How to Modify WooCommerce Templates

This guide will walk you through how to safely and effectively modify WooCommerce templates without breaking your site or affecting future updates. WooCommerce provides a powerful emplaning system that allows developers to customize the appearance and functionality of online stores. If you need to modify WooCommerce templates while ensuring compatibility with future updates, follow this guide.

1. Understanding WooCommerce Template Structure

WooCommerce templates are stored in the plugin directory:

wp-content/plugins/WooCommerce/templates/

These files control the display of various elements such as emails, cart pages, checkout pages, and product details.

2. Overriding WooCommerce Templates

To safely modify a template, copy the file to your theme rather than edit the core plugin files.

Steps to override:

1. Locate the template file you want to edit in the WooCommerce plugin directory.

2. Copy the file to your theme inside the following directory:

wp-content/themes/your-child-theme/WooCommerce/

3. Modify the copied file as needed.

3. Example: Customizing the Customer New Account Email Template

Suppose we would like to modify the customer-new-account.php email template. The default file is located in:

wp-content/plugins/WooCommerce/templates/emails/customer-new-account.php

Steps to Customize:

1. Copy the template to your theme:

wp-content/themes/your-child-theme/WooCommerce/emails/customer-new-account.php

2. Open the copied file and modify it. Below is an updated version that includes a custom welcome message and a password reset link:

<?php

/**

* Customer new account email

* @package WooCommerce\Templates\Emails

* @version 9.7.0

use Automattic\WooCommerce\Utilities\FeaturesUtil;

defined( 'ABSPATH' ) || exit;

$email_improvements_enabled = FeaturesUtil::feature_is_enabled( 'email_improvements' );

do_action( 'woocommerce_email_header', $email_heading, $email ); ?>

<?php echo $email_improvements_enabled ? '<div class="email-introduction">' : ''; ?>

<p><?php printf(

esc_html__( 'Welcome to %1$s! Your username is %2$s. You can access your account here: %3$s', 'woocommerce' ),

esc_html( $blogname ),

'<strong>' . esc_html( $user_login ) . '</strong>',

'<a href="' . esc_url( wc_get_page_permalink( 'myaccount' ) ) . '">' . esc_html__( 'My Account', 'woocommerce' ) . '</a>'

); ?></p>

<?php if ( 'yes' === get_option( 'woocommerce_registration_generate_password' ) && $password_generated && isset( $set_password_url ) ) : ?>

<?php endif; ?>

<?php echo $email_improvements_enabled ? '</div>' : ''; ?>

<?php

do_action( 'woocommerce_email_footer', $email );

<?php /** * Customer new account email * * @package WooCommerce\Templates\Emails * @version 9.7.0 */ use Automattic\WooCommerce\Utilities\FeaturesUtil; defined( 'ABSPATH' ) || exit; $email_improvements_enabled = FeaturesUtil::feature_is_enabled( 'email_improvements' ); do_action( 'woocommerce_email_header', $email_heading, $email ); ?> <?php echo $email_improvements_enabled ? '<div class="email-introduction">' : ''; ?> <p><?php printf( esc_html__( 'Hi %s,', 'woocommerce' ), esc_html( $user_login ) ); ?></p> <p><?php printf( esc_html__( 'Welcome to %1$s! Your username is %2$s. You can access your account here: %3$s', 'woocommerce' ), esc_html( $blogname ), '<strong>' . esc_html( $user_login ) . '</strong>', '<a href="' . esc_url( wc_get_page_permalink( 'myaccount' ) ) . '">' . esc_html__( 'My Account', 'woocommerce' ) . '</a>' ); ?></p> <?php if ( 'yes' === get_option( 'woocommerce_registration_generate_password' ) && $password_generated && isset( $set_password_url ) ) : ?> <p><a href="<?php echo esc_url( $set_password_url ); ?>"><?php esc_html_e( 'Click here to set your new password.', 'woocommerce' ); ?></a></p> <?php endif; ?> <?php echo $email_improvements_enabled ? '</div>' : ''; ?> <?php do_action( 'woocommerce_email_footer', $email ); ?>

<?php
/**
 * Customer new account email
 *
 * @package WooCommerce\Templates\Emails
 * @version 9.7.0
 */

use Automattic\WooCommerce\Utilities\FeaturesUtil;

defined( 'ABSPATH' ) || exit;

$email_improvements_enabled = FeaturesUtil::feature_is_enabled( 'email_improvements' );

do_action( 'woocommerce_email_header', $email_heading, $email ); ?>

<?php echo $email_improvements_enabled ? '<div class="email-introduction">' : ''; ?>

<p><?php printf( esc_html__( 'Hi %s,', 'woocommerce' ), esc_html( $user_login ) ); ?></p>

<p><?php printf(
    esc_html__( 'Welcome to %1$s! Your username is %2$s. You can access your account here: %3$s', 'woocommerce' ),
    esc_html( $blogname ),
    '<strong>' . esc_html( $user_login ) . '</strong>',
    '<a href="' . esc_url( wc_get_page_permalink( 'myaccount' ) ) . '">' . esc_html__( 'My Account', 'woocommerce' ) . '</a>'
); ?></p>

<?php if ( 'yes' === get_option( 'woocommerce_registration_generate_password' ) && $password_generated && isset( $set_password_url ) ) : ?>
    <p><a href="<?php echo esc_url( $set_password_url ); ?>"><?php esc_html_e( 'Click here to set your new password.', 'woocommerce' ); ?></a></p>
<?php endif; ?>

<?php echo $email_improvements_enabled ? '</div>' : ''; ?>

<?php
do_action( 'woocommerce_email_footer', $email );
?>

This modified template:

1) Adds a personalized welcome message.

2) Includes a password reset link.

3) Ensures security using proper escaping functions.

4. Best Practices for Modifications

1) Always Use a Child Theme: Directly modifying WooCommerce core files will be overwritten in updates.

2) Follow WooCommerce Hooks: Instead of modifying templates directly, use action and filter hooks where possible.

3) Test Changes: Before deploying, test on a staging site to ensure your modifications work as expected.

4) Check for WooCommerce Updates: When WooCommerce updates templates, compare your custom templates with the new versions to maintain compatibility.

Conclusion:

By following this guide, you can confidently modify WooCommerce templates without risking future updates breaking your changes. For advanced customizations, consider using WooCommerce hooks and filters instead of directly modifying template files.