Now that your store is set up, it’s time to actually add your products!
Every product in WooCommerce has a LOT of fields. Some are obvious, some are hidden in tabs, and some get skipped entirely because people don’t know what they do. This guide walks you through every single one that matters, what it’s for, and how to fill it in for both your customers AND search engines.
The product title is the name of your product as it appears in your shop and in search results. Lead with the most important keyword naturally and keep it descriptive but concise. Don’t stuff it with every keyword you can think of. Google is smart now and knows when you’re trying to game the system.
The slug (or permalink) is the part that shows in the URL. For example: yoursite.com/product/3rd-grade-reading-passages/. You can change your product title at any time, but don’t change the slug once the product is live and indexed. If you change the slug, any links to that product (from Google, from other sites, from your own internal links) will break unless you set up a redirect.
Your featured image is the main image that represents your product in the shop and in search results. It should be clean, high quality, and consistent in size and style with your other products. Gallery images give customers additional views or show what’s inside.
Two SEO wins that most people skip:
Name your image files before uploading. “worksheet-for-math-fractions.jpg” is WAY better than “Slide1.jpg” or “Picture1.png.” The filename becomes part of the image URL and Google pays attention to it.
Always fill in the alt text on every image. Describe what’s actually in the image and work in your keyword naturally. We’re moving toward alt text for accessibility more than SEO these days, but it doesn’t hurt to include the keyword when it makes sense. (For more on this, check out my post on image alt text in WordPress.)
The long description is the main body of text that appears below the product on its individual product page. This is your chance to really sell the product AND help Google understand what it is.
Write for the customer first, Google second. Explain what’s included, who it’s for, what problem it solves, and what format it comes in. Use short paragraphs. Your focus keyword should appear naturally within the first 100 words.
A few things to avoid: don’t keyword stuff, don’t throw a list of random keywords at the bottom, and don’t use this space to recommend other products. There should be other spots on your product page for related products.
If you add an image in your long description, be sure to fill out the alt text.
For most sites, you will need to scroll down to find the short description.
The short description is the excerpt that appears next to the product image, usually above the “Add to Cart” button. Think of it as your elevator pitch.
Keep it to 2 to 4 punchy sentences max. What is it? Who is it for? What do they get? Don’t repeat the long description word for word.
Pro tip: If you also want to display details like page count, file size, or other specs, consider creating a custom field (contact me if you need help!) for that information instead of cramming it into the short description. That keeps your short description clean and punchy while still giving customers the details they need.
These options may vary based on individual plugins you have installed or if you are doing a digital download or shippable product. If you have an option not listed here let me know in the comments and I can try to cover it!
If your products are virtual downloads – mark your product as virtual AND downloadable!
Before you start filling in any of the tabs above, make sure your product type is set correctly at the top of the Product Data panel. Getting this wrong from the start creates a mess.
Simple product – a single item with no options. Most digital products are simple products.
Variable product – has options like size, color, or format. Each option is a “variation” with its own price and settings. Think of this like purchasing a shirt that comes in blue, green, and yellow – and also Small, Medium, and Large.
Grouped product – a collection of related simple products displayed together.
External/Affiliate product – links out to another site for purchase instead of being sold on your store. A lot of TpT sellers use this to link products listed on their site to the product on TpT (Tip: be sure to use a UTM link for TpT!)
Regular price – always fill this in. This is the base price of your product.
Sale price – if you’re running a sale, use the scheduling feature so it auto-expires. No more forgetting to turn off a sale three weeks later!
Downloadable Files – If you chose virtual and downloadable you will get this option. This is what customers will see when they download the product. SEO is not important here – keep the name short and descriptive for customers. The File URL is your download link (could be your site, could be AmazonS3 or Dropbox). I cover this more here!
Learndash Courses – On this site I have Learndash (course software) so I could indicate which course my product gives the customer access to. If you do not have Learndash you will not see this option.
SKU – I recommend adding a sku. If you are TpT seller, user your TpT product ID to match products. If you are not, you can use the Woo ID (see url) or any other number you want!
Stock management – if you’re selling physical goods, enable this so WooCommerce tracks your inventory. For digital products, you can usually leave it unmanaged.
If you have chosen virtual and downloadable you will not see this option.
Weight and dimensions – important for physical products because it affects shipping calculations.
Shipping class – if you’ve set up shipping classes (like “heavy items” or “free shipping”), assign the right one here.
(If you only sell digital products, you can skip this tab entirely.)
Upsells – products you recommend instead of (or in addition to) the one the customer is viewing. These show up on the single product page, usually under a heading like “You may also like…” underneath the product description. Think of these as “hey, you might also want this!” suggestions.
Cross-sells – complementary products that show up on the cart page (not the product page!) when the customer is reviewing their order before checkout. These are the “would you like fries with that?” suggestions.
Bundle-sells – if you have WooCommerce Bundles plugin, you may also see Bundle-sells, Bundle-sells title (e.g. “Frequently Bought Together”), and Bundle-sells discount fields.
They create a “Frequently Bought Together” section right on the product page, above the Add to Cart button. Customers see the suggested products with checkboxes and can add them all to the cart in one click along with the main product.
The Bundle-sells title field lets you customize the heading (the default placeholder is “Frequently Bought Together” but you can change it to whatever you want).
The Bundle-sells discount field lets you offer a percentage off when customers buy the suggested products together. Use these sparingly! Adding too many unrelated suggestions can actually hurt conversions. Stick to 2 to 3 products that genuinely complement the main product.
Important: Upsells and cross-sells will only display if your product page template and cart template are set up to show them. Most WooCommerce-compatible themes include these sections by default, but if you’re using a custom product page layout (like one built with Elementor), you may need to add the upsells/cross-sells widget or element manually. If you’ve filled in these fields and nothing is showing up on the front end, that’s probably why!
A quick note here: attributes and taxonomies can be confusing because they seem like they do the same thing, but I recommend using them differently.
Use custom taxonomies (not attributes) for things like grade level, subject, topic, or any other category-style filter you want in your shop navigation. Taxonomies are better for filtering and browsing because they create their own archive pages, work better with most filtering plugins, and are more SEO-friendly. Contact me if you need help setting up custom taxonomies!
Use attributes for product variations and options only. If you have a variable product where the customer picks a size, color, format, or version, that’s what attributes are for. Check “Used for variations” so WooCommerce knows to use them in the Variations tab. You can also check “Visible on the product page” if you want customers to see the attribute details displayed on the page.
Before you can add variations you need to set up attributes. You can do them on the product or set up global attributes under the WooCommerce menu.
This tab has a few miscellaneous settings that are easy to overlook.
Purchase note – a message that gets sent to the customer after they purchase this product. This is a great place to add instructions, a thank you message, or links to related resources. Leave it blank if you don’t need it.
Menu order – controls the sort order of your products when set to “Menu order” sorting in your shop. Lower numbers appear first. Most people leave this at 0 and sort by date or alphabetically instead. I advise in general to just leave this alone.
Enable reviews – check this if you want customers to leave reviews on this product. Reviews add social proof AND generate fresh content on your product page, which Google likes. I recommend enabling reviews on most products!
Available for POS – this only shows up if you have a Point of Sale plugin installed. Check it if this product should be available for in-person sales.
Below the Product Data panel, you may see a “Product Fields” section. These are custom fields created with a plugin like Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) and are unique to your site. Your developer (hi, that’s me!) sets these up based on what your store needs.
For example, on a typical store I build, you might see fields like:
TpT Link – if you also sell on TpT, this field holds the link to the same product on TpT. Your product page template can then display a “Also available on TpT” button automatically. Don’t forget to use the UTM link!
Page Numbers – used for number of pages.
Download Credit Value – a custom value used for credit-based purchasing or loyalty programs.
Your custom fields will look different depending on what your site needs! These are not set up by default and must be installed separately. The important thing is to fill them in for every product so they display correctly on the front end. If you’re not sure what a custom field does on your site, ask your developer. And if you don’t have custom fields yet but want some, contact me and I can set them up for you.
On the right side of the product editor, you’ll see the Publish box. Most of this works the same as any WordPress post, but there are a couple of WooCommerce-specific settings to know about.
Visibility – you can set a product to Public, Password Protected, or Private. Most products should be Public. Password Protected is handy if you want to create a product that’s only accessible to people who have the password (like a special offer for email subscribers).
Catalog visibility – this controls where the product appears on your site. The options are “Shop and search results” (default, shows everywhere), “Shop only” (shows in your shop but not in search results), “Search only” (shows in search results but not in your shop page), and “Hidden” (only accessible via direct link). Hidden is useful for products you only want available through a specific landing page or email link.
On the right side of the product editor (below the Publish box), you’ll see your taxonomy boxes. These are what organize your products so customers can browse and filter your shop. Every WooCommerce store has Product Categories and Product Tags by default, but you may also have custom taxonomies like Brands, Grade Levels, or Subjects.
Categories are the main taxonomy that organizes your shop. They show up in your shop navigation and on your site’s menu.
Best practice: assign each product to the most specific relevant category. Don’t pile on every category that could possibly apply. Pick 1 to 2 that genuinely fit. Categories are important for both shop navigation and SEO because category pages get indexed by Google too.
Tags are more granular, freeform descriptors. Think of them as the search terms a customer might type: specific skills, holidays, topics, standards, or whatever your buyers search for. You can type them in and separate with commas, or click “Choose from the most used tags” to pick from existing ones.
Tags also feed into related product suggestions, so using them consistently helps WooCommerce recommend the right products to your customers.
If your store has custom taxonomies set up (like Brands in the screenshot above), these work just like categories. Check the ones that apply to the product. Custom taxonomies are what I recommended earlier in the Attributes section for filtered navigation. They create their own archive pages, work great with filtering plugins, and are more SEO-friendly than attributes.
If you don’t have custom taxonomies yet but want them for your shop’s filtering and navigation, contact me and I can set them up!
If you’re using an SEO plugin (and you should be!), each product has its own SEO fields. These control how your product appears in Google search results.
Focus keyword/keyphrase – the main term you want the product to rank for.
SEO title – this can differ slightly from the product title. Include your keyword near the front and keep it under about 60 characters.
Meta description – think of this as your ad copy in search results. You get 150 to 160 characters to convince someone to click. Include your keyword and a call to action.
A note about chasing the green score: Do your best with the SEO fields, but please don’t drive yourself crazy trying to get every single indicator to turn green. These plugins are guides, not the law. Google is not going to penalize you because Rank Math gave you an 85 instead of a 100. Fill in the focus keyword, write a good SEO title and meta description, and move on. Your time is better spent creating great product descriptions and getting more products into your store than obsessing over one product’s SEO score.
You might see additional options listed on your products page – plugins can add data! Most are self explanatory but if you need me to cover something just reach out!
I do WooCommerce setup and product transfers for small business owners. If you want someone to handle the technical side so you can focus on your business, reach out!
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