Breadcrumbs are a great tool for navigation assistance on any e-commerce site. They help users track their position within the site’s hierarchy, thus easing navigational tasks. WooCommerce supports the standard breadcrumb structure but also allows customization to support a more personalized user experience and to be much closer to your site’s design and branding. So, in this blog post, let’s go through how to customize WooCommerce breadcrumbs-from changing their design to modifying their functionality.
Table of Contents
ToggleWhat are Breadcrumbs?
A navigation tool that gives users a clue about how they ended up on a particular page. Typically placed at the top of the page, here’s what it commonly looks like in its most basic format:
- Home > Shop > Category > Product
This simple format provides much-needed context and allows visitors to find their way back easily.
Why customize WooCommerce breadcrumbs?
- Branding: Custom breadcrumbs can make it easier to identify your brand, and hence make your website seem more personalized and complete.
- User Experience: A good breadcrumb trail is user-friendly hence making your website easy to use and, therefore, easier to navigate for your customers in the store.
- Benefits of SEO: Custom breadcrumbs will enhance the SEO of your website since they apply targeted keywords and ensure proper page structure.
How to Customize WooCommerce Breadcrumbs
1. Using WooCommerce Settings
There are a few default settings in WooCommerce that will allow users to make minor changes to the breadcrumb text. To find them:
- Login to WordPress Dashboard.
- Under WooCommerce > Settings.
- Under the Products tab, select Display.
You can change the separator between the breadcrumb links and the display of product categories here. Serious changes will more likely require a small amount of code or a plugin.
2. Programmatically Modifying Breadcrumbs
If you are a developer who knows how to code, you can go to the functions.php file in your theme to modify breadcrumbs. This allows more complex changes, such as altering the structure or adding more items.
Example: Customizing the Breadcrumb Separator
To change the breadcrumb separator from a forward slash to an arrow, place the following code in your theme’s `functions.php` file:
3. Breadcrumb Customization using CSS
You can use CSS to change the style of breadcrumbs-or color, font, padding, etc.-but here’s how you can modify just the WooCommerce breadcrumbs:
- Go to Appearance > Customize in your WordPress dashboard.
- Click on Additional CSS.
- Add your styles. For example:
4. Using a Plugin for Additional Flexibility
That is, if coding’s not your cup of coffee, or you prefer more user-friendly approaches to things, there are lots of WooCommerce breadcrumb plugins that can help you tailor a design that’s custom and suitable to suit your need. So here are a few popular options:
- Yoast SEO: Yoast SEO plugin has more than just the many SEO benefits, you get through its settings to customize your breadcrumbs.
- WooCommerce Breadcrumbs: WooCommerce Breadcrumbs is dedicated to what it tries to do, such as providing advanced breadcrumb options without the need for coding.
- Custom Breadcrumbs: This is another plugin that will allow you to produce breadcrumbs with as much flexibility about where and how breadcrumbs can be used in a WordPress theme.
5. Testing and Optimization
Once you’ve implemented the changes, ensure they are not only functional but also visually appealing. Test your breadcrumbs on all sorts of devices and screen sizes. You may use Google Search Console to monitor effects within the SEO perspective.
Conclusion
Customizing WooCommerce breadcrumbs will add great usability and aesthetic appeal to your e-commerce site. Whether you have chosen to dive into the code or have opted for plugins, minute changes can make navigation easier for customers. Improved branding and navigation can ensure that it looks better and works better in the context of user engagement and SEO.
Take time, try them out, and customize breadcrumbs to fit your unique brand identity!
About Us
At Bloom, we specialize in WooCommerce development that will help in building strong, highly customizable online shops for businesses. Whether you’re launching a brand new website or enhancing your existing one, Bloom’s WooCommerce Development services contain the materials to increase customer engagement and drive sales.
We also provides WooCommerce SEO services. Our data-driven SEO solutions cater to businesses of all sizes, aiming to boost your online visibility and drive conversions.