually hiding products, dealing with unauthorized purchases, or losing potential sales due to a lack of personalization. Providing members-only access to exclusive product releases can significantly increase sales and create a sense of desirability around a brand.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to set up user-based product rules in WooCommerce, so you can:
Restrict product categories to specific user roles (e.g., wholesale customers, VIP members).
Limit product access to individual logged-in users.
Apply advanced content protection rules for greater flexibility.
Customize what happens when unauthorized users try to access protected content.
By the end of this tutorial, you’ll have a fully functional system for protecting your WooCommerce products while delivering a personalized and seamless shopping experience for your customers.
Importance of protecting content on an ecommerce website
Not every product in your WooCommerce store should be visible to every visitor. Whether you're running a wholesale business, a membership-based store, or offering exclusive products, restricting access to certain content can be a smart strategy.
For example, wholesale pricing and bulk discounts should only be available to approved retailers, not casual shoppers. Similarly, if you offer VIP memberships or loyalty programs, you may want to grant access to special deals or early product releases only to registered members. This creates a sense of exclusivity, strengthening customer loyalty and boosting repeat purchases.
Protecting your content also helps maintain control over product distribution. If you sell through authorized retailers, restricting product access ensures that only approved users can purchase certain items. This can help prevent unauthorized reselling and maintain your brand’s reputation.
Finally, restricting access to exclusive products can also drive sales. Limited access creates a sense of urgency, encouraging customers to take action before an opportunity disappears. Whether it’s an early-access launch, premium add-ons, or members-only deals, well-placed restrictions can lead to higher engagement and revenue growth.
Restrict WooCommerce categories by user role
The WooCommerce Protected Categories plugin is a tool that helps ecommerce site owners limit access to specific products or pages. It's ideal for creating membership programs or providing exclusive content to select customers. By using the WooCommerce restrict product by user feature, you can limit product access to specific groups of customers.
The plugin is an easy-to-use solution for safeguarding your WooCommerce categories on any WordPress site. Its functionality builds on the existing options to password-protect categories or designate them as private, allowing businesses of any size to protect their content effortlessly.
As well as select individual user accounts that can access the category. Customers have given several reasons for wanting to unlock product categories to logged in user profiles based on their role. For example:
If you're using password protected categories then it's a pain for administrators to have to enter the password to view the category. Now you can bypass this by automatically unlocking your password protected categories for administrators.
If you're creating a wholesale store, then you might want a dedicated 'Wholesale' product category that is visible to logged in B2B users with a 'Wholesale' user role but hidden from regular customers. That's possible too!
A private WooCommerce members-only store might create a protected category and make it available to all logged in user roles, but hidden from public view. All its sub-categories and their products will automatically be restricted too. Using the 'restrict product by user' feature, WooCommerce site owners can easily create a members-only shop with several categories that are exclusively visible to logged in WordPress users.
How to Set Up User Role Restrictions with the WooCommerce Protected Categories Plugin
To set up user role restrictions with the WooCommerce Protected Categories plugin, start by installing the plugin and heading to the Add/Edit Product Category page in WooCommerce. From there, you can easily control which user roles and individual user accounts can access specific categories. This allows you to offer exclusive content, such as discounts, coupons, or membership programs, to specific groups or individuals. Whether you want to restrict access to entire user roles or grant special privileges to certain users, the plugin provides the flexibility to create a personalized and secure browsing experience for your customers.
For instance, if you want to create a membership program that offers exclusive discounts to certain users, you can create a new category and restrict it to only those users who have signed up for the membership program. This way, only users who are part of the program will be able to see and purchase products in that category, while other users will not have access.
Similarly, if you want to offer discounts to certain user roles (such as wholesale customers), you can create a new category and restrict it to only those user roles. This way, only users with that specific role will be able to see and purchase products in that category, while other users will not have access.
Restrict WooCommerce categories to individual logged in users
If you're using WooCommerce to sell user-specific products, you're likely familiar with the process of creating a separate password protected category for each user. While this option has been popular, it doesn't meet everyone's needs. Asking customers to enter a password to unlock their protected category, and later enter a separate username and password to log into their user account at the checkout can be an issue.
To address this issue, we've developed the WooCommerce Protected Categories plugin, which simplifies the process of selling user-specific products. With this plugin, customers can log in once to unlock their hidden products and make a purchase, eliminating the need for duplicating passwords and logins.
Steps in using the WooCommerce Protected Categories plugin
Here are the steps you need to follow to use the WooCommerce Protected Categories plugin:
Install and activate the WooCommerce Protected Categories plugin.
Go to the Add/Edit Product Category screen in WooCommerce.
Select the category you want to protect and choose the users who can access it.
Save your changes, and you're done.
With the WooCommerce Protected Categories plugin, you no longer need to create a separate password-protected category for each user registration. Instead, you can easily assign access to specific users for each category, simplifying the process for both you and your customers.
Advanced logic for creating multiple content protection rules
Advanced logic for creating conditional multiple content protection rules allows you to customize your content protection strategy and apply different restrictions to different categories and products. By combining different options, you can create complex protection rules that meet your specific needs.
You may want to protect some single products by requiring users to enter a password, while others may require registered users to have a specific user role or permissions level. You can also restrict access to certain products or categories based on geographic location, device type, or other criteria.
Examples of use cases:
A wedding photographer can create a password protected category and give the password to the happy couple and their guests. They can use the new user access role protection to automatically unlock the category for administrators. This lets the store owner view the customer-specific categories without having to enter a password.
You might create a hierarchical category structure where Category A is password protected and has 3 child categories: B, C, and D. You could leave Categories B, C, and D to inherit the same password protection as Category A.
With sub-categories, you can create a hierarchical structure for your protected content, where each sub-category inherits the protection rules of its parent category. This makes it easier to manage your content protection strategy, especially when dealing with a large number of products and categories.
Steps in creating multiple rules for your WooCommerce content
Here's how you can use the plugin to create multiple rules for your WooCommerce content:
Choose the 'Protected' Option: To create custom protection rules, simply choose the 'Protected' option for any product category that you want to protect. This option allows you to apply various types of protection, including password protection, user role restrictions, and IP address restrictions.
Add Protection Settings: After choosing the 'Protected' option, you can add whichever types of protection you require. The WooCommerce Protected Categories plugin lets you with several protection options that you can use to create multiple restriction rules for your WooCommerce content restriction.
Test Your Protection Settings: Once you have added your protection settings, it's a good idea to test them to ensure that they are working correctly. You can do this by logging out of your store and attempting to access the protected content. If everything is working correctly, you should be prompted to enter your login credentials or password to access the content.
Choose what happens when guests try to access protected categories
The WooCommerce Password Protected Categories plugin has the option to show or hide protected categories and their products from the public parts of your store. With password protected categories, guests see a password login page if they ever try to access a protected category or product.
Here are 3 other options for when a logged out user tries to view WooCommerce content that is restricted to specific users or roles:
Show 404 error - The guest user will see a 404 error, so it looks like a broken link. This is a good way to hide the fact that your hidden WooCommerce products exist at all!
Show WordPress login page - You can redirect logged out users to the default WordPress login page (/wp-login.php).
Show custom post type page - This is my favorite option. It lets you redirect logged out users to any shop page on your WordPress website. For example, you could redirect them to a front-end login page. This will look more professional than the back-end WordPress login. Alternatively, you could create a 'Members Only' page that explains that the page is protected and includes a signup form encouraging them to join. The choice is yours.
Where can I get this WooCommerce protected content plugin?
Restricting content by user is a powerful tool for ecommerce store owners who want to offer personalized experiences for their customers. While there are several methods to achieve this, restricting products by user role can simplify the process.
If you're new to restricting content by user, there are various plugins and methods available that can help you find the solution that best suits your needs. For instance, You can ensure compatibility between your password protected categories and WooCommerce subscription plugins to offer exclusive content and products to your subscribers only. Whether you choose a plugin or opt for a custom development solution, taking the time to protect your content by a user will provide a better experience for your customers and enhance the security of your store.
You can also watch a video of us setting it up:
If you haven't got the plugin yet, get WooCommerce Protected Categories now and start restricting your content by user. With a quick and easy setup process, you can have your WooCommerce store up and running in no time! Don't forget to ensure compatibility with your WordPress themes for a seamless user experience.
The key to selling lots of products in your e-commerce store is giving potential customers all the information they need to make a decision. This means finding a clear way to display the vital attributes for each product.
While you can display attributes – such as colors or sizes – on each product page, WooCommerce doesn't include a way to show those attributes on product listing pages (such as the Shop and Category pages). Fortunately, there’s a better approach. You can use the WooCommerce Product Table plugin to display attributes in an attractive, organized product table.
You can list attributes for information purposes, like this:
Or you can list attributes as variations, like this:
In this guide, we’ll introduce the solution you’ll need – WooCommerce Product Table. Then, we’ll walk you two ways you can use this plugin to display WooCommerce attributes on shop pages. Let’s get started!
WooCommerce Product Table
Some online stores sell simple products that don’t require much in the way of detail or explanation. However, you’ll often want to include key product attributes as a part of each item's description. 'Attributes' are extra information about the characteristics of a product. This might include the item's size, its color, the material(s) it's made out of, and so on.
WooCommerce – the most popular and powerful e-commerce plugin for WordPress users – lets you easily add attributes to each product. You can either use attributes as a way of providing extra data about each product. Or you can use them to create product variations, with each combination of attributes displayed as a variable option in a dropdown.
By default, attributes are displayed on the individual product pages:
This is fine, but it isn’t very prominent. You'll want to make your attributes more much difficult for customers to miss, so they understand what each item is all about. Plus, you may want a way to show off each item's primary characteristics in one place, so customers can easily search for all products with a specific color or material (for example).
This product attributes plugin is designed specifically for use with WooCommerce. It lets you create an organized, customizable product table to display all of your store’s items. Customers can even filter by attribute to find products more quickly:
WooCommerce Product Table offers a few different ways to display WooCommerce attributes on shop pages. You can use it as a standalone table, or as a replacement layout for the main WooCommerce shop page. Let’s take a look at how this works.
Displaying WooCommerce product attributes: 2 case studies
Before you considering adding this type of product table to your own store, you might want to know what it looks like in action. Therefore, let's showcase two websites that use this plugin to display WooCommerce attributes on shop pages.
This online shop provides a create-your-own-hamper service, where you can choose a basket and fill it with pet-related gifts and treats. Above the various product tables, you’ll find drop-down menus that let you sort by attributes (such as pet breed or who the gift is for):
This site’s product tables lay out the parts offered in the store, in a straightforward and organized manner. On each line, you’ll find all of that product’s relevant attributes, such as size, capacity, and wattage.
Replicating either (or both) of these features on your site is a breeze. In the next few sections, we’ll show you how!
How to display product attributes on WooCommerce shop pages (2 methods)
Below, we’re going to walk you through two ways you can use the WooCommerce Product Table plugin to display attributes on shop pages. These methods can be applied to both new and existing WooCommerce stores. You can set up a product table that lists out each product's attributes, either replacing the default WooCommerce shop page or as a new page.
Either way, before proceeding you’ll want to make sure the following initial steps are taken care of:
You’ll need a WordPress website, which is easily to install quickly.
Finally, you’ll need to purchase and install the WooCommerce Product Table plugin. With that, you’re ready to get to work!
1. Initial setup
Add attributes to your WooCommerce products
Before you get started, you’ll need to make sure all relevant items have their product attributes listed in WooCommerce. To do this, open up the Products → Attributes section:
Here, you can simply fill in the information under Add new attribute. You can give it a name (such as "Color"), a lowercase slug (such as "color"), and then hit the Add attribute button. This will add it to your list of attributes on the right side of the page.
Underneath the new attribute's title, click on Configure terms:
Here, you can add each option for that attribute, one by one. For instance, you could call the first term "Red", the next one "Green", and so on. Select Add new Color (or whatever you named your attribute) for each term, and include as many as you'd like.
Now, when you open up a new or existing product, you can scroll down to the Product data section, click on the Attributes tab, and select your new attribute from the drop-down list:
You can then add the item's relevant characteristics, picking from the choices you just set up. You can include one or more options per attribute:
When you’re done, select Save attributes. You can then create additional attributes as needed for the same product, or go to your other products and repeat this process. Make sure to update each product you modify in this way.
Set up product variations (optional)
You can use product attributes for information purposes only. Alternatively, you can use them as variation attributes, so that people can actually buy combinations of each attribute (for example, by combining the size and color options for a T-shirt).
If you want to sell attributes as variations, then you'll also need to set up your products as variable products:
On the 'Edit Product' screen, tick the 'Use for variations' box for each attribute in the 'Attributes' tab.
Then, go to the 'Variations' tab and add all the variations.
That way, customers can buy every combination of the attributes.
Displaying product attributes as table columns
Once all your products have their attributes, your next stop should be Products → Product Tables → Add New.
The table builder will walk you through the process of creating a product table with attribute columns:
On the first page, choose whether you want to insert the product attributes table manually or enable the table view and attribute columns on your main shop pages.
The columns page lets you choose which product data to include in the table. You can add a separate column in your table for each product attribute, increasing their visibility. Your global product attributes will appear in the list of columns. Also add useful columns like the product name, attribute price, and add to cart buttons.
Choose the other settings for your product table as needed.
Finally, if you chose to enable the table layout on your shop templates then you don't need to do anything further. Alternatively, insert the 'Product Table' block or copy the shortcode from the end of the table builder onto the page where you wish to display the table.
The final product list with attributes will look something like this:
Now, customers can easily see all their choices for each item you offer and attributes. This is a user-friendly way to display WooCommerce attributes on shop pages effectively.
If you're using variable products and want to display variation dropdowns in the product list view, that's fine too. Just choose one of the variation options on the Product Table plugin settings page.
Note: If you want to include different attribute columns in each table on your site, then you'll need to set the column options directly in the shortcode. You can do this by adding your product tables to individual pages.
Filtering by product attribute
If you want customers to be able to find products with specific attributes, then you can add dropdown menus above the table, or filter widgets in the left or right sidebar. There are 2 ways to add attribute filters:
Using the filter dropdowns and widgets that come with the WooCommerce Product Table plugin.
Option 1: Set up the built-in WooCommerce Product Table filters
WooCommerce Product Table comes with filter dropdowns which you can add above the product table. It also comes with filter widgets which are exactly like the default widgets that come with WooCommerce itself. You can add attribute filters as either dropdowns and widgets, or both.
To add attributes as dropdown menus above the table, edit your table at Products → Product Tables. On the 'Search & Sort' page, add filters for all the product attributes that you wish to display as dropdowns. Do this by selecting one or more attributes from the list of available filters.
To see it in action, add a shortcode and then check out the page on the front end of your site:
As you can see, in this example there’s a dropdown filter menu above the table for each attribute. Customers can use these menus to filter the table, in order to find what they want quickly. What's more, you can either use this technique on its own, or in combination with the previous method.
To add attribute filter widgets, go to Appearance → Widgets and add any of the WooCommerce filter widgets.
You can give the widget a title, choose which attribute it should display, and configure a few additional options.
Option 2: Use WooCommerce Product Table with the WooCommerce Product Filters plugin
To supercharge your product attribute filters, you can use WooCommerce Product Table with the Product Filters plugin. You can use it to add attribute filters at the top of the shop page, or to the shop page sidebar. It comes with a huge range of filters. For example, you can choose from the following styles for your attribute filters:
Dropdown filters.
Checkbox filters.
Radio button filters.
Color swatches (for a 'color' attribute).
Clickable images.
Clickable text labels (similar to a tag cloud).
To use these filters, install the WooCommerce Product Filters plugin and create filters in Products → Filters. To show a group of attribute filters at the top of the shop page, go to the settings tab and select the group. Alternatively (or in addition!), go to Attributes → Widgets and add the 'Product Filters' widget to the shop page sidebar.
Bonus - Show attributes on product page in WooCommerce
So far, we've looked at how to show product attributes on the shop page and category pages.
As an extra bonus feature, you can use the same technical to show attributes on the WooCommerce product page too. The trick is to insert a product table that only lists the attributes or variations for that particular product.
To do this, you need to use the second page of the table builder to select the specific product that you will be displaying the attributes for:
Again, the final page of the table builder will give you a shortcode for inserting the product attributes table. Use this to add it to the product page.
For example, in this screenshot we added the product table shortcode to the short description. Each field of the table is a different attribute.
And here's another example - this time with 2 attribute columns and a stock column:
Alternatively, if it's a variable product then it's a good idea to list each variation on its own row, each with its own attributes. You can do this by enabling the 'Separate' variations option in the 'Add to cart' section of the table builder:
This screenshot contains a table listing the attributes for 4 variations on the product page. Instead of adding attribute columns, the attributes are automatically displayed after the name of each variation:
As you can see, WooCommerce Product Table isn't just for listing attributes on the shop page. It's also a super-flexible way to show attributes on the product page in WooCommerce.
Where to get the plugin
WooCommerce Product Table makes it easy to list product attributes on your shop or category pages, or indeed anywhere in your store. You can list attributes as columns in the table, variation dropdowns, or as filters to help your customers to find products by attribute.
Above, we’ve introduced two simple methods to display WooCommerce attributes on shop pages:
Add product tables with attributes on the main shop and category pages.
As standalone product tables, added to any page using a shortcode.
Do you have any questions about how to display WooCommerce attributes on shop pages? Give up a heads-up in the comments section below!
Ecommerce is big business. It's also incredibly competitive, which means you need to take advantage of proven techniques to give yourself the best chance for success and make money by selling online. Rarely is this more true than when you’re trying to sell clothes online, given the saturation of the online fashion market.
To encourage customers to choose you over the competition, you’ll want to make buying clothes on your website a convenient and streamlined experience. This means finding a way to display your clothing products and options effectively, such as by using a customized product table.
Or perhaps you need a quick and easy way for customers to choose clothes sizes, colors and other options?
Best plugins for selling clothes online
In this guide, we’ll introduce you to the best plugins for selling clothes online with WooCommerce. This includes:
Bulk Variations - Display all of the options for an item of clothing in a quick buying grid, so that customers can purchase multiple sizes and colors with ease. (Learn more.)
Quick View Pro - Let customers preview products and add to the cart without leaving the shop page. (Learn more.)
WooCommerce Fast Cart - And finally, provide the fastest possible way for customers to review and complete their order. (Learn more.)
Product Options - Add extra options in order to sell customizable products. For example, add file upload fields for a logo, or text message fields for a custom message. (Learn more.)
All of these amazing plugins make it easier for customers to browse and buy clothing such as custom screen print shirts, shoes or accessories. They are all either developed by the same company or guaranteed to be compatible. As a result, you can mix and match them to create a robust clothing store that meets your exact business needs. You can either buy them individually or save money with an All Access Pass.
Let’s get started!
Plugin 1: Why your clothing store can benefit from a customized product table
Some online consignment shops (like Etsy, thredUP or Poshmark) sell products that require a lot of detailed information. For instance, an online electronics shop will usually merit dedicated pages to explain the ins and outs of each item.
However, a clothing store is a little different as is the case with thredUP, Tradesy, and Poshmark. If you're running this kind of ecommerce site, chances are your products are pretty simple to grasp. Most customers won’t need a lot of information in order to know whether they want to buy a particular shirt, for example. They’ll just want to know what it looks like, and see the options when it comes to colors and sizes.
Therefore, making visitors navigate to a bunch of individual product pages – as in a traditional ecommerce store layout – can be counterproductive when you’re trying to sell clothes online. Some customers might like this extra information, but most want a quick buying process. Instead, you can show off everything you have to offer in a concise product table.
Keep in mind that you don't need to compete with high-end brands that sell luxury items like Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Gucci, or Prada right off the bat.
This lets customers view all the clothing options in one place. They can compare products easily, and add everything they want to their carts from a single page. Once they're done, they can proceed to checkout and make the payment through the payment options you offer (such as PayPal). It's just like buying in a physical clothing store! What’s more, it's simple to set up if you have the right plugin.
Introducing WooCommerce Product Table
While WordPress and WooCommerce are the perfect foundation to sell clothing online, they're missing some essential features. For example, they don't provide a way to show off all your items on a single organized page, similar to eBay. Luckily, you can easily listing clothing products with the WooCommerce Product Table plugin:
This plugin helps you create a customized product table to display any or all of your clothing products. Among its many features, this plugin:
Lets you organize all your clothing, accessories, and more into one table similar to eBay.
Makes it easy for customers to compare items.
Customers can click on a clothing image to view a zoomed in version in a lightbox.
Includes sorting and filtering capabilities, making your product table dynamic.
Enables you to display product variations (such as colors and sizes) alongside each item.
Click to view an enlarged version of each image in a lightbox.
Draw attention to important content by customizing image sizes and column widths
3 ways to list variations, which can be selected directly from the table
Best of all, WooCommerce Product Table is simple to use and only takes a few minutes to set up.
How to sell clothes online with WooCommerce Product Table
In the following tutorial, we’re going to assume that you already have a WooCommerce store set up to sell clothes online. If you’re creating a brand-new ecommerce site, therefore, you'll want to do three things before proceeding:
Once those tasks are out of the way, you’re ready to get started.
Install and activate WooCommerce Product Table
First up, you’ll want to get the WooCommerce Product Table plugin running on your clothing website. To do that, you’ll need to purchase the plugin.
After the plugin is installed, activate it. Next, the table wizard will open. It also walks you through the main settings for creating your table listing some or all of clothes products. This will get WooCommerce Product Table fully up and running, ready to start selling clothes online.
Popular settings for selling clothes online
Here are some tips on which settings to choose in the setup wizard:
Display - Where to display product tables
Enable the table on your shop page templates if you want your whole clothing store to use the table layout. Alternatively, you can add the table listing clothes products to specific pages only. If you do this, then you can then choose exactly which products/categories/etc. to display.
Table content
Next, use the Columns page of the table builder to specify what information will appear in the product tables.
You’ll probably want to include images, as well as a few details about each item such as its category, description, and sale price. And don't forget to include the product name and a 'Buy' column!
Adding to the cart
The add to cart method controls what appears in the 'Buy' column of the table. If your customers are likely to choose one clothing item at a time then use the 'Button' method. Alternatively, select 'Checkbox' (or 'Both') to allow customers to use multi-select to add multiple clothing products at once.
Right below that, you probably want to check the 'Quantities' box. This will enable customers to purchase more than one of each item directly from the product table page. That's a useful feature for a clothing store to have, as it's quicker than visiting a separate page for each product.
Most importantly, you’ll want to choose how to display product variations. This setting displays your items’ variations right within the table. In other words, customers will be able to see and select all clothing options, such as colors and sizes. You can either display these variations as dropdown menus, or on their own rows.
Product filters
Nearly all stores that use WooCommerce to sell clothes online need some sort of filtering. This allows customers to select details about what they're looking for (e.g. their size or preferred colors) and quickly narrow down their selections.
WooCommerce Product Table comes with some basic filter dropdowns which you can enable above the table. You can enable them on the next page of the setup wizard. Alternatively, leave this option empty if you want to add more advanced features. We'll look at how to do that a bit later.
Preview your WooCommerce clothing store
If you enabled the product table on your shop templates, then you can view these straight away. Alternatively, add a 'Product Table' block to another page, or copy the shortcode from the final page of the table builder and add it that way.
Now, the basics are in place to sell clothes online in WooCommerce. You can see what it looks like so far by viewing the front end. Depending on your settings, it might look something like this:
You can continue to make changes – anything you alter in the settings will be instantly applied to your product tables. When you’re happy with the way your table looks and functions, you're done!
Your ecommerce store is now ready to publish. However, you might want to add some extra features to truly supercharge your WooCommerce clothes website. We'll look at these next.
Plugin 2: Use advanced product filters to help customers find specific clothes more easily
In step 1, we learned how to use the basic filter dropdowns that come with WooCommerce Product Table. For more advanced filtering, you can use the WooCommerce Product Filters plugin instead.
As you can see in the screenshot above, this is perfect for helping customers to find exactly what clothes they like. They can filter by category, color, size, price, rating, and any other data you have added for your clothing products. They look great and you can choose from various filter styles, such as images, color swatches, checkboxes, sliders, and more.
If you have a lot of clothing products then advanced WooCommerce filtering is a must for selling clothes online.
How to add filters to your WooCommerce clothes store
Activate your license key in the setup wizard, and choose how you want your filters to behave. One of the options in the wizard allows you to display the default filter group at the top of all your shop pages. Select this if you want to show filters above the list of clothes in your store. Or if you want the filters to appear in the sidebar on the left or right of the list of clothes, then ignore this.
Next, go to Products → Filters and add all the ways that you want your customers to be able to filter products.
If you selected to display the default filter group at the top of your clothes shop in Step 2, then ignore this step. Alternatively, go to Appearance → Widgets and use the Product Filters widget to display the filters in your store sidebar.
Plugin 3: Create a grid of color and size options
Have you used product variations to sell different size and color options of the clothes in your store (or any other type of option)? If so, then WooCommerce will normally display each option as a dropdown for customers to choose from. Once they select a size and color (for example), the price appears and they can add it to the cart. They then repeat the process for each combination of options they want to order.
That's not ideal for selling clothes in WooCommerce because customers tend to order multiple sizes and colors to try. It's much better if customers can see all the options and prices at once.
You can do this by installing the WooCommerce Bulk Variations plugin. To help you decide if you need it, then see whether you answer 'Yes' to any of these questions:
Would you like a faster way to add and edit variations in bulk. For example, do you want to be able to instantly add an image of a blue t-shirt to all the blue variations on your t-shirt product? Or do you want to be able to quickly set the price of all the 'Large' size t-shirts at once?
Do you want people to be able to select clothing sizes and other options in bulk on the single product page?
Instead of having to select their clothes size from a dropdown, WooCommerce Bulk Variations displays all the options in an eye-catching grid or matrix.
A WooCommerce bulk variations form is ideal for selling clothes in larger quantities. For example, you'll need this if you're selling clothes for parties or corporate events, branded workwear, or wholesale.
The variations are displayed in two dimensions within the matrix-style order form. The customer can enter the quantity that they require for each option, and quickly add them all to the cart.
Case study: Elite Teamsport
Elite Teamsport uses WooCommerce Bulk Variations to sell teamwear kits and training wear on their online store.
From the single product page, customers can choose to either buy one variation at a time or select multiple options and add them all to their cart at once. The WooCommerce Bulk Variations plugin displays all of the available variations in a grid layout with size and color attributes. This makes it easy to buy multiple variations of a product and reduces friction in the buying process.
Customers can use the quantity selectors to specify how many units of each product. They can then click the Add to Basket button to add them to their shopping cart in one go.
The setup wizard will open. Use this to set up the plugin, including enabling it on your variable products.
To edit variations in bulk, go to the 'Variations' tab on the 'Edit Product' screen. Use the 'Filters' bar to select which variations you want to edit. Next, use the bulk actions dropdown above to apply changes in bulk.
Tip - WooCommerce Bulk Variations lets you edit and display variations. If you want one of these features but not both, that's fine - just activate the ones you need.
Plugin 4: Add quick view to your clothes store
You can take your store to the next level by combining the table layout with product quick view.
Think about when you've bought high-quality clothing or handbags online from leading fashion websites like Etsy, thredUP, Tradesy, and Poshmark. You've probably noticed that nearly all of them offer some sort of quick view function. This is where you can see extra pictures and buy without having to visit a separate page for each garment. There's a reason for this - it's because quick view is a much more user-friendly way to sell clothes online.
That's why you need the WooCommerce Quick View Plugin. This handy tool adds - you guessed it - quick view links or buttons to your WooCommerce clothing store. Customers can use these to view more photos of each clothing item, zoom in on images, view the selling price, and buy directly from a quick view popup. You can also show the short description in the quick view, which is a useful place to add size charts, washing instructions and other useful information.
If you're selling customized clothing, then quick view is ideal for this too. Use it with the Product Options plugin to add text input boxes. This is where customers can upload a logo or enter a personalised message to be added to their custom clothing product.
You can use quick view with product tables. Alternatively, it also works as a standalone product that adds quick view buttons to the default WooCommerce store layouts.
If you're using the WooCommerce Bulk Variations plugin, then the variations matrix can appear in the quick view lightbox. That way, people can select variations and buy in bulk without having to access a separate page for each garment.
How to add quick view to your WooCommerce clothes store
As we saw earlier, the WooCommerce Quick View Pro plugin is a must if you're selling clothes with WooCommerce and WordPress. This how to set it up:
Go to the plugin settings page at WooCommerce → Settings → Products → Quick view.
Enter your license key and choose what you want to appear in the quick view lightbox. For selling clothes, you'll probably want the full product image gallery, image zoom, and possibly the short description and add to cart options.
If you're using WooCommerce quick view with product tables, then you should also go back to WooCommerce → Settings → Products → Product tables. Add quick_view to the list of product table columns, or tick the option further down the page to replace links to the single product page with quick view.
Plugin 5: Speed up ordering with an on-page cart and checkout
Plugins like Product Table, Product Filters and Quick View Pro make it quicker and easier for customers to find and add products. In contrast, the WooCommerce Fast Cart plugin speeds up the final stages of the ordering process.
Normally, WooCommerce makes customers visit separate cart and checkout pages to complete their order. That's quite time-consuming, and your WooCommerce clothes store will convert better if they can complete their order on the same page.
WooCommerce Fast Cart adds a popup cart and/or checkout to your store. As soon as customers add clothes to their cart, the popup cart either launches automatically or a floating cart icon appears. They can use this to review their selections, make changes, add related products, and even pay and check out - without ever leaving the page.
Plugin 6: Sell customizable clothes with product add-on options
Customizable T-Shirts website created with WooCommerce Product Table and Product Options
The above three steps are sufficient for creating a fully-featured and compelling product table. However, there’s one more tool you may want to consider adding to your site:Product Options.
This add-on lets customers further personalize their purchases. You can enable them to add on items to their orders, via input boxes, drop-down menus, and checkboxes. If you offer personalized clothing and accessories, this extension will also make it easy for customers to request custom messaging.
For example, if you want to sell personalized custom t-shirts online then Product Add-Ons is a must. You can use it to add check boxes for optional extras, and a text entry box to add a personalized message. It's even possible to include a File Upload field (e.g. to upload a custom logo or design), although customers will need to click through to the single product page to use this.
Selling a customizable t-shirt with the WooCommerce Product Options plugin
As you can see, Product Add-Ons is a valuable addition that helps you sell clothes online more effectively. The extra product options appear on the single product page and also in the 'Buy' column of the product table.
Where to get the plugins
If you’re looking to sell clothes online, you’ll need to use the most effective strategies in order to stand out. This includes finding a way to show customers everything you have to offer – and all the relevant variations – in one convenient place.
Fortunately, this is a simple matter with the plugins featured in this article:
Product Table - perfect for listing clothes in a flexible order form layout.
Product Filters - ideal for helping customers to find products more quickly.
Bulk Variations - perfect for letting customers choose sizes and other options in bulk on the product page, and for bulk editing variations.
Fast Cart - ideal for speeding up the final stages of the customer journey.
Product Options - essential for selling customizable clothing products.
Use the plugins alone or together to create a professional clothing store that will be a pleasure to use. You can save money with an All Access Pass. They all come with full support, documentation and a full 30-day money back guarantee.
Do you have any questions about how to sell clothes online with WooCommerce? Let us know in the comments section below!
A step-by-step guide to selling modular furniture online with WooCommerce. Customers can configure their furniture and order online with no manual input from you.
Modular furniture stores have a problem that most ecommerce websites don't. Customers need to choose materials, finishes, sizes, and accessories, then combine everything into a single order. A standard WooCommerce product page can't handle that well.
The solution is a product configurator. It lets customers build their ideal piece of furniture by selecting from the available options. The price updates automatically based on their choices.
To sell furniture online this way, you need WooCommerce Product Options. This plugin adds configurable option fields to any WooCommerce product page. Customers select their options, see the final price, and add to cart. No manual quotes. No back-and-forth emails ☺️
In this post, I'll walk you through how to set up a furniture product configurator with WooCommerce Product Options. You'll learn which option types work best for furniture stores and how to configure them step by step.
What is a furniture product configurator?
A furniture product configurator is an interactive form on your product page. It lets customers select specific options for a piece of furniture before adding it to their cart.
For example, a sofa configurator might include options for fabric, color, leg style, and size. A kitchen door configurator might let customers choose the door style, handle type, and whether they want assembly included.
The configurator calculates the total price in real time. Customers see exactly what they're paying for before they check out. This removes friction from the buying process and reduces support queries.
Without a configurator, you'd need to create a separate WooCommerce variation for every possible combination of options. That gets unmanageable fast. A sofa with 5 fabrics, 4 colors, and 3 sizes would need 60 variations for a single product. A configurator handles all of this automatically.
Why WooCommerce Product Options is ideal for furniture stores
WooCommerce Product Options is a plugin that adds extra option fields to your product pages. It supports 16+ field types, conditional logic, and flexible pricing. Here's why it works so well for selling modular furniture online.
Barn2 Plugins Product Options Preview
Visual option selection
Furniture buyers want to see what they're choosing. WooCommerce Product Options supports image swatches and color swatches. Customers can click on a fabric swatch or wood finish to select it visually, rather than picking from a plain dropdown list.
This makes a big difference for furniture stores. Nobody wants to guess what "Natural Oak" looks like from a text label.
Conditional logic
Conditional logic shows or hides options based on the customer's previous selections. For modular furniture, this is essential.
For example, if a customer selects "Installation & assembly" for a wardrobe, you can display additional fields asking for their preferred delivery date and location. If they don't select assembly, those fields stay hidden. This keeps the product page clean and avoids overwhelming customers with irrelevant choices.
You can see this in action on the WooCommerce Product Options furniture demo. When you tick the assembly box, the conditional logic makes the extra options appear underneath.
Flexible pricing
Different furniture options often have different prices. WooCommerce Product Options supports several pricing methods that work well for furniture stores:
Flat fees add a fixed amount when an option is selected. For example, charge $50 extra for premium fabric.
Percentage-based pricing adjusts the price by a percentage. For example, add 15% for a larger size.
Custom price formulas calculate the price based on measurements or other inputs. For example, use a formula to price a countertop based on width times depth.
The plugin recalculates the total automatically as customers make their selections. They always see the current price on the product page.
16+ field types
WooCommerce Product Options gives you many ways to present furniture options to customers:
Image swatches for materials, finishes, and fabric choices.
Color swatches for paint colors or stain options.
Radio buttons for choosing between sizes or styles.
Checkboxes for add-on services like delivery, assembly, or extended warranty.
Dropdowns for long lists of options like handle types or leg styles.
Text inputs for custom engraving or personalization requests.
Number fields for entering custom dimensions.
File uploads for customers who want to provide reference images or design files.
Each field type can include its own pricing. This makes it easy to charge differently based on the customer's selections.
How to sell modular furniture online with WooCommerce (step by step)
Here's how to set up a furniture product configurator using WooCommerce Product Options. You'll need a WordPress website with WooCommerce installed. If you haven't set that up yet, follow the WPBeginner guide to creating a WordPress site and then set up WooCommerce.
Step 1: Add your furniture products to WooCommerce
First, add each piece of configurable furniture as a WooCommerce product. You don't need to create variations for every option (that's what the plugin handles). Instead, create a simple product for each base item.
In your WordPress dashboard, go to Products → Add New:
For each furniture product, I recommend including:
A clear product name (e.g. "Modular Sofa" or "Kitchen Cabinet Door").
A brief description in the Product short description box explaining what's configurable.
A product image showing the item in its most popular configuration.
A base price under Product data → General. This is the starting price before any options are selected.
Repeat this for every piece of furniture you want to sell with configurable options. Hit Publish when each one is ready.
Once activated, go to Products → Product Options in your WordPress dashboard. This is where you'll create all the configurable options for your furniture products.
Step 3: Create your furniture option groups
WooCommerce Product Options organizes your fields into option groups. Each group contains one or more options and can be assigned to specific products or categories.
Plan how many groups to create based on which furniture options are unique to specific products and which will be shared across multiple products. For example, you might create a unique set of options for each product, each of which would require its own group. and in addition you might create a separate group for installation and assembly which you will display across all products. This efficient approach avoids duplication.
To create an option group, click Add New on the Product Options page. Give the group a name, then add your individual options within it.
For each option, select the field type (image swatch, checkbox, dropdown, etc.) and add the choices.
You can set pricing for each choice individually. For example, you might set "Velvet" fabric at +$100 and "Linen" at +$50.
Step 4: Add conditional logic
Conditional logic is what makes a furniture configurator feel polished. It shows customers only the options that are relevant to their current selections.
To add conditional logic, edit any option within a group and look for the Advanced section.
Here you can set rules like:
Show the "Assembly location" field only when "Installation & assembly" is checked.
Show "Cushion firmness" only when the customer selects a sofa with removable cushions.
Show "Glass type" options only when the customer selects a table with a glass top.
You can also use conditional logic with product variations. For example, if you have size variations, you can show different fabric options depending on which size the customer selects.
Step 5: Set up pricing
For most furniture options, flat fees work well. Add $50 for premium fabric, $75 for assembly, and so on. You can set these when you add choices to each option.
If you need more advanced pricing, WooCommerce Product Options has a price formula feature. This is useful for furniture that's priced by measurement. For example, you could create a formula that calculates the price of a custom shelving unit based on the height and width the customer enters.
The plugin also lets you control how prices display on the product page. You can show the base price plus additions, hide the base price until options are selected, or show the total price with a breakdown.
Step 6: Preview and test
Before going live, preview each product page to check that:
All options display correctly.
Conditional logic shows and hides the right fields.
Prices calculate accurately for different combinations.
The page works well on mobile devices.
I recommend testing a few different configurations and adding them to the cart. Check that the cart and order details show the selected options clearly. This is what your customers will see, so make sure it's easy to understand.
Example furniture configurator setups
Here are a few ways furniture stores can use WooCommerce Product Options. These examples should give you ideas for your own configurator setup.
Kitchen doors and cabinets
A kitchen company could use image swatches to let customers browse door styles visually. Add a dropdown for handle type, color swatches for finish, and radio buttons for size. Use conditional logic to show hinge options only for certain door types. Add a checkbox for professional installation with a flat fee.
This is exactly the approach that The Cabinet Door Store, a family-owned Canadian supplier of custom cabinet doors and drawer fronts, took with WooCommerce Product Options. Their customers select a finish type (semi-gloss, matte, or woodgrain), then choose from a visual grid of color swatches. Pricing adjusts per square foot based on the finish, and conditional logic ensures customers only see the color palette relevant to their selection. The result? They moved from manual quoting to fully self-service ordering, significantly cutting down on back-and-forth communication with clients.
"This allows our clients to browse our entire catalog and check their own pricing, which has drastically improved our back and forth with clients," said Brett Nichol, who manages contractor accounts at The Cabinet Door Store.
Custom sofas
A sofa store could use color swatches for fabric color, image swatches for fabric type, and radio buttons for size. Add a dropdown for leg style and checkboxes for extras like arm covers and scatter cushions. Use a percentage-based price increase for larger sizes.
Office furniture
An office furniture supplier could use dropdowns for desk dimensions, color swatches for finish, and checkboxes for add-ons like cable management, monitor arms, and keyboard trays. Use quantity pickers to let customers order multiple units with different configurations.
Custom shelving
A shelving company could use number fields to collect custom dimensions from customers. Add a price formula that calculates cost based on width, height, and depth. Include image swatches for material choice and checkboxes for wall-mounting hardware and assembly.
Here are a few things I've found work well when setting up a furniture configurator:
Use image swatches wherever possible. Furniture is visual. Customers want to see the material, not read a name.
Keep option groups logical. Group related choices together (all material options in one group, all service add-ons in another). This makes the product page easy to follow.
Set default values for popular options. Pre-select your most popular choices. This speeds up the buying process and gives customers a starting point.
Use conditional logic to reduce clutter. Don't show every possible option at once. Reveal choices based on what the customer has already selected.
Write clear option labels. Use plain language that customers understand. "Oak veneer" is better than "Material type OV-3".
Test the mobile experience. Many furniture shoppers browse on their phones. Make sure your configurator works well on smaller screens.
Bonus: Create shareable furniture configurations
WooCommerce Product Options has a shareable cart links feature. You can configure a product with specific options selected, add it to the cart, and then copy a link from the top of the cart page. (These links only appear if you are logged in as an admin or store manager.) When a customer clicks that link, it recreates the exact configuration you set up.
This is useful for furniture stores in several ways:
Send pre-configured product links to customers who've requested a quote.
Create "recommended configuration" links for your best-selling setups.
Include configured product links in email campaigns or on social media.
This saves customers the effort of configuring the product themselves and can speed up the purchase decision.
Selling modular furniture online doesn't need to be complicated. With WooCommerce Product Options, you can create a product configurator that handles materials, finishes, sizes, add-on services, and custom pricing.
Here's a quick recap of the steps:
Add your furniture products to WooCommerce with a base price.
Install the WooCommerce Product Options plugin.
Create option groups with the right field types for each product category.
Add conditional logic to keep the configurator clean and relevant.
Set up pricing for each option.
Preview, test, and publish.
Do you have questions about setting up a furniture product configurator? Ask in the comments below!
Looking for a way to display WooCommerce products in a more compact and user-friendly way? If so, then a list view might be just what you need. A WooCommerce product list view allows customers to quickly scan through your products and find what they're looking for without the clutter of a traditional grid layout.
In this tutorial, we'll go over how to create a WooCommerce product list, step by step. You'll learn how to list products in a user-friendly table layout, complete with extra features like additional product information, searching and filtering.
We'll be creating a list view of your products using a plugin called WooCommerce Product Table. This WordPress plugin comes with everything you need to create a WooCommerce list view. It has dozens of customization options which you can use to create a flexible product list based on your exact requirements.
Customers can view more products per page, see product data, choose options and add to their cart - all directly within the list view. The end result will be a fully customizable product list that looks something like this:
Let's get started!
WooCommerce Product Table - the comprehensive list view solution
A WooCommerce list view is a table format displaying one product per row. WooCommerce Product Table creates list views with customizable columns and display options.
We built Product Table after a wave of store owners asked us to put real WooCommerce features into a table, like variation dropdowns, quantity pickers and add-to-cart buttons, so shoppers could compare products and buy from the listing instead of opening a separate page for each one. In our own analysis of stores using it, the biggest users are industrial, technical and B2B shops selling spec-heavy catalogs of parts, fittings and components, where the data about each product matters more to the buying decision than a big photo. It's less suited to a traditional clothing store, where people want big images and the full product gallery.
WooCommerce Product Table is the best list view plugin because it's 100% flexible. With over 40 customization options, it has everything you need in a WooCommerce product list plugin. You can:
Display products anywhere. Enable the WooCommerce product list plugin view on your default store pages or display products on custom pages anywhere on your site.
Choose what product data to display. Select from 20+ types of product information that appears in the list view, including name, image, price, attributes, stock information, and custom fields.
List products flexibly. Display all products, specific categories, tags, custom fields, or custom taxonomy terms.
List products and/or variations. Show variations as dropdowns for each product, or list each variation on its own row.
Make it easy to find products with column sorting, keyword search, and product filters.
Choose how many products per page are listed (from 10 to 500+) and enable lazy load for large catalogs.
"The WooCommerce Product Table is well thought out and provides a great responsive experience. The switch between desktop and mobile is elegant and clean. The plugin saved me hours or creating a *true* list view myself and then having to design a way for my own list view to be responsive. This saved me time and money. Very pleased with the results."
Edward Doriv - WooCommerce Product Table Customer
What types of store need a WooCommerce product list view?
A product list view comes in especially handy for:
Technical productsTechnical products are non-visual items where specifications matter more than images. Technical or non-visual products benefit from showing more products per page and displaying extra product data for easy comparisons.
Wholesale storesWholesale stores are businesses that sell products in bulk to trade buyers. WooCommerce wholesale stores save time with bulk ordering directly from the list view.
Build-your-own productsBuild-your-own products are customizable items where customers select multiple components. 'Build your own' products like gift boxes or hampers require bulk-selection capabilities.
Product catalogsProduct catalogs are organized displays of items mimicking traditional order forms. WooCommerce catalogs present products in familiar printed catalog formats.
Think carefully about the type of products in your store, and whether they'll sell better in a WooCommerce product list view.
Next, I'll explain how to create different types of product list view in WooCommerce, step-by-step.
Step-by-step implementation
To create a WooCommerce product list view:
Install the WooCommerce Product Table plugin.
Activate the plugin to open the table builder automatically.
Choose your main display options in the table builder.
Select whether to enable list view on shop pages or insert manually.
Copy the provided shortcode or use the Gutenberg block.
The table builder allows you to enable list view on all shop pages or insert tables manually. If you chose the manual option then the final page of the table builder will provide a shortcode which you can use to list products. Alternatively, insert a 'Product Table' Gutenberg block and select the product list you just created.
Depending on your settings, this will list WooCommerce products in a table like this. The exact styling is inherited from your theme/template so that everything matches the rest of your website:
Related Options:
If you want to give your customers the choice, you can also learn how to add a grid/list view toggle to your shop.
WooCommerce Product Table lets you list products in many different ways. Just choose the settings that will work best for the types of products you sell.
To provide some inspiration, here are some example screenshots of different ways that you might set up your WooCommerce list view.
We'll start with a basic WooCommerce list view that just displays each product's title. Then, we'll build on that simple list with more columns, AJAX filter options, as well as only pulling specific products into the list.
1. A basic WooCommerce list view
A basic list view is a single-column table format containing product names. Just because a WooCommerce list view plugin lets you add extra columns of information doesn't mean you have to! While you can include images, add to cart buttons and tons of data, these aren't essential. If you prefer, then you can list products in a much simpler format.
As a minimum, you can create a very simple list of WC products, containing the product name but no other information:
This WooCommerce product list displays only product names in a minimalist format. It lists products by name, with no other data or features. This is as simple as it comes!
Set it up by choosing these options when you create a product table:
Columns - add Name but not other columns. This will list the product name but no other data.
Sort by - select 'Name' and 'Ascending' order to list products alphabetically.
Also choose the following options on the plugin settings page at Products → Product Tables → Settings.
Search box - hide this.
Reset button - hide this.
Page length - hide this.
Product totals - hide this.
Personally, I like this type of simple product list for specific purposes only - for example, in a sidebar widget where there's limited space. On page layouts with more space, I prefer adding extra columns - and depending on the number of products, extra features like a search box and product filters.
2. Listing products with extra data
To display more than product titles, add additional columns to the table. You can display literally any type of product data in the list view. In addition, you can include a 'Buy' column complete with add to cart buttons, quantity pickers and variation dropdowns. This makes it much quicker for customers to buy their desired products.
This example has columns for image, name, description and buy.
A WooCommerce list view with multiple columns of product data
Or to get even fancier, this WooCommerce list view has columns for image, name, reviews, price, and buy:
3. Adding filters and search options
For stores with more than about 10 products, you can help customers find them by providing a search box and filters.
Here's an example of a full list of products with the search box and filters turned on:
And for even more advanced filtering for your product list view, use Product Table with its sister plugin - WooCommerce Product Filters. This adds a wide range of professional filter options, such as color swatches, image filters, and more:
4. Listing products in multiple columns
Multiple column layouts display different product lists side by side. The WooCommerce Product Table plugin lists products with 1 item per row. However, you can create more complex page layouts with multiple columns, each listing different products:
You create this layout by creating a page with a 3-column layout. Add a different product table to each column. You would create the multi-column page layout using the WordPress dashboard block editor (Gutenberg) or a page builder plugin like Elementor or Divi.
Once you've added the columns, put a product table shortcode in each one. Each shortcode should list items from different product categories.
Case study - A WooCommerce product list view plugin for Dunbar Sales
The Challenge: Dunbar Sales needed an e-commerce solution for technical products. Jupiter Multimedia was developing a WP website for Dunbar Sales, a leading supplier of MIL-spec adhesives, paints, coatings, lubricants, and corrosion preventatives.
The Problem: The default WooCommerce grid layout was inappropriate for technical products. The website would be selling highly technical, non-visual products that did not require large images. As a result, the default WooCommerce grid/list layout was inappropriate for their client's industry.
Developer's Perspective: The developer said:
"I needed a TRUE list view and nothing else I tried could produce the results I required, short of trying to rebuild the entire archive page by hand. I wasn't into the idea of doing that due to the time involved and ability to upgrade as woo changes."
The Solution: WooCommerce Product Table provided the exact functionality needed. They were delighted to discover WooCommerce Product Table, which offered the list view and Woo custom fields they needed. This allowed them to deliver the website on time and on budget.
Additional Features: The team enhanced the list view with complementary plugins. Jupiter Multimedia added extra functionality to its product list view by using WooCommerce Product Table with some third-party plugins. They used an Add to Quote plugin to allow customers to request a quote, and an extra product options plugin to add an extra text field to the list.
Results: The project was delivered on time and within budget. The list view solution saved 40+ hours of development time compared to custom coding.
We used WooCommerce Product Table to set up a quick ordering platform for customers. Worked like a charm. AND the customer service is quick, helpful, and kind. Great experience.
List WooCommerce products with quick view buttons
Quick view functionality enhances the WooCommerce list view shopping experience. It works by keeping customers away from the single product page. They find products in the product list and add them to the cart without clicking away from the list. This encourages them to buy more and more, and there's no risk that they'll get lost!
You can improve this even further by adding a quick view to your product listings. This adds optional quick-view buttons to the WoCommerce list view, and/or replaces the links to the single product page with quick-view links.
Quick view lightboxes show extra information that doesn't fit in the product list. If you have lots of variations or add-ons for your product listings, then there may be too many to fit nicely into your neat WooCommerce list view. Instead, customers can view the basic product information in the product list; choose options, and add to the cart from a quick view lightbox.
To add quick view, you need to use Product Table with its sister plugin, WooCommerce Quick View Pro. Once both plugins are installed, you can add a column called quick-view in your list of product table columns. This will add a Quick View button for each product so that customers can easily launch the lightbox.
Want to set up a WooCommerce list view in just 15 minutes?
Creating a custom WooCommerce list products view for your products enhances the shopping experience for your customers. With the flexibility and customization options available through WooCommerce Product Table, the possibilities are endless.
WooCommerce Product Table is a plug-and-play solution that 1000's of online store owners have already used to grow their sales. No technical knowledge is required - just follow the steps in this tutorial and you'll be up and running in minutes.
Instant plug-and-play setup
FREE knowledge base and tutorials
Technical support is available if you need any help
30-day money-back guarantee. Love it or get a full refund, zero risk.
Whether you're looking to create a wholesale store, a simple catalog, an event-based system, or something entirely unique, a custom list view can help you achieve your goals. And with the ability to add multiple WooCommerce list products views to your site, you can provide a tailored experience for every type of customer.
Get the plugin and start getting more orders TODAY →
Do you have any other questions about using the WooCommerce list products shortcode? Leave a comment and we'd love to help!
FAQ
Benefits of a list view for your products
A list view for WooCommerce products enhances user experience and drives sales. Benefits include improved product visibility and navigation:
Streamlined shopping experience: Customers scan through your product catalog much faster than a grid view, finding products quickly with built-in search and filtering.
Increased conversions: Display dozens of products per page with order form functionality, which can lift average order value when customers select options and add to the cart without leaving the page.
Enhanced product information: Show plenty of data points per row, including specifications, variations and custom fields, which help with SEO and reduce friction for buyers comparing options.
Mobile optimization: A list view is often easier to use on mobile than a grid layout, with simpler scrolling and navigation on smaller screens.
Differences between a product grid and list view
Grid view and list view are two main display formats for e-commerce products. The main difference between the two is the layout and structure of the display products:
Feature
Grid View
List View
Layout
Images in grid formation
Vertical format with one product per row
Products per row
3-4 products
1 product
Products per page
9-12 products
50+ products possible
Best for
Visual products (clothing, jewelry)
Technical products (electronics, machinery)
Product information
Limited (name, price, image)
Extensive (specifications, stock, custom fields)
Mobile experience
Requires pinch and zoom
Natural vertical scrolling
Comparison shopping
Difficult
Easy side-by-side comparison
Page load time
Slower with large images
Faster with optimized data
Product grid view is a layout displaying product images in a grid formation. It typically shows 3 or 4 products per row. The per-page product count is usually 9-12 products. The grid layout view is perfect for visual products with big images such as clothing, shoes, and accessories.
WooCommerce list view is a vertical layout format with each product on a separate row. This layout is better suited for WooCommerce stores that offer more detailed product information, as customers can easily see each product's features and specifications. List view is perfect for stores that sell technical or complex products such as electronics, software, or machinery. You can have an unlimited number of products per page, either in a single list or broken up using pagination or previous/next links to load more. Either include images in whatever size you like, or list WooCommerce products without images.
Nearly all WordPress themes list WooCommerce products in a basic layout. Compare how the products are presented in these two pictures:
Default layout - big images, little information, few purchase options
Product list view - more products per page, more information, full purchase options
As you can see, the default layout is very limited and not suitable for many types of product.
Isn't there already a WooCommerce list products shortcode?
Before we start looking at list view WooCommerce plugins, it's always a good idea to consider whether you can do it without a plugin. The answer is, sort of. Yes, there is a WooCommerce list products shortcode built into WooCommerce - [products]. There are also Gutenberg blocks that you can use to list products anywhere on your WordPress site.
However, the shortcodes and blocks use the basic grid layout and not a proper list view:
That's why you need a WooCommerce product list plugin to create a true list of your products, with 1 per row.
Lots of people ask us how to create a WooCommerce hidden store. This tutorial covers 2 methods to build a private store using 2 plugins: WooCommerce Private Store and WooCommerce Protected Categories. It will also help you choose which WooCommerce hidden store plugin is best for your website.
You might want a public-facing website that anyone can access, with a hidden e-commerce area that only people with the right credentials can see. Or you might want to hide your entire WooCommerce store.
At the end of this tutorial, you'll know how to create a WooCommerce hidden store or temporarily hide a store.
Your categories, products and other WooCommerce content will not appear anywhere on your public website. They won't appear in the navigation menu, sidebar widgets or on your homepage. Read on to learn how, or watch the video:
1. Before you start
To build a WooCommerce hidden store, you need a WordPress website with the WooCommerce plugin installed. You also need a WooCommerce-compatible theme - I used Storefront on my test site.
Once you have done this, you should add your WooCommerce products to their respective product pages in the usual way. You can also create the public pages of your website (if you're having one) such as Home, About and Contact.
Once you've done that, you're ready to hide products and transform your website into a hidden WooCommerce store.
2. Decide which WooCommerce hidden store plugin to use
First, you need to decide which of the plugins described in this tutorial to use for your WooCommerce hidden store. Read the 2 lists below and then skip to the method that best applies to you. Or to make it easier, take our quick quiz!
Do you:
Want to hide your whole WooCommerce store?
Need your WooCommerce shop page and ALL your products, categories and tags to be completely hidden from search engines, sitemaps etc?
Want all customers to have access to all the products within your WooCommerce hidden store?
Want to hide some of your WooCommerce products, while also having a public online shop?
Need to give different customers access to different products within your hidden store?
If you've answered Yes to either of these questions then you need WooCommerce Protected Categories. Build your WooCommerce hidden store using Method 2 of this tutorial.
Method 1 - Hide Products with the WooCommerce Private Store plugin
The WooCommerce Private Store plugin is the easiest way to make WooCommerce private. It creates a 100% WooCommerce hidden store, locking down your entire shop behind a single password. Alternatively, you can automatically unlock your private store for logged in users or specific roles. No one will know your hidden store exists unless you want them to! So if you need to disable a store temporarily, this is a great option.
This video tutorial will tell you how to set up your WooCommerce hidden store. I've also provided written instructions below.
Still not sure if our WooCommerce Private Store plugin is for you? Have a look at this customer review or check out the Montana Medicinals case study below.
This plugin has been a GODSEND for us. Perfect for Wholesale usage. Hide your store with one or two checkboxes within the plugin settings and BOOM! We now have a private store. Only unlockable with a username and password. Thank you, guys :)
Case study #1 - Sprezzatura Imports
Sprezzatura Imports distribute the Italian coffee brand, ICAF, across the US. As wholesalers, they need to keep their WooCommerce wholesale store hidden from the public. That's why they've password protected it with the WooCommerce Private Store plugin.
After registering, distributors can purchase products and gain access to the price list by logging in to the password protected area. Then, to make it even easier for distributors to login, the login page was added to the menu. As a result, the hidden WooCommerce store is just a matter of clicks away from the homepage.
Case study #2 - Montana Medicinals
Montana Medicinals needed to password protect their shop to comply with laws in the state of Montana. That's because Montana Medicinals operate a medical marijuana dispensary and only pre-authorized customers are allowed to access the shop. That's why they used our WooCommerce Private Store plugin.
To limit access to those over 18, they also used a sitewide WordPress age verification plugin.
Within a matter of minutes of installing the WooCommerce Private Store plugin, the developers had created a password protected private store. Customers registered with Montana Medicinals are given a password to access the store. Once a user has confirmed they're over 18, they can access the site. Anyone can read general information about getting prescriptions, but to view products and start shopping you need a password. Clicking on Shop or Products prompts the customer to enter their password. And without a password you can't access the private store.
Read on to find out how to hide WooCommerce stores or even temporarily disable online shops.
Download the plugin files and copy your license key from the confirmation page or order confirmation email.
In the WordPress admin, go to Plugins → Add New and upload the plugin files.
Activate the plugin.
Next go to WooCommerce → Settings → Private Store and paste your license key. Change the other settings as required.
Create a store login page by adding the shortcode [store_login] anywhere on your site.
And that's it! That's all you need to do to hide products in WooCommerce and make your store private.
The next few steps will let you further configure your hidden WooCommerce store. However you've already done the most important bits and your store is secure and hidden.
2. Customise the WooCommerce login page (optional)
If you like, you can customise the text that appears above the password entry form for your WooCommerce hidden store. You can also change the text on the 'Submit' button. You can do all this on WooCommerce → Settings → Private Store.
Make any changes and then check the WooCommerce login page that you selected in step 1.6 (above) to ensure it looks ok.
You can also add text and other content above and below the password entry form, directly onto the WooCommerce login page.
3. Link to the store login page (optional)
All WooCommerce hidden stores are different. You might want to include a link to your store login page on your public site. For example if you're creating a WooCommerce wholesale shop then you might want to add a 'Wholesale Login' page to the menu or header. Or you might want to keep your WooCommerce store hidden so that only people with the link can ever find it.
You can link to the store login page in the usual way for adding a link in WordPress.
4. Add additional store login forms (optional)
You can also add login forms anywhere else on your public site - for example on another page or sidebar widget. In this screenshot, I've added a login form to a text widget in the right hand column.
To do this, add the shortcode [store_login] to any page, post or text widget. (Or if you're a developer, you can add it elsewhere such as in the header or a popup login form.) This will insert a login form and the text that you added to the settings page in step 2.
Customers can use this to access your WooCommerce hidden store while everyone else remains locked out.
5. Add WooCommerce content to the menu
If you haven't already done this, you can edit your navigation menu to include links to the main WooCommerce store page or to specific products, categories or tags.
Go to Appearance > Menus and select the relevant page/products/categories/tags. Add them by ticking the correct box and clicking 'Add to Menu'. (If you add them as Custom Links then the WooCommerce hidden store plugin won't hide them.)
If you use this method then the shop page/products/categories/tags in your menu will be invisible until you enter the password to unlock the hidden store.
You can see this in action on the password protect WooCommerce plugin demo. When you first view the site there's no menu dropdown under the 'Hidden Shop' link. Once you enter the password, hover over 'Hidden Shop' and you'll see that links to various WooCommerce content have magically appeared!
6. Check your WooCommerce store is hidden
Now comes the fun part. Visit your public website and try to find your WooCommerce hidden store:
Try accessing any of your WooCommerce pages - e.g. your main Shop page, a product or specific category. You'll be taken to the store login page.
Do a Google search for one of your hidden WooCommerce products.
If you have a search box on your site, see if your hidden WooCommerce content appears in the results.
Check your XML sitemap.
Test the navigation menu.
Check that no WooCommerce widgets (e.g. Products, Product Categories or Product Filters) are showing.
We've developed the WooCommerce hidden store plugin to be completely private and hidden. If you find any loopholes (e.g. you might be using a WordPress SEO plugin that we haven't tested), let us know.
Once you're happy that your WC store is 100% hidden, go to your login form and enter the password. Now you can test what customers will see after they unlock the private store.
7. Give the password to your customers
When you're completely happy with your WooCommerce hidden store, you can start using it. Give the password to your customers. And if you haven't added a 'Store Login' link to your public site, give them the URL too.
Or if you've ticked the 'Logged In Users' box in the settings, they just need to log into their account and the store will automatically unlock. There's also an option to choose which logged in users roles can access the store.
Method 2 - Hide Products with WooCommerce Password Protected Categories
WooCommerce Protected Categories is most commonly used to hide one or more product categories within a public online shop. However the plugin can equally be used to create a WooCommerce hidden store. This video and the written instructions below will show you how to create a private shop and hide WooCommerce products.
1. Create a main protected category to hide products
The first step is to create a main product category for your WooCommerce hidden store and protect it, either with a password or user login. By having one protected category, you can then structure your entire store within this category:
In the WordPress admin for your website, go to Products → Categories. This is the standard WooCommerce category page, except that you will see a 'Visibility' section at the bottom left when you create or edit a category. This has been added by the WooCommerce Protected Categories plugin.
Add a new category and call it anything you like. This will be the name of your WooCommerce hidden store.
Click 'Protected' and either enter one or more passwords, or choose which users or roles will have access.
Your new hidden category will appear in the list of product categories on the right. You can see that it's protected in the 'Visibility' column.
Password protected categories is a good option for most WooCommerce hidden stores because you don't have to manage individual logins for each user. Everyone shares the password to your hidden shop, or you can give a different password to each person. Alternatively, choose the user or role protection options if you want each customer to have their own user account.
2. Add sub-categories to your WooCommerce hidden store
You can divide your WooCommerce hidden store into multiple categories if you like. (If not, skip ahead to step 3.)
Everything in your private WooCommerce store must be in a protected category or one of its sub-categories.
Create each of your sub-categories using the 'Add new category' option on the left of Products → Categories.
Select your main protected category as the 'Parent'.
Leave the visibility as 'Public'. This is because the sub-category (and its products) will automatically be hidden using the same type of protection.
Once a customer enters the correct password or logs into their user account, it will unlock the entire WooCommerce store and all the hidden products. This saves them having to re-enter a password for each product as they navigate around the shop.
Note: If you want to create separate protected categories that are unrelated to each other, that's fine. You might want to do this if you want to create different private areas of your shop for different customers. For example, a photographer might create a separate hidden category to sell the photos for each client. You can then have a central login form which will direct each customer to their hidden category.
3. Hide products by adding them to a protected category
Next, it's time to put your products within the protected categories you just created:
Go to the Products section of the WP admin.
Hover the name of each product and click the 'Quick Edit' link that appears.
Select one or more categories and click 'Save'.
Repeat for all your other products.
When you add new hidden products to WooCommerce in future, you will also need to assign them to your store's hidden categories.
4. Link to your WooCommerce hidden store (optional)
Even if you are hiding your Woo shop, you might still want to link to it. For example, you might want to add a link called 'Client login' or 'Trade area' to your homepage, header or footer. You might want to link to it from the navigation menu and either make it publicly visible so that anyone can access the login page, or set it to only appear after customers have entered the password.
Of course if you want to hide the fact that your website even has an e-commerce store, you don't have to link to it at all. Instead, you can give your customers the link directly (e.g. via email).
There are 2 ways to let people find your hidden WooCommerce store. You can either link to a central WooCommerce customer login page, or link to each hidden product category.
Add a central WooCommerce customer login page
If you're using password protected categories, then the shortcode [category_login] will add a WooCommerce customer login form. When customers visit this page, they can enter the password for any hidden WooCommerce product category. If the password is correct then they'll be redirected to the correct category page in your hidden WooCommerce store.
This option works well whether you have one or several protected categories in your WooCommerce hidden store. It's more flexible than linking directly to a protected category because you can add the WooCommerce login form to any page or widget. However I'll tell you how to do that next, just in case.
If you're using role or user protected categories, then you just need to link to a user login page instead. Use the free Peter's Login Redirect plugin to automatically redirect users to the correct hidden category after they log in. You can choose a different category for each user or role to be forwarded to - it's surprisingly flexible for a free plugin.
How to add links to a protected WooCommerce category
Go back to Products → Categories. Hover over the name of your main hidden category. Right-click the 'View' link and copy the link. That will put the URL/address for your hidden category to your clipboard.
Now go to wherever you want to add the link - e.g. your homepage, header or footer. Create a hyperlink in the usual way (either using HTML or the 'Insert/Edit Link' WordPress toolbar icon).
How to link to hidden product categories from the menu
Go to Appearance > Menus.
On the left, open up the 'Product Categories' section.
Tick whichever protected categories you want to add to the menu OR the page where you have added the WooCommerce login form.
Click 'Add to Menu'.
The product categories will be added to the end of your menu on the right. Drag them to the correct position and click 'Save Menu'.
Now go back to your website and click 'Refresh'. If your private categories don't appear in the menu, that's because the plugin is set to only show them in the menu after you have unlocked the category. If you go to the main category for your WooCommerce hidden store and enter the password, the links will then appear in the menu.
To make the menu links visible to everyone, you can change this setting at WooCommerce → Settings → Products → Protected Categories.
5. Choose how your hidden WooCommerce product categories behave
The WooCommerce Protected Categories plugin lets you choose how the hidden part of your store appears publicly. You can change the plugin settings as follows:
Go to WooCommerce → Settings → Products and click the 'Protected Categories' link at the top.
Tick and untick the boxes to choose whether to hide your WooCommerce hidden products and categories from menus etc.
This page also lets you change the text that appears above the 'Enter password' box and the wording of the button. For example you might add instructions on what to do if a customer loses the password.
6. Hide any global links to the WooCommerce cart
Depending on your WordPress theme, there might be publicly visible links to the cart which aren't hidden. If you want to hide a WooCommerce store, you probably don't want this to appear on your public website.
If you use a fully featured theme from ThemeForest or similar then the theme options might let you hide the cart icon. If your theme doesn't have this option then you can hide it using CSS. (We offer a customization service for small coding tasks like this). You can code the cart link to only appear when there are products in the cart. This will automatically hide it from your public-facing store because customers can only add products to the cart after unlocking the category!
7. Add the WooCommerce cart widget
If you've hidden the main links to your cart, you can use the WooCommerce cart widget to display the cart in the sidebar. This might be the right or left hand column on your WP site.
Go to Appearance → Widgets.
Find the sidebar area where you want the cart to display.
Drag the 'WooCommerce Cart' widget from the left hand side to the correct sidebar area.
Tick the 'Hide if cart is empty' box in the widget settings and click 'Save'.
By ticking 'Hide if cart is empty', the cart widget will only display when customers have products in their cart. Since your Woo store is hidden and people can only add products after they unlock the category, this stops it from appearing on your public website. Even if you have the same sidebar on the public and private areas of your website, the cart will only appear when there are products in the cart.
This means that it doesn't matter if you have hidden the shopping cart from the header, as it appears in the sidebar instead.
8. SEO - Block your WooCommerce hidden store from search engines
Finally, a note about SEO.
I won't cover this in-depth as it depends on your WordPress SEO plugin. As a general principle, you will want to mark all of the following as noindex:
All the default Woo pages (Cart, Checkout, My Account and Shop).
The Products custom post type.
Product category pages.
Product tag pages.
If you have an XML sitemap then you need to tweak the settings to exclude.
Use the documentation for your WordPress SEO plugin to find out exactly how to do this.
This will hide the hidden areas of your WooCommerce store from search engines while allowing search engines to index your public pages.
9. Hide WooCommerce products from the WordPress search
By default, the products in your hidden product categories will appear in the website search but if you click them then you will be prompted for the password. This also applies to other WooCommerce content such as your main shop page, categories and tags.
You can stop your hidden WooCommerce products from appearing in the WordPress search results at all. To do this, you need to set the "Catalog Visibility" option for each product to "Hidden". You can find this option in the 'Publish' section on the right hand side of the Edit Product screen:
This advice applies to the default search feature that is built into WordPress. If you're using a different search plugin, it's worth testing this to make sure it works for your plugin.
If you're worried about hidden WooCommerce products appearing in the search, you may be better off with Method 1 and our WooCommerce Private Store plugin. That plugin hides products from the search results automatically.
In this tutorial, we have used 2 different plugins to create a WooCommerce hidden store. We've added links to it - either to the menu or to anywhere else on your website. We've dynamically added links and widgets so they only appear once people have unlocked a category.