Best WooCommerce Filter Plugin? - Filter Everything FREE

Summary

In this tutorial, Paul C from WP Tuts demonstrates how to enhance WooCommerce stores with the free 'Filter Everything' plugin, which enables extensive filtering and sorting options. The video covers plugin installation, configuration of filter sets for products, and customizing display options. It also shows integration with Elementor for adding filters to a product archive page and discusses the plugin's sorting capabilities, offering a hands-on guide for users seeking to improve product navigation on their sites.

Takeaways

• 🛍️ WooCommerce lacks a built-in feature for advanced filtering and sorting of products, which is addressed by the 'Filter Everything' plugin.
• 🆓 The 'Filter Everything' plugin is available in a free version, offering most of the needed functionalities for basic filtering and sorting.
• 💰 There is a Pro version of the plugin available for purchase on Code Canyon for those requiring additional features.
• 📦 The plugin is not limited to WooCommerce; it can be used to filter and sort various elements within a WordPress website, including custom post types and fields.
• 🔧 The plugin provides options to configure filter settings such as AJAX usage, mobile responsiveness, primary color, and filter container customization.
• 📝 Users can create filter sets to group multiple filters together, which can be applied to different parts of the website for organized and efficient filtering.
• 📱 The plugin allows for the setup of filter logic, display options (like checkboxes or radio buttons), and sorting preferences within the dashboard.
• 🔍 Filters can be applied to specific post types, such as products, and can utilize both built-in WooCommerce attributes and custom fields.
• 📈 Sorting options can be customized to include various criteria like meta keys, product ratings, and more, with the ability to set ascending or descending order.
• 📝 The script provides a step-by-step guide on how to install, configure, and use the 'Filter Everything' plugin within a WordPress site using Elementor or Gutenberg.
• 🎥 The video script is from Paul C of WP Tuts, offering tutorials on WordPress and related plugins, and encourages viewers to request more comprehensive guides if needed.

Q & A

What is the main issue discussed in the video regarding WooCommerce?

The main issue discussed is the lack of a built-in feature in WooCommerce to filter and sort products in a meaningful way.

What plugin is introduced in the video to address the filtering and sorting problem in WooCommerce?

The 'Filter Everything' plugin is introduced as a solution to add various filters and sorting options to WooCommerce stores.

Is the 'Filter Everything' plugin only for WooCommerce?

No, 'Filter Everything' is not limited to WooCommerce. It can be used to filter anything within a WordPress website, including custom post types and advanced custom fields.

Is there a paid version of the 'Filter Everything' plugin?

Yes, there is a pro version of the 'Filter Everything' plugin available on Code Canyon for a single site license at a cost of $40.

What are some of the features available in the free version of the 'Filter Everything' plugin?

The free version allows filtering by various attributes, including built-in WooCommerce options, custom fields, and supports AJAX for a better user experience.

How many active installs does the 'Filter Everything' plugin have at the time of the video recording?

At the time of recording, the plugin has over 400 active installs.

What is the recommended approach to testing the 'Filter Everything' plugin?

It is recommended to test the plugin on a development site rather than a live site to ensure it meets all requirements and functions as expected.

How can users configure the 'Filter Everything' plugin settings?

Users can configure the plugin settings by going to the dashboard, accessing the 'Filters' entry, and adjusting options such as AJAX usage, mobile settings, primary color, and filter container.

What is the process of creating a new filter set in the 'Filter Everything' plugin?

To create a new filter set, users should go to the 'Filter Sets' option, click on 'Add New', name the filter set, and then configure the filters they want to apply, including the post type and filter type.

How can users implement the 'Filter Everything' plugin filters on their website?

Users can implement the filters by adding the 'Filter Everything' widgets to their website using a page builder like Elementor or by using the sidebar function in their theme with the relevant widgets.

Does the 'Filter Everything' plugin support custom sorting options?

Yes, the plugin supports custom sorting options, allowing users to define and order products by various criteria such as title, price, or meta keys.

Outlines

00:00

🛍️ Enhancing WooCommerce Product Filtering

The video introduces the 'Filter Everything' plugin for WooCommerce, which allows users to add advanced filtering and sorting options to their online stores. The speaker explains that while the plugin is primarily showcased with WooCommerce, it can be used for filtering various elements across a WordPress site, including custom post types and fields. The free version of the plugin is highlighted, with a mention of a pro version available for purchase. The plugin's basic setup, including installation and activation, is discussed, along with an overview of its filtering capabilities and the initial configuration settings.

05:00

🔍 Configuring Filters and Sorting Options

This section delves into the detailed setup process of the 'Filter Everything' plugin, focusing on creating filter sets and configuring individual filters. The video script explains how to enable or disable AJAX, customize mobile settings, and adjust primary colors to match the site's design. It also covers the creation of URL variable names for filters, the grouping of filters, and the configuration options for each filter type, such as choosing between checkbox and radio button display styles, setting filter logic, and defining sort terms order. The paragraph concludes with the setup of a price-based filter using custom field numeric values.

10:02

📝 Implementing Filters on a WordPress Site

The speaker demonstrates how to implement the configured filters on a WordPress site using Elementor, although they clarify that it's not a requirement and Gutenberg or other methods can be used. They guide through the process of adding the 'Filter Everything' widget to a product archive template in Elementor, customizing its appearance, and testing the filters on the front end. The script also covers adding sorting options to the site, allowing users to sort products by various criteria such as title, price, or date. The video concludes with a call to action for viewers to request more comprehensive tutorials and to provide feedback if they found the content valuable.

Keywords

💡WooCommerce

WooCommerce is a free, open-source e-commerce plugin for WordPress. It allows users to create an online store and manage products and sales. In the video, WooCommerce is the platform where the 'Filter Everything' plugin is being demonstrated to add advanced filtering and sorting capabilities to product listings.

💡Filter Everything Plugin

The 'Filter Everything' plugin is a tool that extends the functionality of WordPress and WooCommerce, enabling users to create custom filters and sorting options for their content. The script discusses its free version and its ability to filter various elements, not just products, on a WordPress site.

💡Product Filtering

Product filtering refers to the ability to sort and search through products based on specific attributes such as categories, price, or custom fields. The video demonstrates how the 'Filter Everything' plugin can be used to add such functionality to a WooCommerce store, enhancing user experience by allowing customers to find products that match their criteria.

💡Custom Post Types

Custom post types are a feature in WordPress that allows developers to create new types of content beyond the default posts and pages. In the script, it is mentioned that the 'Filter Everything' plugin can be used to filter not just products, but also custom post types, providing a versatile tool for various content filtering needs.

💡Advanced Custom Fields

Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) is a popular WordPress plugin that allows users to add extra fields to their content types. The video mentions that the 'Filter Everything' plugin is compatible with ACF, meaning users can filter by these additional fields, expanding the range of attributes that can be used for filtering.

💡Ajax

Ajax, or Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, is a web development technique used to create interactive web applications. In the context of the video, Ajax is an option within the 'Filter Everything' plugin that can be enabled to allow for a smoother user experience by updating parts of the web page without reloading the entire page when filters are applied.

💡URL Variables

URL variables are parameters included in a URL that help to identify specific content or actions on a webpage. The script explains that the 'Filter Everything' plugin uses URL variables to store and retrieve filter settings, allowing users to bookmark or share filtered views of product listings.

💡Filter Logic

Filter logic refers to the rules that determine how multiple filters interact with each other. The video discusses how the plugin allows users to set the logic to 'AND' or 'OR', which affects how the filters combine to display results, providing flexibility in how users can search for products.

💡Elementor

Elementor is a popular page builder plugin for WordPress that allows users to design and customize their website's layout with a visual interface. In the script, Elementor is used to demonstrate how the 'Filter Everything' plugin's widgets can be added to a product archive page, showing how to integrate the plugin with page builders.

💡Custom Sorting Options

Custom sorting options allow users to order content based on specific criteria, such as price, date, or alphabetical order. The video shows how the 'Filter Everything' plugin can be used to add sorting functionality to a WooCommerce store, giving customers the ability to sort products in various ways to find what they are looking for more easily.

💡Meta Keys

In WordPress, meta keys are identifiers used to store custom data associated with posts or other content types. The script mentions using meta keys for filtering and sorting, such as using a meta key for product price to create a price filter, demonstrating how the plugin can leverage custom data for enhanced functionality.

Highlights

WooCommerce lacks a key feature for meaningful product filtering and sorting.

The video provides an overview and demo of the free 'Filter Everything' plugin for adding filters and sorting options to WooCommerce stores.

The 'Filter Everything' plugin is not limited to WooCommerce and can filter anything within a WordPress site, including custom post types and fields.

There is a Pro version of the plugin available for purchase on Code Canyon for those requiring advanced features.

The free version of the plugin offers most functionalities needed for basic filtering with zero budget.

The plugin allows filtering by various criteria, including built-in WooCommerce options and advanced custom fields.

As of the recording, the plugin has over 400 active installs and is recommended to be tested on a development site first.

The plugin settings include options for enabling/disabling AJAX, configuring mobile views, and setting primary colors.

URL variable names can be configured to represent specific parts of the filter within the URL.

Experimental features are available for testing on non-live sites, but are not recommended for production use without caution.

Filter sets can be created to group multiple filters together for different parts of a site.

Filters can be applied to post types such as products, and specific filter types can be configured within each set.

The plugin supports filtering by product categories and custom field numbers, with options for display and logic configuration.

Filter widgets can be added to a website using page builders like Elementor or by using theme widgets.

Custom sorting options can be added to the site, with the plugin offering predefined and customizable sort criteria.

The plugin allows for stacking filters and sorts to refine product displays on the site.

The video offers to create more comprehensive tutorials on using 'Filter Everything' if there is enough interest from viewers.

The presenter, Paul C, invites viewers to provide feedback and suggestions for future video content.

Transcripts

if there's one key feature missing from

woocommerce is the ability to filter and

sort your products in any meaningful

fashion

in today's video i'll give you a quick

overview and a demo of the free filter

everything plug-in and how you can

quickly and easily add all manner of

filters and sorting options to your

woocommerce stores

now while i concentrate on using

woocommerce for this example you are not

limited to only using that for your

filters filter everything as its name

would suggest allows you to filter

pretty much anything inside a wordpress

website so if you're using tools like

advanced custom fields creating custom

post types those kinds of things they're

all filterable

if you'd like a video on how to use this

plugin with custom post types and custom

metaphiles drop a comment below and if

enough people are interested i'll create

a video covering exactly that topic okay

so let's kick things off by checking out

the plugin we'll be using in today's

video

so first of all this is the filter

everything plug-in we're going to be

taking a look at this is the free

version there is a pro version available

and that's available over on code canyon

for 40 for a single site license however

today let's just stick with the free

version so this gives us most of what we

should need to do most things okay so

plugin gives us the ability to filter

and filter by lots of different things

so we can use normal built-in

woocommerce tools and options you know

sizes and things like that but you can

also use it with advanced custom fields

and so on so really really useful if you

want to have a lot of filtering options

available and you have zero budget now

at the time of recording this there's

only currently about 400 plus active

installs so you can take that for what

it's worth i would recommend testing it

out on a development site

not on a live site just to make sure it

does everything you want and does it the

way that you want it to okay so that's

what we're going to be taking a look at

let's take a look at how we actually

start using it

now we've seen the plugin and that

there's a premium version available

let's move on to actually seeing how the

plugin works and what options we have to

configure and customize things so simply

go over to the option to add a new

filter search for filter everything and

then go ahead download install and

activate it once installed and activated

you're going to have a new entry inside

your dashboard for filters and inside

there you've got three different sets of

options let's quickly take a look at the

settings to make sure everything is

configured the way that we want it to

and see kind of some of the things that

are available to us inside here okay so

we can go ahead and we can enable or

disable ajax inside you so if you find

that you are wanting to just problem

solve there's any kind of issues then

you can just leave ajax disabled and

make sure your filters are working

before you go ahead and set up the ajax

option

we'll come back to take a look at that

in a little bit but inside here you can

set up how things work on mobile devices

you can set up your primary color to

make sure it matches with your site

design filter container those kinds of

things so nothing too exciting inside

you just kind of things that you'd want

to set up to make sure it all configured

correctly inside your url variable names

this is where you can see a list of all

the different url variables i'll come

back to these variables in a moment once

we start to set up our filters but

basically all they are is what you

include inside the url for a specific

part of your filter so this c for

example is working for categories so

that's all it can really means

experimental gives us some extra options

inside you which are things that you

might want to test out on a test site

but not on a live site so again take

these for what they are and try them if

you want to we're going to leave those

as they are and we're going to go over

to the filter sets option and this is

where you can create your grouped

filters now you can see i've created one

called wc filters for the woocommerce

install that we're currently using i'll

trash that for now and we'll start with

a completely fresh one now these are

just basically ways of grouping multiple

filters together into one little

grouping so you may be using different

filter sets on different parts of your

site and you can create those and group

them together for ease of use

so we can create a new filter set or we

can just go ahead and click on add new

both will do exactly the same thing so

let's click on add filter set and now

we're going to do is going to give this

a name we're going to call this filters

and underneath that we can go ahead now

and we can set up the filter or filters

that we want where we want them to apply

to and then we can go through the

different settings and so on you see

some things inside you are restricted to

the pro version but again for most use

cases for

most users you won't need to worry too

much about that okay so the first thing

we've got is the post type filter what

is it going to apply to expand that out

you can see we've got post page or

product for this example we're going to

choose product once we do that we can

now go ahead and add a filter and then

inside there we can now choose what type

of filter this is and we can configure

it to do what we want so the first thing

we're going to do is give this a name so

we're going to just call this categories

filter by and this is where we can

choose what we want the filter to apply

to so again because we're working with

products and product categories we're

going to come down and choose that

option from here but you can see there

are lots of options including custom

fields custom field numbers and if you

want custom field exists so you want to

check that for example then that's a pro

only feature but we're going to choose

product categories you can then see the

var name for url or variable name for

the url this is pre-filled out with the

c in this example because i've already

gone ahead and tested things out so now

this has been associated with the

categories we'll take a look at creating

another different filter inside your

which won't have the variable name

associated with it just so you can see

how that works next step you're going to

see how do you want this actual widget

to be displayed let's expand that and

you can see we can choose between

checkbox radio buttons and so on

checkbox is perfectly fine for this

because we may have lots of different

categories but if you wanted to change

that choose whatever you want now you

can leave it there if you want to or you

can click to expand the more options and

this gives you as its name would suggest

more options so now you can go ahead and

choose the filter logic so you can set

this to be and or so you may want to

stack these in a different way

you can also go ahead and set up the

sort terms by so you can set this by

ascending post count terms id so once

there's lots of different orders inside

their view all the options in there you

can exclude terms if you want to so you

can see we can just totally strip out

any categories you may not want to

actually include inside here and you've

also got things like folding show

selected show hierarchy and a tool tip

so you can configure those as you want

to in any way you're not sure you've got

a little help symbol it'll tell you what

this actually means okay so we'll just

leave that as it is we'll choose the

less options and we'll leave it to the

default if we scroll down then you can

see we have some options available to us

as the settings that are not part of the

pro so we can say hide empty terms and

show count entirely up to you how you'd

want to set those up i'll leave them as

they are for now okay so there's our

first of our different filters now we

can go ahead and add another one in so

this time let's create a different kind

of filter let's say we want to set this

to be a price based filter so we'll just

say price filter by now because we're

dealing with woocommerce we're going to

be using a custom field numeric so we'll

choose that from the custom fields

option and you see this now opens up the

option for the meta key if we open this

you can see all of the different meta

keys that are available as part of the

site based upon the theme any plugins

you may have installed those kinds of

things we're going to search for price

and you can see this gives us a range of

different types so we could do price

include tax regular price sale price so

on we can simply choose the option for

price you can see the variable name for

url so again we can put something inside

here so you might want to just put a

single letter price whatever you kind of

want to put in for this example we'll

just put in something like max

underscore price and you can see it

defaults to put in the range as an

option as the only option available

inside you because we are dealing with

the price side of things so again you've

got your more options if you want to

open this up and configure anything

slightly differently the number of steps

this particular slide is going to go up

and down so if you have larger values

like properties for example you may want

to win thousands or tens of thousands

you can set that up inside you as well

we'll go ahead and leave those as they

are and we'll just go ahead and save our

filter set so we'll click on publish

provided everything is in place

it will set things up for us okay so now

we've created our first set of filters

[Music]

now the next step is to see how we can

add these filters to our website in this

example i'll be using elementor but you

absolutely do not need to use it you can

just as easily add the exact same

filters into your website by using the

sidebar function in your theme of choice

and adding the relevant widgets directly

inside there

okay so let's just fire up elementor and

see how we can start adding in our

custom filters so for this part i've

already gone ahead and created a product

archive template inside elementor so

let's go ahead and start adding in our

filters now you don't need to use

elementor you can just use ordinary

gutenberg if you want to okay so this is

the design we're currently working with

i've disabled any kind of filtering any

kind of sorting anything like that this

is just literally showing the archive of

products nothing more so let's simply

come over to our widgets and we're going

to search for filter everything and you

can see inside there we've got three

different widgets we can drop in and

this is exactly the same if you use in

the normal gutenberg editor and you're

using it part of your theme with the

widgets you'll have these same options

inside there as well so we're going to

do first of all is drop in the filters

option so we're going to drag that into

the left hand column and inside there

you can see this now just pre-fills this

up with some basic info we can put a

title in if we want to so for example

filters and we can also specify whether

you want to show the little chips which

is basically the reset and those kinds

of things and we want to show to show

the number of posts found for any

particular given product section we'll

disable both of those and we'll simply

hit update and go and take a look at

this on our site and here's our short

page with our two filters in place you

can see there's our category filter and

also our price filter and you can see

this is pre-filled out based upon the

prices that are available as part of

your woocommerce store automatically

done for you now you only seen this edit

filter set because i'm logged in as an

administrator users won't see this so

you can see we can easily just come in

and adjust the pricing this will then

update the filter and show us only the

ones that fit into that pricing

structure and if we want to we can say

we only want a few plans inside that

pricing structure and they stack on top

of each other pretty cool as what you'd

expect from a typical kind of filtering

setup you'll also notice we get these

little sort of sections at the top that

allow us to see exactly what's going on

and we can cancel any of these filters

by simply clicking on the x to close

that down and then it will retain the

rest of the filter there for us all we

need to go ahead and click on reset all

to clear all those filters and give us

everything back

[Music]

filtering is great but it'll also be

useful to be able to add in our own

custom sorting options can this plugin

do it let's take a look let's go back

and do a search inside here for filter

everything again and this time we're

going to grab the option for filter

everything sorting we'll just pop that

above our actual content and you see

what this does now is this will load in

a set of different predefined filters so

default sort in alphabetical reversal

first and so on and again you can give

this a title if you want to but all of

these are totally editable you can

remove anything you don't want and add

new things in and reorder if you want to

so you may say you want your title

alphabetical to be first simply drag

that into position and that will update

if we click to expand this out you can

see we can adjust the title we can

choose the order by and inside there

there are lots of different options

including things like meta keys meta key

numeric product ratings those kinds of

things so you should have most things

that you need for most stores inside

there and you can see we can also set

them to be ascending or descending so

lots of options and if you want to add

more inside here you can simply click to

add more give it a name follow all this

information and just fill that out we'll

delete that for now and we'll simply hit

update on there and we'll pop back over

to the front end of the site and take a

look now with the filtering in place so

let's refresh our page and there's our

filter option you can see default

sorting is the first option but if we

click to expand that we can change this

to by title by reverse order oldest

first and so on so let's say

alphabetical and you can see that now is

in alphabetical order if we come back up

and we say we want to set this to be

something like the oldest first you can

see the order now updates to show us the

oldest added product and again you can

still go ahead and you can stack these

filters on top of the sorts as well so

we can set this to be plants for example

and now we're seeing the oldest first

only looking at plants so at the moment

there's these six products inside you so

everything you'd kind of need to set up

these filters to set these sorts and

everything inside this plugin now if

you'd like to see a more comprehensive

tutorial on using filter everything let

me know in the comment section below now

if you've got value from this video

please feel free to hit that thumbs up

button as it really does help me out my

name is paul c this is wp tuts and until

next time

take care