What’s changing?
In WooCommerce 9.5, we are rolling out an important update to our product grid system, which will be effective for all new stores. Following our announcement of the updates to our product grid system, we are soft-deprecating a set of product grid blocks and introducing their equivalents based on the Product Collection block. This change aims to provide a more flexible and powerful solution for merchants managing their stores.
Soft-deprecated (hidden) blocks and their new equivalents:
| Soft-deprecated (hidden) blocks | Exposed collection |
|---|---|
| All Products | Use Product Collection “create your own” to display all the products |
| Best Selling Products | Best Sellers |
| Handpicked Products | Hand-Picked Products |
| Newest Products | New Arrivals |
| On Sale Products | On Sale Products |
| Top Rated Products | Top Rated Products |
| Related Products (based on Query Loop) | Related Products |
| Products by Tag | Use Product Collection “create your own” and filter by tags |
| Products by Category | Use Product Collection “create your own” and filter by categories |
| Products by Attribute | Use Product Collection “create your own” and filter by attributes |
Additionally, we’ve exposed three new collections in the inserter:
- Featured Products
- Upsells
- Cross-Sells
The Related Products block, used in the Single Product template, has also been replaced with a Product Collection. This change will apply to both new and existing stores that have not yet modified the template. The replaced block will retain its settings, look, and feel.
What happens if you’re using the existing product grid blocks?
If you are already using the previous product grid blocks, they will continue to work as expected. However, for new product grids, you will now see the Product Collection Block in the inserter instead of the older product grid blocks.
Benefits of moving to the Product Collection Block:
- Performance Enhancement: The Product Collection Block enables fast loading with no full-page reloads (unless third-party blocks are used as inner blocks).
- Flexible Configuration: Greater control over layout, products per page, pagination, and the choice between grid/list views.
- Advanced Filtering Options: Apply a variety of filters, including Price Range, Categories, Tags, Attributes, and more.
- Control Over Inner Blocks: Edit layouts directly using blocks in the editor instead of relying on inspector controls.
- Active Development and Support: Ongoing updates and bug fixes, ensuring the block remains compatible and up-to-date.
What does “soft-deprecation” mean?
“Soft-deprecation” means we encourage you to begin using the newer Product Collection Block, but the older blocks will still function as they always have. This change hides the older blocks from the inserter, but they remain fully operational for your existing stores.
What about extensibility?
The Product Collection Block offers new extensibility points that differ from the previous blocks, but an equivalent to the older functionality exists. For a detailed comparison, refer to the Product Collection equivalents in the woocommerce_blocks_product_grid_item_html section in this GitHub discussion. You’ll find multiple scenarios and examples on how to extend collections, as well as the opportunity to join the conversation and share your extensibility needs.
In WooCommerce 9.4, we’ve also added a set of JS events to substitute actions previously emitted by product grid blocks, ensuring that the Product Collection Block covers all the features of the older product grids.
We’re excited to bring these improvements and encourage you to start exploring the Product Collection Block to take advantage of the new capabilities and enhancements. As always, we welcome your feedback as we continue to evolve the platform!
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