On Sale
A web search system is a common web element that is found on websites. However, eCommerce websites may also need a product filtering system, especially if they have a great number of products and variations.
In WordPress, WooCommerce-based websites integrate this product filter in the search system using the plugin. WooCommerce enables this product filter functionality with an extension that is not free. By default WooCommerce free version provides limited product filter widgets which are filtered by price, stock, and attributes. Also, it provides an Active Product Filters widget.
In this article, you will learn the importance of WooCommerce product filters for an online shop and some recommended product filter plugins that you can use for free.
An Introduction to Product Filter Plugin
Most eCommerce websites rely on the search form system for their customers to find their product. As the online shop expands over time, so will the number of products. There will also be more product variations and different attributes for the users to browse. A simple search system will no longer be effective when an online shop is growing bigger by scale.
A product search filter plugin has some elements and functionalities that will give a direct impact on the user experience of the customers when they browse the product they want to purchase. Customers or users can browse products by different filter types, for instance by category, product title, or by price, and using filter elements such as price range sliders, checkboxes, or labels.
The importance of WooCommerce Product Filter Plugin
As we already understand that product filters will directly affect the user’s experience in browsing an online shop, hence in this section we will explain why this WooCommerce product filter plugin is important to have in a web store.
Faster Product Search
Increase the Conversion Rate
Analytic Reporting
Faster Product Search
Product filter helps the customer to find the relevant product with dynamic real-time search results. Accordingly, it will speed up the product search process especially if the filter system is designed with good usability.
Increase the Conversion Rate
A product filter that has a user-friendly design will increase the conversion rate and at the same time, a product search filter also improves your customer’s experience. A product filter can be thought of as a tool that enables customers to find the product they require the most, but it also gives them full control to personalize their product search filter.
Analytic Reporting
Having a product filter plugin installed on your eCommerce website will give you the opportunity to get insight or information on the product ranking, track the product trends demand, and collect search queries from the users. These types of information will be quite useful for regular business evaluation of your online marketing strategy especially when you deal with tough competitors.
Key Components in WooCommerce Search Filter Plugin
There are many WooCommerce product filter plugins that you can find and choose in the WordPress plugin directory. In this article section, we break down the essential components that you need to pay attention to before you decide to use the WooCommerce search filter plugin.
1. Filter Types
A product filter plugin would do best if it could handle different product filters. Some plugins will limit this option on their free version, but the basic search filters are usually filtered by category, tags, attributes, metadata, and by price.
Depending on how specific the search filter plugin that you would need, however here is a list of what the plugins are commonly able to filter the product by:
- Category
- Tags
- Attributes (size, weight, flavors, etc.)
- Taxonomies
- Price
- Rating
- Color swatch
- Product variation
- Product Title
- Text/ label
- Metadata
- In stock
- On sale
- SKU
- Content/ excerpt
- Date
- Featured products
- Image
2. AJAX Compatible
Why is AJAX often used in search filtering? This is mainly because it allows your consumers to obtain real-time search results as they type. So it’s quite important if you choose an AJAX compatible search filter plugin.
AJAX employs Asynchronous JavaScript and XML. AJAX is a technology that is built on a few programming languages. It allows you to rapidly search and show the content you require without having to refresh the page
3. Filter UI / UX Elements
The filter UI / UX elements play an important role in search filtering as this would give a direct impact on the user experience and how they control the search filtering on your eCommerce website. Hence, a successful search filter plugin should have a good design of UI/ UX elements.
An active filter display would be handy to track the filter types that have been running or processed. A user can adjust or refine the search accordingly by deleting the active filters and starting another search or even pressing the reset button to delete all the active filters.
In some cases, a toggle button or icon to hide and show the search filter or sorting would help to declutter a shop landing page. Especially if there are many numbers of search filters and sorting elements to include.
Here is a list of search elements that you might find in the WooCommerce product filter plugin:
- Checkboxes
- Radio buttons
- Dropdowns
- Range slider
- Select buttons/ labels
- Multi-select
4. Sorting Configuration
By default, WooCommerce provides a sorting system for the products on the shop page. Nevertheless, some product filter plugins also include a built-in customizable sorting system which is often better than the default system has offered.
The integrated sorting system would enhance the search filter performance since you can customize the settings to fit your requirement especially if you have unique products. A good sorting system makes the search result and helps the users to find and decide which products they would like to purchase. It’s fairly important to have this feature optimized if the product filter plugin you’ve chosen provides it.
5. Filter Position
A product filter plugin might have a setting for you to configure the filter position. The common position for the search filter section is at the top of the product search result or at the sidebar area of your shop product page.
6. Integration
It’s very often that you would integrate a product filter plugin using the WooCommerce sidebar widget. The second option is to add a shortcode to integrate the search filter on your shop page. A few plugins would give you instant integration without you having to add a widget or shortcode.
7. Mobile Friendly Design
The product filter plugin must be responsive or mobile-friendly in design. Online shoppers may access your eCommerce website from different devices with different screens. So it will be helpful to have a configuration setting on the product filter plugin to make sure the filter element can be accessible on many types of devices.
5 Recommended WooCommerce Product Filter Plugins
What's unique about this plugin is that you can enable or disable the filter for "out of stock" status of the product variation. The plugin also gives you the option to filter specifically the product variation prices instead of the product price, but it will slow down the filtering by price process.
This product filter plugin is relatively easy to configure. Integration of the product filter to the store page can use a widget or a shortcode.
Pros
Cons
Unlike the other product filter, this plugin allows you to add each product filter type using a shortcode and widget in a separate unit. It provides options to set the relationship between filters. AND - products shown will match all filters, OR - products shown will match any of the filters.
Pros
Cons
It has a customizable icon or a button to hide and show the filter area which is also known as a filter modal. You can set this filter modal as auto-open at the sidebar and enable the active filter display in the plugin setting.
Pros
Cons
The free version of the plugin has many filter options and functionalities compared to the other free product filter plugin. Special product filter types included are product filter by date and stock availability. SEO support is enabled for the: shop/page titles, description, and metadata.
Pros
Cons
The search filtering process is enabled on the search result page after the user inputs a search query in the instant search widget. This instant search widget appears as a button or icon to hide and show the search form. The plugin can also filter products by stock status.
Pros
Cons
Conclusion
A product filter plugin must have the flexibility to apply the filter elements to each filter type. This modification would give convenience to the users depending on how complex your search filter system you want to create. For instance, a price filter can be displayed as a range slider, checkboxes, or labels.
Besides the flexibility factor of how the product filter should be displayed on your store page, another thing that you need to consider is the active filter section for the user to keep track of the filtering process. Make sure this section has the reset button or at least would give the easy option for the users to delete the active filter that is no longer needed to adjust the product filtering.
And keep in mind that the hosting you select is also very important. With a LiteSpeed Web Server and an integrated cPanel for convenience, our premium hosting plans are constructed on SSD cloud architecture and should be beneficial for your development projects.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is hosting a WooCommerce site complicated?
Not at all. We can arrange managed hosting here at Verpex and can provide advice and guidance on getting the most out of the platform.
Do I need web developer skills to use Shopify or WooCommerce?
No. Both platforms welcome beginners, but you might get more out of WooCommerce’s extensions if you’ve got some previous experience.
How easy is it to switch between WooCommerce and Magento?
At Verpex we can host either site no problem. However, you’ll need to be aware that there can be some difficulties due to the customizable nature of Magento, and functionality could be lost.
How long does It take to set up a WooCommerce store?
You can install WooCommerce to your WordPress site with just one click. Then, you just need to add your products and you’re off. You could be up and running in just a few hours.
Audee Mirza is a graphic designer and WordPress developer at audeemirza.com who resides in Surabaya, Indonesia. She's also the author of Graphic Identity Blog, a professional logo designer, and often creates vector illustrations for clients and marketplaces. She enjoys good typography design and all kinds of animation.
View all posts by Audee Mirza
