WooCommerce, the king of eCommerce plugins for WordPress, offers a powerful tool for developers: shortcodes. These shortcodes allow you to integrate various WooCommerce functionalities directly into your website's pages, posts, or even custom widgets. This article will equip you with the knowledge to create and utilize WooCommerce shortcodes effectively.

Understanding WooCommerce Shortcodes:

WooCommerce comes bundled with a set of pre-built shortcodes that cover common functionalities like displaying products, carts, and product categories. You can leverage these directly in your content. Here's how to use them:

• Shortcode Syntax: All WooCommerce shortcodes follow the same basic structure: [shortcode_name attributes].

• Attributes: Many shortcodes accept attributes to customize their behavior. For example, the [products] shortcode can accept an ids attribute to specify which product IDs you want to display.

Examples of Pre-built WooCommerce Shortcodes:

• [products]: This shortcode displays a list of products. You can customize it using attributes like ids, category, orderby, and more.

• [product_category]: Showcases a specific product category.

• [recent_products]: Displays a list of recently added products.

• [woocommerce_cart]: Integrates the shopping cart functionality directly into a page.

• [woocommerce_checkout]: Embeds the checkout process within a page.

Finding Available Shortcodes:

A complete list of available shortcodes and their attributes can be found in the WooCommerce documentation: https://woo.com/document/woocommerce-shortcodes/

Creating Custom WooCommerce Shortcodes:

While the pre-built shortcodes offer a great starting point, you might crave more control. That's where creating custom WooCommerce shortcodes comes in. Here's the process:

1. Function Creation: Develop a PHP function that encapsulates the desired functionality. This function could retrieve products based on specific criteria, display them in a custom layout, or perform any other task you envision.

2. Hooking the Shortcode: Use the add_shortcode function provided by WordPress to register your custom shortcode. This function associates your shortcode name with the PHP function you created.

3. Attribute Handling: If your shortcode requires attributes, your function should be able to parse and utilize them to customize its behavior.

Example: Custom Shortcode for Featured Products:

Let's create a shortcode that displays a grid of featured products:

add_shortcode( 'featured_products', 'my_custom_featured_products' );

function my_custom_featured_products( $atts ) {
  $args = array(
    'post_type' => 'product',
    'meta_key' => '_featured',
    'meta_value' => 'yes',
    'posts_per_page' => 3,
    'orderby' => 'rand',
  );

  $featured_products = new WP_Query( $args );

  // Code to display featured products in a grid layout

  return $output; // Return the HTML output of the featured product grid
}

Explanation:

• The add_shortcode function registers the featured_products shortcode with the my_custom_featured_products function.

• The my_custom_featured_products function defines the logic for retrieving featured products. It uses a WP_Query object to fetch products with the "_featured" meta key set to "yes".

• You'll need to add the code to display the products in a grid layout within the function (this part is omitted for brevity).

• The function returns the HTML output containing the featured product grid.

Using Your Custom Shortcode:

Now you can use the [featured_products] shortcode anywhere on your website's pages or posts to display the featured product grid.

In Conclusion:

WooCommerce shortcodes empower you to extend the functionality of your online store. By leveraging pre-built shortcodes and creating your own, you can seamlessly integrate product listings, carts, and other functionalities into your website's content. Remember to prioritize clean code, proper attribute handling, and always test your custom shortcodes thoroughly before deploying them to a live site. Happy coding!

More info:

How to create custom WooCommerce products shortcodes

How to create WooCommerce Wishlist