Increase your sales with a WooCommerce product comparison table plugin

If you sell lots of similar products, then how can customers choose between them? A WooCommerce product comparison table is the solution.

Your store might have exactly what a particular customer has come looking for. But, there's just too much stuff for them to sift through that it's starting to affect your conversion rate.

There are lots of reasons to add WooCommerce product comparison tables to your store:

This is where WooCommerce Product Table - the best WooCommerce product comparison table plugin - comes in.

A WooCommerce product comparison table plugin lists products in a structured format. This format makes it easy for customers to find what they're looking for. It also helps them compare similar products. The table presents products alongside each other. Customers can make direct comparisons. They can quickly and easily choose which ones to buy.

What's wrong with most WooCommerce product comparison table plugins?

The WooCommerce product comparison table plugin market is crowded. There are plenty of products available. These often let customers tick 2 or more products. Then they view them on a separate page. You might also come across static table plugins. With these, you have to manually enter the data.

Most comparison table plugins for WooCommerce face several problems:

We can do better 💪

WooCommerce Product Table is a different type of product comparison plugin. It automatically lists products in a searchable, sortable table layout with filters. You can add columns of extra product data to the comparison table. This lets customers compare products in a more meaningful way.

You can use it alone for easy product comparisons. You can also use it with YITH WooCommerce Compare. This adds shortlists and lightboxes to the comparison table.

Read on to discover how to create the perfect WooCommerce product comparison table.

How does the WooCommerce comparison table work?

WooCommerce Product Table is highly flexible. There are many ways to configure your tables. Used correctly, it functions perfectly as a WooCommerce comparison table plugin.

This is how customers can use it to compare products in WooCommerce:

1. Customers will view a page on your website with products listed in a table The table provides several ways to find products to compare. Customers can type keywords into the search box. Filter dropdowns above the list make it easy to refine the list. Filter widgets in the sidebar also help refine the list. Customers can sort the table by clicking on any column header. They can filter the table by clicking on a category, tag or custom taxonomy term.
2. As the customer filters the table, the number of products listed will decrease until they can just see the products they want to compare This works differently from some WooCommerce product comparison table plugins. You filter the table instead of ticking boxes. This method helps customers find suitable products more quickly. They don't have to scroll through long lists of products.
3. You can include as many columns of product data as you like in the table Each product takes up 1 row in the table. Customers can easily view the data for each product. They can make direct comparisons. For example, if you're selling smartphones, you might want to compare storage capacity. You can include a 'Memory' column in the WooCommerce comparison table.

The result is that customers can find what they're looking for much more quickly. This leads to a higher conversion rate. It also means more sales, revenue, and profit for you.

How can the WooCommerce product filter plugin enhance product comparisons?

The WooCommerce comparison table is a great tool for side-by-side product comparisons. However, finding exact products can still be difficult. This is where the WooCommerce Product Filters plugin comes in.

The plugin adds advanced filtering options to the comparison table. These include categories, attributes, and tags. Customers can use the facets to examine closely the content they're looking for. They can quickly compare products that meet their specific criteria. This leads to increased sales and customer satisfaction.

For example, a customer might be comparing laptops. They want to narrow down options by screen size, processor, and price range. With product filters, they can easily find and compare matching laptops. They don't need to scroll through long product lists.

How to create a WooCommerce product comparison table

WooCommerce Product Table only takes a few minutes to set up. You don't need to do any data entry or custom coding. It works instantly with your existing WooCommerce products. It lists them in a neat comparison table.

Watch the video tutorial, or read the detailed written instructions below.

Step 1: Install the Product Table plugin

First, get WooCommerce Product Table. Install the plugin on your WordPress website.

Step 2: Create a WooCommerce comparison table

Open the table builder at Products → Product Tables → Add New. Go through each step to set up your comparison tables.

2a. Choose which products appear in the comparison table

The first page asks about table placement. You can add comparison tables to a normal page. You can also enable them on your WooCommerce shop templates. For this tutorial, I'll assume you're creating a separate product comparison page. However, you can enable the comparison table view on all shop pages if you prefer.

By default, the WooCommerce product comparison table lists all products in your store. This is ideal for many types of comparison shopping. Customers can view the full list. They can use filters to refine it according to their interests.

However, if you sell different types of products, you might want multiple comparison tables listing different categories. For example, customers rarely want to compare t-shirts and shoes in the same clothing comparison table. It's best to list these separately.

WooCommerce Product Table can create tables listing specific products only. You can create comparison tables with products from certain categories or tags. You can also list products with specific custom field or taxonomy values.

2b. Add product data to the comparison table

Add plenty of columns of product data. You can choose exactly which columns appear in the product comparison table. The plugin supports all standard WooCommerce fields. It also supports extra fields like product attributes, variations, custom fields, and taxonomies.

This creates an opportunity for useful WooCommerce product comparison tables. Other plugins can't match this functionality. Make the most of it by planning your columns carefully!

To let customers compare products in WooCommerce, think carefully about what data they will want to compare. For example:

• If people will compare prices, include a price column. Add a price filter sidebar widget for easy price comparisons.
• Use weight and dimensions columns for furniture items. Customers often buy based on size.
• Product attributes allow direct comparisons of information like size and color. List each attribute as a column in the comparison table.
• Use WooCommerce custom fields and taxonomies to store extra product data. List this as columns in the table. This can include additional technical data not stored elsewhere.

2c. Change how products are added to the cart

The default WooCommerce comparison table includes standard "add to cart" buttons. If you prefer, you can replace these with checkboxes. Customers can then add multiple products to the cart at once.

If you don't want customers to purchase directly from the comparison table, remove the add to cart column altogether.

2d. Lazy load option for bigger comparison tables

Sites with many products in a WooCommerce comparison table can activate lazy load. This prevents performance problems. It loads 1 page of products at a time. Your site will never crash, regardless of product count.

2e. Add filters for refining the comparison table

The table builder lets you add filter dropdowns above the WooCommerce comparison table. Customers can filter by category, tag or attribute. This helps them start comparing similar products.

The comparison table plugin works with WooCommerce product filter widgets. If your page has a widgetized area like a sidebar, add widgets there. These can refine the list by attribute, price, or rating.

Step 3: Add the WooCommerce comparison table to a page

Go to the page where you want to add a WooCommerce product comparison table. Add a 'Product Table' block. Or copy the shortcode from the last page of the table builder.

This will list all your products in a user-friendly WooCommerce comparison table.

Add 'Compare' buttons to the product comparison table

So far, we've looked at using WooCommerce Product Table on its own. Customers compare products by searching, sorting and filtering the table. They compare products that meet their criteria.

To enhance this further, add 'Compare' buttons to the WooCommerce comparison table. Use Product Table with the YITH WooCommerce Compare plugin.

By combining these two plugins, customers can view products in a space-saving table layout. They click WooCommerce product comparison buttons for items they're interested in. This opens a neat comparison table. Each product appears in a separate column. Customers view products side by side. They add favorites straight to the cart.

I'll tell you how to use the two plugins together next.

Setup instructions

Before you start, follow the instructions above to create a comparison table with WooCommerce Product Table. Next:

1. Get YITH WooCommerce Compare. Set it up on your WordPress site according to YITH's documentation.
2. Decide which product field will hold the comparison buttons. You might add them to the product short or long description if these are unused. Alternatively, create a custom field for them. Use plugins like Easy Post Types & Fields or Advanced Custom Fields.
3. Go to the 'Edit Product' screen for each product. Add the shortcode [yith_compare_button type="button"] to your chosen field. (Tip: If you have too many products to do this manually, see the next section for dynamic methods.)
4. Edit your WooCommerce comparison table. Go to Products → Product Tables and click 'Edit':
   • Add an extra column for the field containing YITH compare buttons. Click the pencil icon. Rename it to something like 'Compare'.
   • Ensure the 'lazy load' box is disabled. Lazy load is incompatible with YITH's plugin.
5. Finally, go to Products → Product Tables → Settings. Enable the 'Shortcodes' button. This displays the product comparison buttons correctly in the table.

Can I add the shortcode dynamically?

The above instructions are for non-coders. They provide an easy way to add a 'Compare' button alongside every product. I've assumed you manually added YITH compare buttons to a field on the 'Edit Product' screen.

For automatic compare button addition, add [yith_compare_button type="button"] as a default value. Add it to the custom field displayed in the table. Most custom field plugins like Advanced Custom Fields allow default values. (Note: For existing products, edit and click 'Update' to apply the default content.)

Alternatively, developers can write custom code for this. If you need a developer, post a job on Codeable. Their pre-approved WordPress experts will send quotes. Codeable is excellent for finding WordPress developers who specialize in plugin customization.

Here are tips for adding product comparison buttons dynamically:

• Use this code or similar to insert 'Compare' buttons into a product table field:

<?php echo do_shortcode('[yith_compare_button product="' . $product_id .' type="button"]' ); ?>

• See our developer documentation on how to add a custom column to the table programmatically.

Case study - WooCommerce comparison table of electrical products with extra technical data

Universal Fans sells fans to retail and trade customers. They use WooCommerce Product Table to create a comparison table for their exhaust fans. This helps customers find the right fan based on technical data.

The comparison table page has 4 tabs. Each contains a product table listing a specific fan type. The comparison table includes columns for SKU, image, name, and price. It also shows several product attributes containing technical data. Each column is sortable. Customers can filter by duct size. They can also perform keyword searches.

To maximize space for product comparison data, Universal Fans excluded buy buttons from the table. Instead, customers click on any fan to access its product page. There they can choose options and buy.

Universal Fans said:

I am very happy with the plugin, for us it works really well. We sell relatively technical products, so it is really helpful for customers to be able to view products in certain categories and view them in a list format, which can be sorted by custom attributes.

WooCommerce Product Table is the perfect product comparison table plugin for sites like Universal Fans. Next, I'll show you how to create comparison tables for your own WooCommerce store.

Tips on supercharging your WooCommerce comparison tables

Create affiliate product comparison tables in WooCommerce

Many WooCommerce websites earn money by providing helpful comparisons of third-party products. Each product has an affiliate link. Website owners earn referral commissions when customers click through and buy from other websites.

You can create affiliate product comparison tables without additional plugins. WooCommerce has a built-in External/Affiliate Products type. Add products in WooCommerce as usual. Select this product type. Add your referral link to the affiliate product.

WooCommerce Product Table fully supports External/Affiliate Products. Your affiliate links appear in the comparison table instead of add to cart buttons.

You may also like: Earn Affiliate Commission with a WooCommerce Product Reviews Website

Use icons to allow more visual product comparisons

Make your WooCommerce product comparison tables more eye-catching. Add icons or content from other shortcodes. For example, use icons to represent different product features. Don't just list features using text.

This enables more visual product comparisons. Customers instantly see which features are available in each product.

Tip: To make this work, enable the 'Shortcodes' option at Products → Product Tables → Settings. This tells the comparison table to render code correctly. It won't just show the code.

Compare product variations in WooCommerce

So far, I've discussed creating WooCommerce comparison tables for actual products. You can also use these instructions to compare product variations instead.

To do this, use the option to list each variation as a separate row in the table. Do this on the 'Add to cart' page of the table builder (step 2c, above). Customers can use filters to refine the list of variations. They can then compare the ones they're interested in.

Get the WooCommerce product comparison table plugin

WooCommerce Product Table is the perfect plugin for comparing products. Use it alone or with YITH WooCommerce Compare.

By listing product data in a structured table or grid view, customers make direct comparisons. They decide which product to buy. Customers filter products to see only items related to their purchase intent. Stock status and add-to-cart options appear directly in the comparison table. This will directly impact your conversion rate.

This post covered the exact steps to increase sales with a WooCommerce product comparison table plugin. Put this into practice now. Watch the sales come in.

The easier it is for customers to view and compare your products, the more likely they are to make a purchase. This ultimately makes your store a success. Do share in the comments how you end up having this set up on your site :)