[shortcodeglut_woo_category]

April 13, 2026
Free Shortcodes
331 views
12 min read
Updated May 11, 2026

WooCommerce Category Products Shortcode

Complete Documentation for [shortcodeglut_woo_category] — Plugin Version 1.5.5

Table of Contents

Overview

The WooCommerce Category Products shortcode displays products from one or more WooCommerce categories with customizable layouts, filtering, sorting, and pagination. Products are rendered using pre-built WooTemplates — professionally designed product card styles you can choose from.

Key Features:
  • Display products from single or multiple WooCommerce categories
  • Responsive grid layouts with separate desktop, tablet, and mobile column settings
  • Built-in toolbar with search, sort by (date, name, price, rating, popularity, sales), and order direction
  • AJAX-powered filtering and pagination (individually toggleable)
  • 14 pre-built WooTemplates — vertical and horizontal product card styles
  • Category header with custom icon, title, and description
  • Flexible category query operators (IN, NOT IN, AND, EXISTS, NOT EXISTS)

Basic Usage

[shortcodeglut_woo_category categories="your-category-slug"]
Required Parameter: The categories parameter is required. You must provide at least one category slug (or ID with cat_field="id") for the shortcode to work.

Parameters Reference

Parameter Type Default Description
categories string required Category slug(s) or ID(s) to display products from. Comma-separated for multiple.
cat_field string slug Field to identify categories: slug or id
operator string IN Query operator: IN, NOT IN, AND, EXISTS, NOT EXISTS
icon string empty Custom icon URL for the category header. Falls back to category thumbnail if empty.
icon_width integer 64 Icon width in pixels
title string empty Custom title text. Any text is displayed as-is. Leave empty for no title.
desc string empty Custom description, or 1 to auto-display the category description
items_per_page integer 10 Number of products per page
orderby string date Sort by: id, title, date, modified, price, total_sales, rating, popularity
order string DESC Sort direction: ASC or DESC
template string product_card_basic Pre-built WooTemplate ID for product card display (see Templates section)
toolbar string 1 Toolbar display: 1 (full with header), 0 (hidden), or compact (no header)
paging boolean 1 Show pagination: 1 or 0
cols integer 3 Product columns on desktop (valid: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6)
colspad integer 1 Product columns on tablet (valid: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6)
colsphone integer 1 Product columns on mobile (valid: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6)
ajax string off AJAX-powered toolbar filtering (search, sort): on or off
ajax_pagination string off AJAX-powered pagination (no page reload): on or off

Usage Examples

Example 1: Single Category with Defaults

[shortcodeglut_woo_category categories="electronics"]

Displays products from the “electronics” category using the default template (product_card_basic), 3 columns on desktop, 10 per page, with toolbar.

Example 2: Multiple Categories with Category Header

[shortcodeglut_woo_category categories="electronics,accessories" title="Electronics & Accessories" desc="1"]

Displays products from both categories. Shows “Electronics & Accessories” as the title and auto-displays the category description.

Example 3: Responsive Grid with Aqua Template

[shortcodeglut_woo_category categories="fashion" cols="4" colspad="2" colsphone="1" items_per_page="12" template="product_card_aqua"]

4-column grid on desktop, 2 on tablet, 1 on mobile. Uses the Aqua pre-built template with 12 products per page.

Example 4: Sorted by Price with AJAX Filtering

[shortcodeglut_woo_category categories="sale-items" orderby="price" order="ASC" ajax="on" template="product_card_tropical"]

Products sorted by lowest price first with AJAX-powered toolbar filtering. Uses the Tropical template.

Example 5: Using Category IDs

[shortcodeglut_woo_category categories="15,22" cat_field="id" operator="IN"]

Displays products from categories with IDs 15 and 22. Useful when slugs are complex or may change.

Example 6: Exclude Categories with Horizontal Template

[shortcodeglut_woo_category categories="uncategorized" operator="NOT IN" template="product_card_horizontal_blue"]

Displays all products that are NOT in the “uncategorized” category using the Horizontal Blue template.

Example 7: Compact Toolbar with AJAX Pagination

[shortcodeglut_woo_category categories="new-arrivals" toolbar="compact" ajax_pagination="on" items_per_page="8"]

Compact toolbar (no category header) with smooth AJAX pagination. 8 products per page.

Example 8: Hidden Toolbar, Sorted by Popularity

[shortcodeglut_woo_category categories="featured" toolbar="0" orderby="popularity" paging="0" template="product_card_vibrant"]

No toolbar, no pagination. Shows all featured products sorted by popularity using the Vibrant template.

Example 9: Full AJAX with Custom Icon

[shortcodeglut_woo_category categories="gaming" icon="https://example.com/icons/gaming.png" title="Gaming Gear" ajax="on" ajax_pagination="on" cols="3" template="product_card_berry"]

Full AJAX experience (filtering + pagination without reloads) with a custom category icon and the Berry template.

Pre-Built Templates

Choose from 14 professionally designed product card templates. Use the template parameter with the Template ID shown below. Templates are ready to use — no customization needed.

How to use: Pass the Template ID as the template parameter. Example: template="product_card_aqua". If omitted, product_card_basic is used.

Vertical Card Templates

product_card_basic
Product Card: Basic
Classic vertical product card with image on top and details below. The default template.
Vertical
product_card_aqua
Product Card: Aqua
Refreshing product card with aqua marine accent color.
Vertical
product_card_berry
Product Card: Berry
Colorful product card with berry-inspired indigo and pink accents.
Vertical
product_card_lavender
Product Card: Lavender
Romantic product card with lavender and rose accents.
Vertical
product_card_lime
Product Card: Lime
Zesty product card with lime green and pink color scheme.
Vertical
product_card_magenta
Product Card: Magenta
Dreamy product card with magenta and purple accents.
Vertical
product_card_sage
Product Card: Sage
Calming product card with sage and mint green colors.
Vertical
product_card_teal
Product Card: Teal
Refreshing product card with teal accent color.
Vertical
product_card_tropical
Product Card: Tropical
Tropical-themed product card with sunset-inspired colors.
Vertical
product_card_vibrant
Product Card: Vibrant
Eye-catching product card with vibrant green and orange colors.
Vertical

Horizontal Card Templates

product_card_horizontal_blue
Card: Horizontal Blue
Horizontal product card with blue accent color, image on left.
Horizontal
product_card_horizontal_cyan
Card: Horizontal Cyan
Horizontal product card with cyan accent color, details first.
Horizontal
product_card_horizontal_green
Card: Horizontal Green
Horizontal product card with green accent color, image on left.
Horizontal
product_card_horizontal_purple
Card: Horizontal Purple
Horizontal product card with purple accent color, image on right.
Horizontal

Template Tags Reference

The pre-built templates use these tags internally to dynamically display product data. These are listed for reference when building conditional logic or understanding template structure.

[product_id]
Product ID number
[product_title]
Product name
[product_permalink]
Product page URL
[product_image]
Product featured image (full HTML)
[product_image_url]
Product image URL only
[product_gallery]
Product gallery images
[product_price]
Product price HTML (includes sale price if applicable)
[product_regular_price]
Regular price (formatted)
[product_sale_price]
Sale price (only when on sale)
[product_short_description]
Product short description (trimmed to 20 words)
[product_description]
Product description (trimmed to 20 words)
[product_categories]
Product categories as linked text
[product_tags]
Product tags as linked text
[product_rating]
Star rating with Font Awesome icons
[product_rating_count]
Number of ratings in parentheses
[product_attributes]
Product attributes list (visible only)
[product_dimensions]
Product dimensions (L x W x H)
[product_weight]
Product weight with unit
[product_badge_sale]
Sale discount badge (e.g., -20%)
[sku]
Product SKU
[stock_status]
Stock status (instock / outofstock)
[stock_quantity]
Stock quantity number
[add_to_cart_url]
Add to cart URL
[cart_url]
Cart page URL
[btn_cart]
Add to Cart button (with AJAX support when applicable)
[btn_view]
View Product button

Conditional Tags

Conditional tags let pre-built templates show or hide content based on product state. Format: [condition:content to show]. If the condition is true, the content is displayed; otherwise it is removed.

[is_on_sale:…]
Show content if product is on sale
[is_not_on_sale:…]
Show content if product is NOT on sale
[is_in_stock:…]
Show content if product is in stock
[is_out_of_stock:…]
Show content if product is out of stock
[is_new:…]
Show content if product has _is_new meta set
[is_not_new:…]
Show content if product does NOT have _is_new meta
[is_featured:…]
Show content if product has _featured meta set
[is_not_featured:…]
Show content if product does NOT have _featured meta
[has_rating:…]
Show content if product has a rating above 0
[has_no_rating:…]
Show content if product has no ratings
[has_categories:…]
Show content if product has categories assigned
[has_no_categories:…]
Show content if product has no categories
[has_description:…]
Show content if product has a description
[has_no_description:…]
Show content if product has no description
[has_sale_price:…]
Show content if product has a sale price above 0
[has_regular_price:…]
Show content if product has a regular price above 0
Conditional tag example (used inside templates):
[is_on_sale:<span class="sale-label">On Sale!</span>]
[is_in_stock:<span class="stock-ok">In Stock</span>]

Tips & Best Practices

Finding Category Slugs:
Navigate to Products → Categories in your WordPress admin. The slug is shown in the “Slug” column. Slugs are case-sensitive and must match exactly.
Responsive Columns:
Use cols (desktop), colspad (tablet), and colsphone (mobile) together for responsive layouts. Valid values are: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 (Bootstrap 12-column grid system). Invalid values fall back to sensible defaults.
AJAX vs AJAX Pagination:
ajax="on" enables AJAX for toolbar filtering (search, sort). ajax_pagination="on" enables AJAX for pagination. You can enable either or both independently.
Performance:
Keep items_per_page reasonable (10–20) for large catalogs. Enable AJAX for smoother user experience without full page reloads.
Category Operators:
  • IN — Products from ANY of the specified categories (default)
  • AND — Products from ALL specified categories
  • NOT IN — Products NOT in the specified categories
  • EXISTS — Products where the category exists
  • NOT EXISTS — Products where the category does not exist
Toolbar Modes:
toolbar="1" shows the full toolbar including category header (icon, title, description). toolbar="compact" shows search and sort controls without the category header. toolbar="0" hides everything.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why isn’t the shortcode displaying any products?

A: Make sure you’ve provided the correct category slug in the categories parameter. Category slugs are case-sensitive and must match exactly. Also verify that published products exist in the specified category.

Q: Can I display products from multiple categories?

A: Yes! Use comma-separated slugs: categories="electronics,fashion,accessories" or IDs with cat_field="id": categories="15,22" cat_field="id"

Q: How do I change the product card style?

A: Use the template parameter with any of the 14 pre-built template IDs. Example: template="product_card_aqua". See the Pre-Built Templates section for all options.

Q: What’s the difference between toolbar=”1″ and toolbar=”compact”?

A: toolbar="1" (full) shows the category header (icon, title, description) plus search/sort controls. toolbar="compact" shows only the search/sort controls without the header.

Q: Can I hide the toolbar?

A: Yes, set toolbar="0" to hide the toolbar completely.

Q: What does AJAX mode do?

A: ajax="on" enables AJAX for toolbar actions (search, sort) so results update without a page reload. ajax_pagination="on" enables AJAX for page navigation. They work independently — enable one or both.

Q: What column values are valid?

A: The grid uses a 12-column Bootstrap system. Valid values are: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6. Any invalid value falls back to 3 for desktop, 2 for tablet, 1 for mobile.

Q: How do I exclude products from a category?

A: Use operator="NOT IN" with the categories you want to exclude. Example: categories="uncategorized" operator="NOT IN"

Q: Can I use a custom category icon?

A: Yes, pass an image URL via the icon parameter. If empty, it automatically uses the category thumbnail set in WooCommerce.

ShortcodeGlut — WooCommerce Product Shortcodes Plugin

Version 1.5.5 | Last Updated: May 2026