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When it comes to building a successful WooCommerce store, customization is the key to standing out. While WooCommerce already provides a solid foundation for managing products, categories, and pricing, most online stores eventually need to display unique product information — something beyond standard title, price, and description. This is where custom fields come in.
Custom fields let you add extra details to your product pages — from manufacturer information, size guides, and delivery notes to personalization options or product specs. They don’t just enhance functionality; they also improve user experience by presenting more relevant and engaging content.
In this guide, we’ll explore how to add custom fields to WooCommerce product pages step by step. You’ll learn not only the technical process, but also the reasoning behind each step — how to decide what to show, where to show it, and how to make it fit naturally into your brand’s design and customer flow.
Before diving into code or plugins, it’s important to understand why custom fields matter so much in eCommerce. Customers today expect personalization and clarity. The more your product pages can communicate specific details, the easier it becomes for users to make confident purchase decisions.
Custom fields help you:
For example, if you sell handmade jewelry, a custom “Materials Used” field adds transparency. If you sell software, a “License Duration” field clarifies product scope. Each piece of additional data builds trust and improves the overall shopping experience.
WooCommerce is built on top of WordPress, which means it inherits WordPress’s flexible “meta” system — the same one that powers custom fields in posts and pages. In WooCommerce, every product is a “post type” called product, and each product can store additional metadata such as price, stock status, or shipping class.
When you add a custom field, you’re essentially attaching a new piece of metadata to a product. This metadata can then be displayed on the product page, cart, or even emails.
You can add custom fields in three main ways:
Each method serves a different purpose depending on your comfort level with WordPress customization and your long-term goals. Let’s explore each option in detail.
This is the most straightforward approach — ideal for quick edits or minor product information.
To begin:
While this method is simple, the limitation is that the field won’t appear automatically on the product page. You’ll need to edit your product template to display it.
You can insert it using a snippet like this in your theme’s single-product.php or content-single-product.php:
<?php
$material = get_post_meta(get_the_ID(), 'Product_Material', true);
if ($material) {
echo '<p><strong>Material:</strong> ' . esc_html($material) . '</p>';
}
?>
This code fetches the value and displays it neatly under your product summary. It’s clean, lightweight, and doesn’t rely on plugins — perfect for small customizations.
For more complex or design-friendly customization, plugins like Advanced Custom Fields make life easier. ACF provides a graphical interface to create custom field groups and decide where they appear.
Here’s how it works:
Now, whenever you edit a product, you’ll see your custom fields appear automatically.
To display these fields on the product page, you’ll use ACF’s built-in function:
<?php the_field('product_specifications'); ?>
Or, for more control:
<?php
$specs = get_field('product_specifications');
if ($specs) {
echo '<div class="product-specs">' . esc_html($specs) . '</div>';
}
?>
What makes ACF powerful is its flexibility. You can create structured data sets — like multiple images, lists, or repeatable fields — and display them elegantly.
For store owners who aren’t comfortable coding, ACF also integrates with page builders like Elementor or Gutenberg, allowing drag-and-drop field placement.
Sometimes, you don’t just want to display information — you want to collect it. For example, if you sell personalized mugs, T-shirts, or engraved jewelry, you may want a text box where customers can enter their name or message.
To do this, you’ll need a plugin that adds custom fields directly to the product form. One of the most popular is WooCommerce Product Add-Ons (by WooCommerce), though free alternatives like Product Add-Ons Ultimate or TM Extra Product Options also exist.
After installation:
Once configured, these fields appear on the product page, allowing customers to personalize their order. The entered data is saved and displayed in the cart, order summary, and admin panel — ensuring smooth fulfillment.
This method is especially useful for custom print shops, handmade goods, or any business offering made-to-order items.
If you want maximum flexibility without relying on plugins, you can manually register and display custom fields in your WooCommerce templates. This requires basic PHP and WordPress knowledge but provides the cleanest performance and full control.
Here’s a simple workflow:
Insert this code into your theme’s functions.php file:
add_action('woocommerce_product_options_general_product_data', 'add_custom_field');
function add_custom_field() {
woocommerce_wp_text_input(array(
'id' => '_custom_text_field',
'label' => __('Custom Note', 'woocommerce'),
'placeholder' => 'Enter additional product note',
'desc_tip' => true,
'description' => __('Add a short custom note for customers.', 'woocommerce'),
));
}
This adds a new field under the “General” tab in the Product Data section.
add_action('woocommerce_admin_process_product_object', 'save_custom_field');
function save_custom_field($product) {
if (isset($_POST['_custom_text_field'])) {
$product->update_meta_data('_custom_text_field', sanitize_text_field($_POST['_custom_text_field']));
}
}
add_action('woocommerce_single_product_summary', 'display_custom_field', 25);
function display_custom_field() {
global $product;
$custom_field = $product->get_meta('_custom_text_field');
if ($custom_field) {
echo '<p class="custom-field"><strong>Note:</strong> ' . esc_html($custom_field) . '</p>';
}
}
This snippet adds your field content below the product summary. You can adjust the hook priority (25) to move it up or down the page.
This approach gives developers the power to fully tailor the field’s logic, design, and placement — ideal for advanced use cases or performance-conscious stores.
Adding fields is only half the job; placement determines usability and conversion impact. Think about where the information feels most natural for the customer.
Here are some practical ideas:
You can control positioning through WooCommerce hooks such as:
Choosing the right hook ensures your custom fields feel integrated and intentional rather than tacked on.
Once your fields are functional, you’ll want them to look appealing. Design consistency builds trust and ensures customers can interact easily.
Use CSS to style field labels, borders, and spacing to match your brand’s theme. For example:
.custom-field {
background-color: #f9f9f9;
padding: 10px;
border-radius: 6px;
margin-top: 15px;
}
.custom-field strong {
color: #333;
}
Small touches like icons, subtle colors, or interactive tooltips can elevate the visual appeal. But be careful not to clutter your product page — clarity always trumps decoration.
For a seamless user experience, test on both desktop and mobile views, ensuring inputs are easy to read and navigate.
Custom fields can also strengthen your SEO and conversion strategy if used wisely. Google values structured product data, and extra information can help search engines better understand your offerings.
From a conversion perspective, test how custom fields affect engagement. Do they clarify value or overwhelm users? Sometimes, less is more — focus on adding fields that solve customer doubts or add emotional reassurance, not just data.
Even though adding custom fields is straightforward, there are pitfalls to watch for:
By avoiding these mistakes, your custom field strategy remains scalable and safe.
Adding custom fields to WooCommerce product pages opens up endless possibilities for personalization, clarity, and creativity. Whether you’re enhancing product information, gathering customer input, or improving design consistency, custom fields help you tell your product story more effectively.
You can choose a quick built-in solution, a flexible plugin like ACF, or manual coding for full control — what matters most is aligning each field with your customer’s journey. Every added detail should serve a purpose: informing, inspiring, or simplifying the decision to buy.
When done thoughtfully, custom fields turn your WooCommerce store into more than just a catalog — they transform it into a meaningful, intuitive, and emotionally engaging shopping experience.
