In WooCommerce, product categories are a key way to organize and manage the products in your store. The category display types — “default”, “products”, “subcategories”, and “both” — determine how products and their categories/subcategories are displayed to the customers on the frontend of your WooCommerce store, particularly on category archive pages. Let’s delve into each type and its impact on the frontend display:
- Default:
- When you set a category’s display type to “default”, it inherits the display settings from your WooCommerce or theme settings. Essentially, it follows the global setting defined under WooCommerce > Settings > Products > Display or a similar path depending on your WooCommerce version or theme. If your WooCommerce settings specify to show products, then choosing “default” will show products for that category. This option provides flexibility, allowing you to change the display behavior globally without having to edit each category individually.
- Products:
- Choosing “products” for a category’s display type means that when a customer visits this category on your store, they will only see the products listed in that category. This is straightforward and useful for categories where you want the focus purely on the available products without showing any subcategories.
- Subcategories:
- Setting a category to display “subcategories” means that, upon visiting the category, a customer will only see its subcategories (if any) instead of the individual products. This is particularly useful for stores with a large inventory, allowing customers to navigate through different levels of categories to refine their search and find what they’re looking for more easily. Products in the current category won’t be shown unless the customer clicks through to one of the subcategories.
- Both:
- When you set a category’s display type to “both”, it means that customers visiting this category will first see the subcategories (if any) followed by the products in the current category. This is a balanced approach, allowing customers to either drill down further into more specific subcategories or browse the products directly if they prefer. This option is useful for providing maximum navigation flexibility to your customers.
- When you set a category’s display type to “both”, it means that customers visiting this category will first see the subcategories (if any) followed by the products in the current category. This is a balanced approach, allowing customers to either drill down further into more specific subcategories or browse the products directly if they prefer. This option is useful for providing maximum navigation flexibility to your customers.
The choice of category display type can significantly affect how customers navigate through your store and find products. It’s important to select the most appropriate display type based on how your inventory is organized and how you want to guide your customers’ shopping experience.
For example, a store with a broad range of products under each category might choose “both” to help customers navigate through subcategories more easily. In contrast, a store with a more straightforward catalog or where products within a category don’t need further subdivision might prefer the “products” display type for simplicity.
It’s also worth noting that themes and customizations can affect how these settings are applied and displayed, so it’s always a good idea to test changes and ensure they work as expected with your specific WooCommerce setup.
