Provided that you have an online store built on WooCommerce, you are likely to have the desire to show certain products, category lists, or a shopping cart somewhere on your site. However, what happens when you do not understand how to code? Shortcodes of WooCommerce come to the rescue!
In this article, we are going to see the advantages of WooCommerce shortcodes, how they work and how they could simplified the running of your online store. This guide is so basic that even the student in the 8th grade would understand this!
What Are WooCommerce Shortcodes?
Shortcodes are like shortcuts for displaying something on your WordPress website. You write a simple code in square brackets, and it magically shows what you want on the page.
For example:
[woocommerce_cart]
This tiny line of text shows the full shopping cart on your webpage.
WooCommerce shortcodes are special shortcodes designed for WooCommerce stores. They help you easily display products, orders, categories, user information, and more — without writing any complex code.
Why Use WooCommerce Shortcodes?
Using shortcodes is like having magic words that make your website look and work the way you want. They save time, avoid technical issues, and help you control your website layout better.
Let’s explore the major benefits below.
Key Benefits of WooCommerce Shortcode Implementation
1. Easy to Use for Beginners
You don’t need to be a web developer or coder to use WooCommerce shortcodes. Anyone can copy and paste them into a WordPress page or post. This makes it simple for business owners, students, or beginners to manage a store.
2. Quick Product Display
With just one line of shortcode, you can display products anywhere — in a post, page, sidebar, or footer. Want to show only sale items? You can do that easily:
[products on_sale=”true”]
3. Custom Layout Without Plugins
Instead of installing many plugins to customize your store layout, you can use shortcodes to show products in columns, rows, or by specific tags and categories. This saves your website from becoming slow due to too many plugins.
4. Control Over Content Placement
You can place content exactly where you want it. For example, show a featured product above your blog post or show a mini-cart on any page.
5. Great for Marketing
Running a sale or launching a new collection? Use shortcodes to highlight products anywhere you want. This helps boost conversions and guide users to make purchases quickly.
6. Works Well with Page Builders
Most page builders like Elementor, Divi, and WPBakery support shortcodes. This means you can drag-and-drop your page and simply paste in shortcodes to show WooCommerce features.
7. Dynamic Shopping Experience
Using shortcodes, you can create dynamic shopping pages that adjust based on what you want users to see. Show only bestsellers, related products, or product categories that match customer interests.
8. Reduces Development Time
Developers and site managers love shortcodes because they save time. Instead of writing long PHP functions, a few words in square brackets do the job.
Commonly Used WooCommerce Shortcodes (With Examples)
| Shortcode | What It Does | Example |
| [woocommerce_cart] | Displays the shopping cart. | Add to the cart page. |
| [woocommerce_checkout] | Shows the checkout form. | Used on the checkout page. |
| [woocommerce_my_account] | Shows user login and account details. | Profile or My Account page. |
| [products] | Displays a list of products. | Show all or selected products. |
| [product_page id=”123″] | Shows a specific product. | For single product pages. |
| [product_category category=”t-shirts”] | Displays products in a specific category. | Category-based product display. |
| [recent_products per_page=”4″] | Shows recently added products. | New arrivals section. |
| [featured_products] | Displays featured products only. | Homepage promotions. |
Where Can You Use WooCommerce Shortcodes?
You can use WooCommerce shortcodes in many places on your WordPress website:
- Posts and Pages
- Widgets
- Custom HTML blocks
- Elementor or Divi builder sections
- Product or category descriptions
Tips for Using Shortcodes Effectively
- Don’t Overuse: Use shortcodes wisely. Too many on one page can slow down your site.
- Keep Them Organized: If you use different shortcodes for different purposes, keep a small list saved for quick reference.
- Test Before Publishing: Always preview the page before going live to ensure it looks good.
- Use Attributes Properly: Many shortcodes have additional settings (called attributes) like per_page, columns, category, etc. Use them to customize the display.
Also Read: WordPress for Beginners
Use Cases for WooCommerce Shortcodes
Here are some real-world examples:
Small Business Owner: Wants to showcase featured items on the homepage. Uses:
[featured_products per_page=”3″ columns=”3″]
Blogger: Writing a post about a product and wants to insert that product in the article:
[product_page id=”456″]
Marketer: Wants to promote sale items in an email. Embeds a link to a page using:
[products on_sale=”true”]
Conclusion
The practice of implementing WooCommerce shortcodes is highly convenient and simple, and this method is one of the most useful ones to enhance the appearance and work of your online store. Be it a big shop or a humble beginning with a small online store, with the help of shortcodes you can have pages created with a greater speed, you can arrange the products more neatly and make the experience of shopping easier to your clients.
They are little and can mean a huge difference, and you do not have to be a tech-savvy person to operate them!
Visit to learn wordpress file structure and better understand where these shortcodes fit into your website’s design.
Leave a Reply