Here is a rewritten version of the article, maintaining the original meaning while improving clarity and flow:

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🗓️ May 13, 2025
✍️ By Larassatti D.

A Beginner’s Guide to WooCommerce Hooks: How to Customize Your Store Without Editing Core Files

WooCommerce is a powerful eCommerce plugin for WordPress, known for its flexibility and customizability. One of the key features that makes this possible is the use of hooks — small pieces of code that allow you to add or change functionality without modifying the core plugin files.

In this article, we’ll explore what WooCommerce hooks are, why they’re useful, and how you can use them to enhance your online store. We’ll also walk through a few practical examples to help you get started.

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What Are WooCommerce Hooks?

WooCommerce hooks are predefined points in the code that allow developers to “hook into” the plugin’s functionality. This means you can run custom code at specific times, such as when a product page loads, a cart is updated, or an order is processed.

There are two main types of WooCommerce hooks:

– 🔧 Action Hooks – These execute a custom function at a specific point. For example, you can display a message when an order is completed using the woocommerceorderstatus_completed hook.
– 🧪 Filter Hooks – These allow you to modify data before it’s displayed or saved. For instance, you can use woocommercegetprice to adjust pricing dynamically.

To use these hooks, you write a callback function and register it using either addaction() or addfilter(), depending on the type of hook.

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Why Use WooCommerce Hooks?

While WooCommerce offers extensive customization options, editing core plugin files is not recommended — updates will overwrite your changes. Hooks provide a safe and efficient way to customize your store without risking compatibility issues.

Benefits of using WooCommerce hooks:

– Maintain customizations during plugin updates.
– Avoid using too many third-party plugins.
– Improve performance with lightweight custom code.
– Package your customizations into a plugin for reuse or resale.

Here are a few use cases:

– Add banners or notices to product pages.
– Customize checkout fields.
– Apply dynamic pricing or discounts.
– Send custom emails after orders.
– Show conditional messages in the cart or checkout.
– Load scripts only on specific pages.

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How to Use WooCommerce Hooks

Let’s break down the process of using hooks into three steps:

1. Identify the Right Hook

To find the right hook for your needs:

– Browse the official WooCommerce Hook Reference.
– Search WooCommerce plugin files for addaction() or addfilter().
– Use the Query Monitor plugin to inspect active hooks.
– Refer to visual hook guides like Business Bloomer’s for page-specific hooks.

2. Write a Callback Function

Here’s an example that displays a message above the checkout form:

php
function custom_checkout_notice() {
    echo '
Free shipping on orders over $50!
';
}
add_action('woocommerce_before_checkout_form', 'custom_checkout_notice');

3. Add the Code to Your Site

You can insert your hook in one of three ways:

– 🧾 functions.php – Add the code to your theme’s functions.php file. Use a child theme to avoid losing changes during updates.
– 🔌 Code Snippets Plugin – Use plugins like WPCode or Code Snippets to manage your custom code without touching theme files.
– 🧩 Custom Plugin – Create your own plugin for better organization and portability.

To create a custom plugin:

1. Go to public_html → wp-content → plugins.
2. Create a new folder and a PHP file inside it.
3. Add a plugin header and insert your custom code.
4. Save the file and activate the plugin from your WordPress dashboard.

⚠️ Note: If you’re using a block-based theme with the Site Editor (Gutenberg), some PHP-based hooks may not work. Use shortcode versions of WooCommerce pages instead.

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Common WooCommerce Hooks

Here are some frequently used hooks, grouped by page type:

Product Page

– woocommercebeforesingle_product – Before product content.
– woocommercesingleproduct_summary – Inside the product summary.
– woocommerceaftersingle_product – After all product content.

Shop & Archive Pages

– woocommercebeforemain_content – Before the product grid.
– woocommerceshoploopitemtitle – Around product titles.
– woocommerceaftershoploopitem – After each product box.

Cart Page

– woocommercebeforecart – Before the cart form.
– woocommercecartcontents – Inside each cart item.
– woocommerceaftercart_totals – After cart totals.

Checkout Page

– woocommercebeforecheckout_form – Before checkout starts.
– woocommercecheckoutafterorderreview – After order review.
– wo