WooCommerce: Display a Product Categories Dropdown Select

There is already a widget that allows you to place a “Product Category Dropdown” in your sidebar areas. The problem is that lately, sidebars have become kinda 1990. So, what if you want to place a “Category Select Box” anywhere in your WooCommerce website, and (in this case study), exactly on the Product Category pages, so that you can switch from one category to the other?

Well, in this snippet you will learn a lot of things. For example, the wc_product_dropdown_categories() function magically displays a category dropdown, while the wc_enqueue_js() function allows you to inject jQuery (responsible to trigger the category page redirect).

You can demo this snippet on this live WooCommerce website of mine: A Piece of Sicily – Sicilian Crafts Category. Enjoy!

Here’s my “Product Category Switcher” in action on the Product Category pages. As soon as a different category is selected, a redirect take place.

PHP Snippet: Show a Product Category Switcher and Redirect Upon Selection

Please note in the “location.href” section you have to make sure you enter the correct permalink base for product categories, otherwise you will get error 404. In this case, I’m using the default product category permalinks, “/product-category/“.

/**
 * @snippet       Product Category Switcher @ Product Category Pages
 * @how-to        Get CustomizeWoo.com FREE
 * @author        Rodolfo Melogli
 * @compatible    WooCommerce 4.0
 * @donate $9     https://businessbloomer.com/bloomer-armada/
 */

add_action( 'woocommerce_before_shop_loop', 'bbloomer_filter_by_tag', 31 );

function bbloomer_filter_by_tag() {		
	if ( is_product_category() ) {		
		wc_product_dropdown_categories();	
	} 
	wc_enqueue_js( "
		$('#product_cat').change(function () {
			location.href = '/product-category/' + $(this).val();
		});
	" );
}

Where to add this snippet?

You can place PHP snippets at the bottom of your child theme functions.php file (delete "?>" if you have it there). CSS, on the other hand, goes in your child theme style.css file. Make sure you know what you are doing when editing such files - if you need more guidance, please take a look at my free video tutorial "Where to Place WooCommerce Customization?"

Does this snippet (still) work?

Please let me know in the comments if everything worked as expected. I would be happy to revise the snippet if you report otherwise (please provide screenshots). I have tested this code with Storefront theme, the WooCommerce version listed above and a WordPress-friendly hosting on PHP 7.3.

If you think this code saved you time & money, feel free to join 14,000+ WooCommerce Weekly subscribers for blog post updates or 250+ Business Bloomer supporters for 365 days of WooCommerce benefits. Thank you in advance :)

Need Help with WooCommerce?

Check out these free video tutorials. You can learn how to customize WooCommerce without unnecessary plugins, how to properly configure the WooCommerce plugin settings and even how to master WooCommerce troubleshooting in case of a bug!

Rodolfo Melogli

Business Bloomer Founder

Author, WooCommerce expert and WordCamp speaker, Rodolfo has worked as an independent WooCommerce freelancer since 2011. His goal is to help entrepreneurs and developers overcome their WooCommerce nightmares. Rodolfo loves travelling, chasing tennis & soccer balls and, of course, wood fired oven pizza.

19 thoughts on “WooCommerce: Display a Product Categories Dropdown Select

  1. If you get 404 when selecting the “select category” from drop-down try this it will also show on shop page as well

    add_action( 'woocommerce_before_shop_loop', 'bbloomer_filter_by_tag', 31 );
     
    function bbloomer_filter_by_tag() {      
       if ( is_product_category() || is_shop() ) {      
          wc_product_dropdown_categories();   
       } 
       wc_enqueue_js( "
          $('#product_cat').change(function () {
    	  	 if($(this).val() != ''){
    		 location.href = '/product-category/' + $(this).val();
    		 }
             else{
    		 location.href = '/shop/'
    		 }
          });
       " );
    }
    
  2. What a great source for Woocommerce tweaks! However i can’t seem to fix the category selector on my page(?)

    also the No products were found matching your selection snippet aint working for me.
    Any idea what i might overlook?

    regards

    1. Hey there, thanks so much for your comment! I’m afraid this is custom work. If you’d like to get a quote, feel free to contact me here. Thanks a lot for your understanding!

  3. Hi rodolf, I am following your bl9g since a while and commenting first time. A lot of things about woocommerce i found here. Thank you.

    Could you please mail me your ebook if have?

    1. Thanks Manish

  4. Hi Rodolfo,

    if I only want to display the subcategories of the specific category as a dropdown, what would I need to change?

    Thanks!
    Lykke

    1. Hey Lykke, thanks so much for your comment! Yes, this is definitely possible, but I’m afraid it’s custom work. If you’d like to get a quote, feel free to contact me here. Thanks a lot for your understanding!

      1. Yes, I need this too! Lykke did you find plugin?

        Rodolfo you provide an amazing resource!

  5. Hi i am trying to use this code for oceanwp theme but its not working. I am trying to display in shop page

    1. Does it work on 2020 or Storefront theme? If yes, you need to adapt it to OceanWP

  6. I want to change URL after selection of Dropdown Because i am selecting Sub Category So URL cannot be Form like
    Siteurl/Category/Subcategory

    1. Hi Vishven, thanks so much for your comment! Yes, this is definitely possible, but I’m afraid it’s custom work. If you’d like to get a quote, feel free to contact me here. Thanks a lot for your understanding!

  7. Hi Rodolfo,

    Thank you for this snippet!

    May I know how to add a little space in front of it please?

    See: https://d.pr/free/i/dEgpdx

    1. Sorry, no. But you can just use simple CSS margin

  8. Hello
    Great idea. I found one problem though. It does not work in my mobile. Also Is there a shortcode to add it wherever you want ? for example this should be in the home page too (in my case) that is not the shop page
    Yiannis

    1. Hey Yiannis, thanks for your feedback! Maybe you have JavaScript disabled on mobile? Otherwise try to clear its cache. The shortcode, yes, it’s possible, but it’s custom code I’m afraid. Thanks!

      1. Hello
        I don’t have js disabled in my mobile and I open the page as private in iPhone which means that there is no cache !! I still cannot see the menu in the mobile

        1. Disable all plugins but Woo and switch theme temporarily. Does it work?

Questions? Feedback? Support? Leave your Comment Now!
_____

If you are writing code, please wrap it between shortcodes: [php]code_here[/php]. Failure to complying with this (as well as going off topic, not writing in English, etc.) will result in comment deletion. You should expect a reply in about 2 weeks - this is a popular blog but I need to get paid work done first. Please consider joining BloomerArmada to get blog comment reply priority, ask me 1-to-1 WooCommerce questions and enjoy many more perks. Thank you :)

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *