The Tool Desk
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Choose the workflow that matches your theme
WooCommerce category pages are archive templates, not ordinary WordPress pages. Block themes let you edit templates in the Site Editor; classic themes use PHP templates. A classic theme may support blocks in regular pages, but that does not make its WooCommerce archive templates editable in the Site Editor. Check the active theme’s available editor and template controls before you begin. WooCommerce’s category-template guide and its classic theme guidance describe the separate approaches.
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Create a category template in a block theme
- In the WordPress dashboard, go to Appearance > Editor.
- Open Templates > WooCommerce, then choose Add Template.
- Select Products by Category.
- Choose All Categories for a shared layout, or select one category for a layout specific to that category.
- Start with a pattern containing a Product Collection block configured for the selected category context, or build the layout with blocks yourself.
- Add or rearrange the supporting blocks, adjust layout and styles, check the preview, and save.
The shared archive layout can include an archive title, term description, notices, results count, sorting controls, and the product collection. Product Filters can help shoppers narrow the collection by price, rating, attributes, stock status, category, brand, or tag. See WooCommerce’s template instructions for the category template workflow and its block guidance for archive components.
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Keep the product collection tied to the category
The Product Collection block determines which products appear; its query setting matters as much as the visual layout. With the Default query, the collection follows the current archive context and allows shoppers to filter. Available sorting options include manual order or name, price, sales, and rating. A Custom query can instead show a curated selection based on chosen criteria.
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For a normal category archive, keep the collection’s category context intact when changing its settings. Otherwise the design may look right while showing products from the wrong set. Use a custom query only when a curated collection is intentional. The Product Collection documentation explains default and custom query behavior.
Use a category-specific template in a block theme’s files
For code-level control, a block theme can provide WooCommerce templates as HTML files in its /templates directory. The category template filename is taxonomy-product_cat.html; if the theme does not provide it, the view can fall back to archive-product.html. A category-specific file can target a slug—for example, taxonomy-product_cat-clothing.html for a category with the slug clothing.
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Site Editor changes can affect what visitors see, so account for existing editor customizations when a theme file does not appear to control the design. The WooCommerce block theming documentation covers template naming and fallback behavior.
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Classic themes use PHP templates rather than the block-theme template editor. Start with the theme’s WooCommerce settings; if they do not provide enough control, use WooCommerce hooks for changes to layout or content where possible. The developer handbook describes hooks as more robust than template overrides, which require maintenance as WooCommerce evolves.
If the page structure itself must change, copy the relevant WooCommerce template into a child theme’s matching woocommerce directory, preserve the hooks in the copied template, and declare WooCommerce support when using custom WooCommerce template overrides. A child theme also keeps your custom files separate from parent-theme updates. For CSS, use the theme or child theme rather than editing WooCommerce’s plugin stylesheet, which an update can overwrite.
Check for a theme-level woocommerce.php if an archive-product.php override seems to have no effect: WooCommerce gives woocommerce.php priority, so the archive override cannot be used while that file is present. Consult the classic theme development handbook and template override guidance before maintaining custom template files.
Do not confuse category archives with the Shop page
The Product Catalog template controls the main Shop page. Product category pages use their own archive template, even though the two views can share inner blocks. Editing a page titled “Shop” may therefore leave the rendered catalog unchanged when the Product Catalog template takes precedence. WooCommerce documents the distinction in its Product Catalog template guide.
An older WooCommerce Customizer guide describes settings at Appearance > Customize > WooCommerce > Product Catalog for showing products, subcategories, or both on category pages. These settings govern what appears in the listing; they are not a replacement for building the full archive layout in the Site Editor. The exact controls available depend on the theme and installed versions. See the Product Catalog documentation for that older display-settings approach.
Plan the design before changing it
- Set the scope: decide whether one shared template serves every category or a particular category needs a distinct layout.
- Plan the introduction: decide whether to show a category title and term description above the products.
- Choose navigation: use filters, sorting, subcategories, or a combination suited to the catalog.
- Protect the query: keep the default archive context for a dynamic category listing, or intentionally curate products with a custom query.
- Minimize maintenance: in a classic theme, try theme controls and hooks before taking on a PHP template override.
These are implementation choices based on WooCommerce’s template, block, and query controls; they do not establish that a particular layout performs or converts better.
Quick Recap
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