Your Guide to WooCommerce Shortcodes

WooCommerce is a powerful and most commonly used WordPress that will allow you to take your business online with ease and sell your products or services across the globe. It plays a vital role in WooCommerce development, enabling businesses to create customized, user-friendly eCommerce websites.

One of the most useful features of the WooCommerce plugin is ‘shortcodes’. These easy-to-use snippets of code will allow you to add dynamic content and functionality to your ecommerce website without needing to write complex code.

In this blog post, we will dive deep into WooCommerce shortcodes, exploring what they are, how to use them, common shortcode-related issues and their solutions, action points to troubleshoot related issues and provide examples of commonly used shortcodes to help you make the best out of them.

What are WooCommerce Shortcodes?

A WooCommerce shortcode is a small piece of code enclosed in square brackets [] that performs specific functions within your WordPress site. These shortcodes act as shortcuts that allow you to embed elements such as products, product categories, cart pages, user account pages and more, into your WooCommerce store site and publish them. This allows you to customize your website with ease without the requirement of technical expertise.

These WooCommerce shortcodes can be either page shortcodes that do not require additional parameters and display data directly basis their usage. Example – [product].

The other type of WooCommerce shortcodes are those wherein you are required to add additional parameters such as [products best_selling=”true”]

How to Use WooCommerce Shortcodes

Use the WooCommerce shortcodes for your website by following the below steps –

• Identify the shortcode – Determine the specific shortcode that you need for the desired functionality on your website. For example – use the shortcode [products] to display products.

• Insert the shortcode – In your WordPress editor, you can use the classic editor or Gutenberg blocks. If you are using the classic editor, you can add a shortcode between the square brackets [].

Alternatively, if you are using the Gutenberg Editor, to add a shortcode, insert a shortcode block into the page.

• Customization by adding attributes (optional) – Many shortcodes allow you to add attributes to customize the outcome of the shortcode. These attributes are added within the square brackets, separated by spaces, in the format attribute=”value”. For example, [products limit=”4″ columns=”2″ orderby=”popularity”] displays four products in two columns with the most popular products appearing first.

• Preview and publish – Preview your page to ensure the shortcode is working as expected. Once you are ok with the results, publish or update it.

Top 30 useful WooCommerce Shortcodes

The following lists the top 30 useful shortcodes for adding various features to your WooCommerce store website.

• [woocommerce_cart] – Displays the cart page on the website.

• [woocommerce_checkout] – Displays the checkout page of your store.

• [woocommerce_my_account] – Displays the user account page.

• [woocommerce_order_tracking] – Displays the order tracking form.

• [product] – Displays a single product by ID or SKU.
• [products] – Displays a list of products. It is highly customizable using a wide range of attributes.
• [product_page] – Displays a single product page by ID or SKU.

• [product_category] – Displays products in a specified category.
• [product_categories] – Displays all product categories.
• [recent_products] – Displays recently added products.
• [featured_products] – Displays featured products.
• [sale_products] – Displays products on sale.
• [best_selling] – Displays best-selling products.
• [top_rated_products] – Displays top-rated products.
• [related_products] – Displays related products.
• [shop_messages] – Displays WooCommerce shop messages.
• [add_to_cart] – Displays an add-to-cart button for a specific product.
• [add_to_cart_url] – Generates a URL for adding a product to the cart.
• [woocommerce_product_search] – Displays a product search form.
• [woocommerce_product_filter] – Displays a product filter form.
• [woocommerce_product_sort] – Displays a product sorting dropdown.
• [woocommerce_edit_address] – Displays the edit address form.
• [woocommerce_change_password] – Displays the change password form.
• [woocommerce_downloads] – Displays downloadable products for the current user.
• [woocommerce_shipping_calculator] – Displays the shipping calculator form.
• [woocommerce_currency] – Displays the current currency symbol.
• [woocommerce_widget_product_categories] – Displays a widget with product categories.
• [woocommerce_widget_recent_reviews] – Displays a widget with recent product reviews.
• [woocommerce_widget_shopping_cart] – Displays a widget with the shopping cart.
• [woocommerce_widget_cart_contents] – Displays a widget with the contents of the shopping cart.

Tips to supercharge your WooCommerce Shortcode usage

A. Make use of attributes – Try to take advantage of the attributes available for each shortcode to fine-tune the outcome.

B. Combine shortcodes – You can combine multiple shortcodes to create complex layouts and showcase different product selections.

C. Test thoroughly – Always preview your changes after adding or modifying shortcodes to ensure they are working correctly before making it live on your website.

D. Consult the documentation – You can always refer to the official WooCommerce documentation for a complete list of shortcodes and their available attributes. You can even reach out to the discussion forums to get new ideas on the different shortcode combinations.

SEO Optimization Tips for WooCommerce Shortcodes

To ensure your WooCommerce shortcodes are SEO optimized, follow the below tips –

Keyword Research – Identify relevant keywords for your products and categories. Make use of tools like Google Keyword Planner or Ahrefs.

Content Optimization – Ensure that the content around the shortcodes you are using for your ecommerce store is rich in keywords and provides value to the reader.

Meta Tags – Use appropriate meta titles and descriptions for pages containing shortcodes.

Internal Linking – Link to other relevant pages on your site to improve navigation and SEO.

Optimize Queries – Avoid using shortcodes that generate complex queries. For example, if you are using the shortcode [products] with multiple filters, it can slow down your site if not used carefully.

Limit the Number of Products Displayed – Use the limit attribute to determine the number of products shown at a time. For example, if you use the shortcode [products limit=”6″], only six products will be displayed. This will significantly reduce the load on your server.

Common WooCommerce Shortcode Issues and Their Solution

1. Incorrect Quotation Marks
   • Problem – Users often confuse curly quotation marks (“ ”) with straight quotation marks (” “) in the shortcodes.
   • Solution – Ensure all attribute values while using shortcodes are done through straight quotation marks.
2. Embedding Shortcodes in <pre> Tags
   • Problem – Shortcodes placed within <pre> tags can cause display issues on the website.
   • Solution – Edit the page or post, switch to the Text editor, and remove any <pre> tags in your shortcodes.
3. Plugin or Theme Conflicts
   • Problem – If your shortcodes are in conflict with other plugins or themes used on the WooCommerce store, the shortcodes might not work correctly.
   • Solution – First deactivate all plugins except WooCommerce and switch to a default theme. Start the reactivation of plugins one by one to help you identify the conflict.
4. Outdated WooCommerce or WordPress Versions
   • Problem – If your WooCommerce or WordPress version is outdated, it can hamper the smooth functioning of shortcodes.
   • Solution – Update WooCommerce, WordPress, and all related plugins to their latest versions.
5. PHP Version Compatibility
   • Problem – Incompatibility with the PHP version running on your server.
   • Solution – Ensure your server is running a compatible PHP version (WooCommerce recommends PHP 7.4 or higher version).
6. Custom CSS or JavaScript Issues
   • Problem – Custom CSS or JavaScript might interfere with shortcode functionality.
   • Solution – Temporarily disable custom CSS or JavaScript to see if the issue resolves. If it does, review and adjust your custom code.

Steps to troubleshoot WooCommerce shortcode issues

• Check Shortcode Syntax
  • Check your shortcode syntax for errors and correct the same.
  • Check whether all attributes are properly formatted.

• Use the Text Editor
  • You can switch to the WordPress Text editor to identify and resolve hidden formatting issues.

• Clear Caches
  • If you use caching plugins for your WooCommerce store, clear all caches after making changes.

• Check Console for Errors
  • Use your browser’s developer tools to check for JavaScript errors as it might affect shortcode functionality.

• Review WooCommerce Documentation
  • You can also refer to the WooCommerce shortcode documentation for detailed guidance and examples to troubleshoot WooCommerce shortcode errors.

• Seek Help
  • If you’re still having trouble, consider seeking help from the WooCommerce community forums or hiring a WooCommerce expert.

Conclusion

WooCommerce shortcodes are an easy way to enhance the functions, improve the design and make your website standout on the search engine. You can create engaging content for your targeted audience, display the products in creative and attractive ways, and provide a unique shopping experience to the customers.

So, what are you waiting for? Try these shortcodes today for your WooCommerce store and take your business global with ease.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can you troubleshoot common issues in WooCommerce?

Check for Errors and Logs – Enable debugging in WordPress by adding the following lines to your wp-config.php file –

define(‘WP_DEBUG’, true);

define(‘WP_DEBUG_LOG’, true);

define(‘WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY’, false);

This will log errors to a debug.log file in the wp-content directory.

Verify Plugin Activation – Ensure all necessary plugins are activated and up to date. Outdated plugins can impact the outcome of shortcodes.

Check for Conflicts – Deactivate all plugins except WooCommerce and switch to a default theme to see if the issue persists. To resolve the issues, reactivate plugins one by one to identify the conflict.

Inspect JavaScript and CSS Files – Use browser developer tools to check for JavaScript errors or CSS issues that might be affecting WooCommerce Shortcode functionality.

Test in Different Browsers – Sometimes issues can be browser specific also. Testing in multiple browsers can help identify these problems.

How do I edit a shortcode in WooCommerce?

Using the WordPress Editor – Navigate to the page or post containing the shortcode. Switch to the “Text” tab in the editor to find and edit the shortcode directly.

Using a Plugin – Install a plugin like Shortcodes Ultimate, which provides a user-friendly interface for editing shortcodes. This can be especially helpful if you’re not comfortable editing code directly.

Why are my WooCommerce products not showing?

Shop Page Configuration – Verify that the correct page is set as the shop page in WooCommerce settings.

Clear Caches – Clear all caches, including browser, server, and plugin caches.

Check Plugins and Themes – Deactivate plugins and switch to a default theme to rule out conflicts.

Catalog Visibility – Ensure that the catalog visibility is set to “Shop and search results” or “Shop only”.

Update Permalinks – Go to Permalinks in settings and click on save changes to refresh permalink settings.

How do I check for errors in WooCommerce Shortcodes?

Quotation Marks – Ensure that you are using straight quotation marks (“) instead of curly ones (“) in your shortcodes.

Pre-Tags – Make sure shortcodes are not enclosed within <pre> tags, as they can cause display issues.

SKU Issues – When using SKU shortcodes, use the parent product SKU instead of the variation SKU.

PHP and WooCommerce Versions – Ensure you are using compatible versions of PHP and WooCommerce.

Custom CSS and Theme Conflicts – Check for any custom CSS or theme conflicts that might be affecting shortcode