How to Hide WooCommerce Category: A Comprehensive Guide
WooCommerce is a powerful tool for creating an online store, but sometimes you might want to hide specific product categories from certain areas of your site. Whether it’s to keep your store looking tidy or to control customer access to certain products, hiding categories can be an essential part of managing your WooCommerce store. In Read more about How To Create Subscription Product In Woocommerce this guide, we’ll explore how to effectively hide WooCommerce categories using several methods.
Why Hide WooCommerce Categories?
Before diving into the methods, let’s understand Explore this article on How To Hide Category Woocommerce why you might want to hide categories:
- **Seasonal Products**: You might have products that are only available at certain times of the year.
- **Membership-Exclusive Products**: You want to offer special Check out this post: How To Add A Product On Woocommerce products to certain customer groups.
- **Simplify Navigation**: To declutter your store and improve the shopping experience.
- Navigate to **Products** > **Categories**.
- Select the category you want to hide.
- Edit the product visibility to **Hidden** under the **Product Data** section.
Methods to Hide WooCommerce Categories
1. Use Built-in WooCommerce Settings
WooCommerce doesn’t provide a direct way to hide categories from the catalog, but you can set products from a category to hidden. This can indirectly hide them from the shop page.
2. Use CSS to Hide Categories
If you want to keep a category functional but hide it visually, CSS can be a simple solution.
.category-{slug} { display: none; } - Replace `{slug}` with your category’s slug.
- Add this code to your theme’s **Additional CSS** section found in **Appearance** > **Customize**.
3. Hide WooCommerce Categories via Functions.php
You can also use a custom PHP function to hide categories programmatically. This method requires editing your theme’s `functions.php` file.
add_filter('get_terms', 'hide_category_from_shop', 10, 3); function hide_category_from_shop($terms, $taxonomies, $args) { $new_terms = array(); // set the category slug you want to hide $hide_category_slug = array('category-slug'); if (in_array('product_cat', $taxonomies) && !is_admin()) { foreach ($terms as $term) { if (!in_array($term->slug, $hide_category_slug)) { $new_terms[] = $term; } } $terms = $new_terms; } return $terms; } - Replace `’category-slug’` with the actual slug of the category you want to hide.
- Insert this code into the `functions.php` file of your theme.
4. Use a WooCommerce Plugin
For those who prefer not to handle code, several plugins can help manage category visibility:
- **WooCommerce Catalog Visibility Options**: This plugin allows you to control the visibility of categories and products.
- **Hide Categories Or Products On Shop Page**: A straightforward plugin for hiding categories.
#### How to Install a Plugin
- Go to **Plugins** > **Add New**.
- Search for the plugin by name.
- Click **Install Now**, then **Activate**.
SEO Considerations
When hiding categories, consider the SEO implications:
- **Noindex Hidden Categories**: Ensure search engines don’t index hidden categories to avoid duplicate content.
function noindex_hidden_category() { if (is_product_category('category-slug')) { echo ''; } } add_action('wp_head', 'noindex_hidden_category'); - **Redirects**: If you’re hiding categories that are already indexed, set up proper redirects to maintain link equity.
Conclusion
Hiding WooCommerce categories can help you tailor your store’s appearance and functionality to better suit your business needs. Whether you prefer a code-free solution using plugins or want more control with custom code, there’s a method here for you. Always remember to back up your site before making changes, and test thoroughly to ensure everything works smoothly.
By effectively managing category visibility, you can enhance the shopping experience and ensure your WooCommerce store aligns with your strategic goals.