How to Show WooCommerce Related Products? Updated for 2026

Every customer who lands on your product page is an opportunity — not just for that one sale, but for more. The problem is, most WooCommerce stores leave that opportunity sitting on the table because they either haven’t set up related products at all, or they’re relying on WooCommerce’s default behavior without realizing how limited it is.

This guide covers everything you need to show related products in WooCommerce — what they are, the three types you can use, how to set them up with WooCommerce’s built-in options, and how to go further with the Related Products for WooCommerce plugin by WebToffee.

Related products are product suggestions displayed to customers based on what they’re currently viewing or have in their cart. Think of it like walking into a coffee shop — you came for coffee, but right next to the register you notice cream, sugar, a nice mug, and a bag of beans. Without planning to, you leave with more than you came for.

That’s exactly what related products do in a WooCommerce store. They surface items that are relevant to what the customer is already interested in, making it easier to discover more and spend more — without feeling pushed.

WooCommerce supports related products in three different ways, each serving a slightly different purpose. Most successful stores use all three at once.

1. Category and Tag-Based Related Products

The simplest form of related products. WooCommerce automatically surfaces other products that share the same category or tag as the product being viewed — no manual linking required.

For example, if a customer is looking at a tent, WooCommerce might automatically suggest other products in the “Camping” category — sleeping bags, lanterns, or camp cookware.

These are useful for helping shoppers discover more of your catalog. They’re not as targeted as upsells or cross-sells, but because they generate automatically, they work even if you never manually link a single product.

2. Cross-Sells

Cross-sells are complementary products that pair naturally with what the customer is already buying. This is the WooCommerce equivalent of Amazon’s “Frequently Bought Together” section.

If a customer is buying a camera, a cross-sell might be an SD card, a camera bag, or a lens cleaning kit. The customer was going to need those things anyway; you’re just surfacing them at the right moment.

Cross-sells need to be set up manually. WooCommerce doesn’t generate them automatically.

3. Upsells

Upsells recommend a better, higher-value version of the product the customer is viewing, or a premium alternative. If someone is looking at a basic laptop, showing them a higher-spec model at a slightly higher price is an upsell.

The goal isn’t to make them spend more for the sake of it; it’s to help them find the version that actually fits their needs. Done right, upsells improve both revenue and customer satisfaction.

The reverse, which is recommending a more affordable option to a customer who might abandon due to price, is called a downsell. This is particularly useful for reducing cart abandonment on high-ticket items.

Like cross-sells, upsells require manual setup.

Can You Use All Three Types at Once?

Yes, and most stores should. It’s common to see category-based related products, upsells, and cross-sells all running on the same store simultaneously. Each type serves a different moment in the customer journey, so they complement rather than compete with each other.

• Increases average order value (AOV): Customers who click on related product suggestions consistently spend more per order. Some estimates put conversion rate increases from related product suggestions at up to 70%.
• Improves product discovery: Many customers won’t browse beyond the product they came for. Related products surface items they didn’t know you stocked.
• Reduces cart abandonment: A well-placed cross-sell or downsell gives hesitant buyers a reason to stay and purchase rather than leave empty-handed.
• Helps move slow inventory: Pairing a slow-moving product as a cross-sell or related product with a bestseller is one of the fastest ways to clear stock without discounting.
• Keeps shoppers engaged longer: The more relevant suggestions you surface, the longer customers stay in your store — and the higher your conversion rate.

WooCommerce includes built-in upsell and cross-sell functionality through the Linked Products tab. Here’s how to set it up.

Step 1: Open the Product

Go to Products > All Products in your WordPress dashboard. Click on the product you want to add recommendations to.

Step 2: Go to Linked Products

Scroll down to the Product data section and click on the Linked Products tab.

You’ll see two fields:

• Upsells — products to recommend on the product page
• Cross-sells — products to recommend on the cart page

Step 3: Add Related Products

Start typing a product name in the relevant field. Select it from the suggestions that appear. You can add multiple products to each field.

Remember:

• Upsells should be similar to the current product but higher value or better spec
• Cross-sells should complement the current product — things the customer would logically buy alongside it

Step 4: Save & Publish the Product

Click Update to save.

Your upsells will now appear on the product page, and cross-sells will appear on the cart page.

The Downside of WooCommerce’s Default Related Products

The built-in setup covers the basics, but it has real limitations:

• Category and tag-based related products are theme-dependent — not all themes display them, and you can’t always control where or how they appear
• No ability to create custom related product rules beyond manual product-by-product linking
• No global configuration — if you have hundreds of products, manual linking doesn’t scale
• Limited control over how many products display, in what order, or in what layout

For anything beyond the basics, you need a plugin.

How to Show Custom Related Products with the Related Products for WooCommerce Plugin

The Related Products for WooCommerce plugin by WebToffee is a free plugin that gives you full control over related product recommendations — globally or per product, by category, subcategory, tag, or custom selection.

Installing the Plugin

1. Go to Plugins > Add New in your WordPress admin dashboard
2. Search for Related Products for WooCommerce
3. Click Install Now, then Activate

Show WooCommerce Related Products by Category

Case 1: Show Category-Based Related Products on All Product Pages (Global)

This sets a global rule — every product page will automatically recommend other products from the same category.

1. Go to WooCommerce > Related Products
2. Set the working mode to Custom related products
3. Under Display products from, select Category
4. Sort the related products by your preferred criteria — Popularity, Price, etc.
5. Choose the display order — ascending or descending
6. Check the Slider option if you want products to display in a slider format
7. Set the number of products to display per page
8. Click Save Changes

This adds a Related Products section to all product pages, automatically populated with items from the same category as the main product.

Case 2: Show Category-Based Related Products on Individual Product Pages (Local)

If you want to override the global setting for specific products:

1. Go to Products > All Products and open the product you want to edit
2. Click on Linked Products in the Product data widget
3. In the Categories field, add the categories whose products should appear as recommendations

Only products belonging to the specified categories will show as related products for that item.

Show WooCommerce Related Products by Subcategory

The plugin also lets you relate products within specific subcategories — either globally or per product.

Case 1: Add Related Products by Subcategory to All Product Pages

To relate products by subcategory globally, insert the following code snippet into the functions.php file of your active theme:

Case 2: Add Related Products by Subcategory on Individual Product Pages

1. Go to Products > All Products and open the product
2. Click on Linked Products in the Product data widget
3. In the Categories field, add the specific subcategories you want to relate to this product

Only products in the specified subcategory will appear in the related products widget for that item.

This is how a related products widget with products belonging to a specific category or subcategory will look like.

Similarly, this plugin helps you to recommend related products based on the same attributes.

How to Remove or Disable Related Products in WooCommerce

There are cases where you’d want to turn off related product suggestions — to reduce distractions on a high-converting product page, for example, or to focus attention on a specific upsell instead.

If you’re using the Related Products for WooCommerce plugin:

1. Go to WooCommerce > Related Products in your WordPress dashboard
2. Locate the Disable recommendation option and toggle it on
3. Click Save Changes

Related product suggestions will no longer appear on product pages.

1. Keep It Relevant

The single most important factor in related product performance is relevance. A customer browsing a laptop should see laptop bags, cooling pads, or monitors — not phone cases. Irrelevant suggestions get ignored and can undermine trust. Use category, tag, or attribute-based rules to keep recommendations on point.

2. Use a Plugin for Scale

Manual linking works for small catalogs. Once you have more than a few dozen products, a plugin like WooCommerce Product Recommendations lets you automate recommendations globally so you’re not managing product links one by one.

3. Prioritize Placement

Where your related products appear matters as much as what they show. Upsells perform best near the “Add to Cart” button. Cross-sells on the cart page catch customers who’ve already committed to buying. Category-based recommendations work well below the product description for discovery. Test placement before assuming any default position is optimal.

4. Limit the Number of Recommendations

Three to six related products are the sweet spot for most stores. More than that creates decision fatigue, and customers end up clicking nothing. A focused set of highly relevant items consistently outperforms a large grid of loosely related ones.

5. Highlight Offers and Bundles

Labels like “Frequently Bought Together,” “Bundle & Save,” or “Complete the Look” make related product sections feel curated rather than algorithmic. If you’re offering a bundle discount, make it visible — customers are more likely to act on a related product if there’s a clear financial incentive.

6. Use High-Quality Images and Consistent Design

Related product sections that look like an afterthought get treated like one. Use the same image quality and aspect ratio as your main product images. Keep button styles and font sizes consistent with your product page design. A polished related products section builds trust and increases clicks.

7. Test and Optimize

Run A/B tests on your related product section titles — “You Might Also Like” vs. “Customers Also Bought” vs. “Complete Your Purchase” can produce meaningfully different click rates. Test layouts (grid vs. slider), number of products, and placement. Monitor which recommendations actually lead to additional purchases in WooCommerce Analytics and adjust accordingly.

8. Personalize Where Possible

If you’re using tools that support customer-specific data, tailor suggestions based on browsing history or past purchases. Personalized recommendations convert significantly better than generic ones — even small stores can approximate this by setting category-level rules that reflect what returning customers typically browse.

Related products are one of the most effective tools in a WooCommerce store — not because they’re complicated, but because they’re present at exactly the right moment in the customer’s journey. A well-placed upsell, a relevant cross-sell on the cart page, or a category-based recommendation below the product description can meaningfully increase your average order value without any additional advertising spend.

Start with WooCommerce’s built-in Linked Products setup, then use the Related Products for WooCommerce plugin to scale globally and add category-based logic that works across your entire catalog.

Have questions about setting up related products in your store? Drop them in the comments below.