You discovered a WooCommerce shortcode in a tutorial, pasted it right into a web page, and currently you are questioning whether you have simply built something on a course that WordPress is quietly bowing out. It is a reasonable question, and most shortcode overviews do not answer it.
The factor they do not is that they list every WooCommerce shortcode as though every one of them bring the same standing, when the conditions are truly different. Some are still the fastest tool for the work and always will certainly be, some work penalty but have a block that has changed them for new builds, and a pair have no replacement in any way. The difference matters, due to the fact that the cart and checkout shortcodes are the ones people copy most and they are precisely the ones WooCommerce has actually proceeded from.
This guide kinds them by condition initially, confirmed against WooCommerce’s own documentation on 20 September 2026, and afterwards enters the ones you will actually use.
Which WooCommerce shortcodes still matter in 2026
The short version is that the item shortcodes are still current and worth finding out, while the cart and checkout shortcodes have block replacements that WooCommerce now makes use of by default on new shops. Absolutely nothing has been gotten rid of from WooCommerce at the same time, so every page you have actually already improved a shortcode keeps functioning.
Here is every WooCommerce shortcode with its current status and its block matching, drawn from WooCommerce’s own shortcode paperwork.
| Shortcode | What it does | Block different | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
[products] |
Displays products by specifications, with attributes | Product Collection block and others | Current, still the quickest course inside an article |
[product_page] |
Presents a complete single item page by ID or SKU | Personalized item web page design templates in the site editor | Present |
[product_category] |
Shows products in a group, with attributes | Item Collection block | Present |
[product_categories] |
Display screens product groups, with characteristics | None yet | Current, and the only option |
[add_to_cart] |
Shows an add-to-cart switch for an item | Readily available on single item page templates | Present |
[add_to_cart_url] |
Returns the add-to-cart URL for an item | None | Existing, and the only choice |
[shop_messages] |
Shows store notifications on non-WooCommerce web pages | Store Notifications block | Present |
[woocommerce_cart] |
Displays the cart page | Cart block | Legacy, works, changed for brand-new stores |
[woocommerce_checkout] |
Shows the checkout web page | Checkout block | Heritage, functions, changed for brand-new shops |
[woocommerce_my_account] |
Presents the account page | None yet | Present, and the only option |
[woocommerce_order_tracking] |
Displays the order monitoring type | None | Current, and the only choice |
Review the last column very carefully, because it is the part no other overview separates out. 4 of these shortcodes have no block matching whatsoever, that makes them irreversible instead of heritage. Just two have in fact been superseded, and both of those still feature.
Blocks or shortcodes: exactly how to choose
The rule is brief sufficient to keep in mind. New shop, make use of the blocks. Existing store already running on shortcodes, leave it alone up until you have a factor. Dropping products right into a blog post or a touchdown web page, the shortcode is still faster than the block.
That last case is the one people take too lightly. A shortcode is a solitary line you can kind, layout, or produce programmatically. The equivalent block takes numerous clicks and can not be pasted right into a message field, which matters when you are developing thirty classification web pages as opposed to one.
The cart and checkout should have even more thought than the rest, due to the fact that the block versions are where the new attributes land. Express payment locations and the more recent field controls arrive there initially, so a shop built on the shortcode versions slowly falls behind on performance rather than damaging. If you are intentionally going the other means and desire the classic shortcode experience back, our documentation on changing cart and check out obstructs to the classic shortcodes goes through it.
Your motif belongs to this choice also, and it deserves checking prior to you transform anything. Block motifs expect block layouts, while a traditional style is usually better with the shortcode pages. Botiga sustains both transmits, and our fastest WooCommerce styles comparison covers how the other choices handle it.
The item shortcodes worth understanding
These are the ones you will certainly reach for regularly, because they place items inside regular messages and pages, which is something the shop templates can refrain on their own.
Program a grid of items
[products] is the workhorse of the set, and on its own it merely lists your items. Its attributes are where the genuine control lives.
The ones worth memorising are limit for the amount of items to reveal, columns for how broad the grid runs, orderby for the kind field, order for the direction, and paginate to turn pagination on when you are revealing a lengthy listing. The orderby quality accepts title , date , id , menu_order , popularity , rand and score , so most arranging you would want is currently integrated in.
A four-column grid of your twelve newest items looks like this.
[products limit="12" columns="4" orderby="date" order="DESC"]
You can also target specific items with ids or skus , both of which take a comma-separated listing, and include a course attribute when you wish to style one grid in different ways from the others.
Filter by classification, sale or rating
The exact same shortcode filters in addition to checklists, and the filtering attributes are the ones worth discovering effectively. classification and tag both take comma-separated slugs, so one line gives you every product in a category without touching a layout.
[products category="hoodies,t-shirts" limit="8" columns="4"]
Three features serve as filters on their own. on_sale draws items presently on sale, best_selling pulls by variety of acquisitions, and top_rated pulls by ordinary ranking. WooCommerce’s documents notes that these three ought to not be incorporated with each various other, so pick one per shortcode.
[product_category] does the very same task scoped to a single classification and is worth utilizing when that is all you require, since the intent is more clear to whoever edits the page after you.
A solitary item, and a bare add-to-cart button
[product_page id="99"] renders a complete item web page inside any post or page, pictures and add-to-cart button included. It is the appropriate device for a touchdown web page constructed around one product, and our best single product WordPress styles roundup covers the motif side of that exact same construct.
When you only desire the button, [add_to_cart id="99"] offers you the rate and the button without the remainder of the product web page. [add_to_cart_url id="99"] goes one step further and returns just the URL, which is what you desire when the switch is a design aspect you are building on your own or a web link inside an e-mail.
The web page shortcodes, and what replaced them
These four build the store’s practical web pages, and WooCommerce produces them for you at install time. It records which page is which in its own settings, so they are typically in place before you consider them.
[woocommerce_cart] and [woocommerce_checkout] are the two shortcodes with authentic block substitutes behind them. The Cart block and the Check out block are what a brand-new WooCommerce install currently makes use of, and they are where brand-new check out attributes land initially. Your shortcode pages keep working in either case, so absolutely nothing goes to risk. What the blocks provide suffices to be worth intending a migration around eventually.
[woocommerce_my_account] and [woocommerce_order_tracking] have no block equivalent at the time of composing, which puts them a lengthy method from legacy. WooCommerce’s very own documentation notes the account web page as “None yet” and the order monitoring type as “None”, so these shortcodes are the only method to build those pages.
[shop_messages] is the weird one out and the most beneficial shortcode many people have never ever utilized. WooCommerce notices, the ones that state an item was contributed to the cart or a promo code was applied, just render on WooCommerce pages by default. Go down [shop_messages] onto a custom touchdown web page with an add-to-cart button on it and the notices start appearing there as well.
Why a shortcode you replicated has actually quit working
Four creates make up almost every broken WooCommerce shortcode, and they are simple to distinguish.
- It came from an old tutorial: WooCommerce replaced numerous older shortcodes such as
[featured_products]and[sale_products]with characteristics on[products], so a snippet from an old blog post can be calling something that no longer exists - The quality name transformed:
restrictionandcolumnsare the present names, and older overviews sometimes make use of feature names that WooCommerce no longer approves - Your store transferred to the cart and checkout blocks: if the check out web page currently holds a Check out block, including
[woocommerce_checkout]to a second page will certainly not act the way the tutorial anticipates - The shortcode remains in the wrong kind of field: shortcodes run in post web content, so one pasted right into a widget, a theme option or a block that does not process shortcodes will just publish as message
When a shortcode prints as literal message on the front end, that last cause is almost always the response. Relocate into a Shortcode block in the article material and it will certainly provide. If it makes yet returns nothing, the issue is the inquiry as opposed to the shortcode, so examine that the category slug is led to properly which the items you anticipate are really published and in stock.
When a shortcode really can refrain from doing the job, a plugin generally can, and our guide to the best WooCommerce plugins covers the ones worth having.
FAQs regarding WooCommerce shortcodes
Shortcode concerns show up frequently, particularly now that blocks have gone into the photo. Here are direct response to the most typical ones.
What are WooCommerce shortcodes?
WooCommerce shortcodes are short pieces of message in square brackets that make store material inside any post or web page. [products] outputs an item grid, [woocommerce_cart] outputs the cart, and every one accepts qualities that manage what shows up.
Are WooCommerce shortcodes deprecated?
The majority of them are not deprecated in any sense, and none of them have actually been gotten rid of. Only the cart and checkout shortcodes have block replacements, and 4 shortcodes consisting of the account web page and order monitoring have no block matching in any way, which makes them the only alternative. Absolutely nothing has actually been removed, so existing pages keep working.
How do I add items to a web page in WooCommerce?
Include a Shortcode block to the page and get in [products limit="8" columns="4"] , adjusting the numbers to suit your layout. Include a category attribute to narrow it to one category, or use the Product Collection obstruct if you prefer to configure it visually.
What is the difference in between WooCommerce obstructs and shortcodes?
Blocks are set up visually in the editor and obtain new WooCommerce functions first, while shortcodes are keyed in as text and can be produced programmatically or dropped into design templates. For cart and checkout the blocks are currently the default, and for placing products inside an article the shortcode is normally quicker.
Why has my WooCommerce shortcode quit working?
The normal cause is the shortcode resting someplace that does not refine shortcodes, such as a widget or a motif choice area, which makes it publish as plain text. The other typical causes are an attribute name from an outdated tutorial, or a shortcode that WooCommerce has folded right into [products] as a quality.
Last ideas on WooCommerce shortcodes
Shortcodes are not on the way out, and the overviews that indicate otherwise are generalising from the cart and checkout to everything else. 4 of them have no block matching, the product shortcodes remain the fastest way to place items inside a blog post, and every one of them still runs.
The decision policy is worth maintaining somewhere you will see it again, due to the fact that it resolves a lot of these concerns by itself. Construct new cart and checkout pages with the blocks, leave functioning shortcode web pages alone till you desire what the blocks offer, and reach for [products] whenever you require store content somewhere the store themes do not go.
Which WooCommerce shortcode do you utilize most, and exists one you desire had a block version? Inform me in the remarks below.
