Running an online store is not just putting products on the site—it’s all about delivering an effortless and convenient shopping experience. One of the most common issues that most store proprietors face is displaying products that are out of stock. While putting them as “Out of Stock” might seem genuine, it typically annoys customers, disjoins the flow of shopping, and can even decrease conversions. This is where the WooCommerce hide out of stock products feature proves helpful.
By choosing to hide out of stock products WooCommerce, you have a tidy catalog and highlight only purchaseable products. This satisfies customers, enhances trust, and makes shoppers focus on what is actually available for them to buy. In this tutorial, we will be talking about why hiding out of stock products matters, how you can enable it, and when to consider a hide out of stock products WooCommerce plugin for further customization.
Why Hide Out of Stock WooCommerce Products?
Hiding unavailable products may seem harmless, but it creates a number of problems:
Angry Buyers – Customers get upset when they click on a product to discover it’s out of stock.
Higher Bounce Rates – Excess unavailable inventory filling up your catalog can prompt visitors to click away hastily.
Lower Conversions – Constant reminders of sold-out products can erode confidence and deter buyers from completing purchases.
Unprofessional Look – A shop front displaying out-of-stock products creates a disorganized and untrustworthy image.
The WooCommerce hide out of stock products option ensures that these issues are at a minimum, giving buyers a better shopping experience.
Hide Out of Stock Products in WooCommerce
The good news? WooCommerce has a feature for it built-in. You do not necessarily need a plugin.
Step-by-Step Installation
Log in to your WordPress admin panel.
Navigate to WooCommerce > Settings > Products > Inventory.
Make sure “Manage Stock” is turned on so that WooCommerce will track stock levels.
Check the Hide out of stock items from the catalog checkbox.
Save.
The moment it’s turned on, all products that are out of stock will be auto-hidden from the catalog, with your store only showing in-stock products.
Using a Hide Out of Stock Products WooCommerce Plugin
Default is good, but some shopkeepers need finer control at times. That’s when the use of a hide out of stock products WooCommerce plugin comes in handy.
Benefits of Plugins
Scheduled Hiding – Automatically hide products until stock is replenished.
Category-Specific Rules – Hide out-of-stock products exclusively from certain categories.
Custom Messaging – Substitute hidden products with a message or recommendation.
Bulk Management – Hide or bring back hundreds of products in bulk.
Plugins also function well with caching and SEO plugins, such that stock items do not affect rankings.
Best Practices for Hiding Out of Stock WooCommerce Products
While hiding products improves customer experience, follow the following best practices:
Check Inventory Regularly – Ensure stock statuses are updated.
Offer Alternatives – Provide alternatives when fashion items are out of stock.
Communicate with Loyal Buyers – Instead of hiding, use back-in-stock notices or waitlists.
Choose Lightweight Plugins – Utilize a hide out of stock products WooCommerce plugin that is performance-optimized.
SEO Considerations on Hiding Products
Hiding products has SEO implications if they are already crawled by search engines. To handle this well:
Use Redirects – Place 301 redirects from product URLs that are hidden to similar categories or alternatives.
Enable Restock Alerts – Instead of hiding products entirely, enable users to opt-in for alerts.
Avoid Empty Pages – Make sure categories don’t look thin after products are hidden.
This balance ensures you improve customer experience without harming organic rankings.
Benefits of WooCommerce Hide Out of Stock Products
Here’s why enabling this feature (or using a plugin) makes sense:
A clean, distraction-free storefront
Happier customers who only see available products
Better conversion rates thanks to reduced frustration
Lower cart abandonment rates
A more professional brand image
Regardless of using the built-in settings or a plugin, benefiting from the WooCommerce hide out of stock products feature results in a tidy store that is trust-inspiring and sales-generating.
Final Thoughts
Inventory management is the key to eCommerce success. Instead of showing out of stock items, use the WooCommerce hide out of stock products feature to present a clean, professional-looking storefront. For finer control, a hide out of stock products WooCommerce plugin lets you schedule display, tailor messages, and manage items in bulk.
Hiding out of stock WooCommerce products will improve customer experience, protect your brand image, and eventually lead to more conversions.
