Need to remove certain product categories from your WooCommerce shop page? Instead of deleting them, you can tweak your product queries using the woocommerce_product_query hook. This is a safe and flexible way to control product visibility on your shop page.
Steps to Exclude Product Categories
Add the following code snippet to your child theme’s functions.php file:
function custom_exclude_category_from_shop( $q ) {
if ( is_shop() ) {
$exclude_category = 'your-category-slug'; // Replace with your actual slug
$tax_query = (array) $q->get( 'tax_query' );
$tax_query[] = array(
'taxonomy' => 'product_cat',
'field' => 'slug',
'terms' => array( $exclude_category ),
'operator' => 'NOT IN',
);
$q->set( 'tax_query', $tax_query );
}
}
add_action( 'woocommerce_product_query', 'custom_exclude_category_from_shop' );
How It Works
The code hooks into the WooCommerce product query, excluding products that belong to a specific category. Just update the slug with the category you want hidden.
Important Notes
- Products from excluded categories can still be accessed via direct URLs.
- This only affects the main shop page, not individual category or search pages.
- Use a child theme or custom plugin to safely apply this customization.
For advanced filtering options, refer to the official WooCommerce documentation.
Final Thoughts
Controlling product visibility helps streamline your shop layout. With a small code tweak, you can manage how categories appear and improve user navigation.
