How to Set Up Related Products in WooCommerce: 5 Different Methods 

Are your customers buying just one item and checking out?

You’re not alone. Most WooCommerce stores struggle to get shoppers to add more to their carts during the buying process.

The real fix is showing relevant related products, something many stores overlook.

We’ve seen how smart product recommendations can turn casual shoppers into higher spenders. In fact, upselling with related products can boost revenue by up to 35%, according to Forrester Research.

In this post, we’ll walk you through practical ways to set up WooCommerce related products and increase your average order value.

What Are WooCommerce Related Products?

WooCommerce related products are product recommendations shown to shoppers at various stages of the buying process to boost order value. These suggestions improve customer experience and increase sales.

There are generally three types of related products in WooCommerce:

1. Cross-sells
Cross-sells are complementary products that go well with the item a customer is buying.
For example, if a customer adds a laptop to their cart, you can suggest a wireless mouse, laptop sleeve, or external hard drive as a cross-sell.

2. Upsells
Upsells are higher-end or upgraded alternatives to the product a customer is currently viewing. These encourage customers to buy a more premium version.
For instance, if a customer is viewing a $500 basic laptop, you might show a $750 laptop with a better processor as an upsell.

3. Related products
These are products WooCommerce automatically displays based on shared categories or tags. They are system-generated and not manually selected.
For example, if a customer is browsing a cotton summer dress, WooCommerce might display other dresses or similar outfits from the same category.

Offering related products in your WooCommerce store helps:

• Increase average order value
• Improve user experience
• Boost product discovery
• Reduce cart abandonment
• Encourage repeat purchases by personalizing the shopping journey

How to Set Up Related Products in WooCommerce? 

Setting up related product recommendations can significantly increase your WooCommerce store’s revenue by encouraging customers to add more items. WooCommerce offers basic settings for this, but additional plugins can expand your options.

Here are different ways you can set up related products across your WooCommerce store:

Among these methods, the first two (Product Page and Cart Page) can be set up using WooCommerce’s default options. For the rest, you will need additional plugins.

In the following section, we explain how to set up related products using each method.

Method 1: Show Upsell and Related Items On Product Page in WooCommerce 

By default, WooCommerce automatically displays related products on the product page based on shared categories and tags.  

Plus, you can manually set Upsell products for each product that will show up as related products of a single product page under the heading “You may also like.”

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to show related products on the WooCommerce product page: 

Step 1: Organize products by categories

From the WordPress Dashboard, navigate to Products ⇒ All Products. Click Edit under the product you want to modify. 

In the Product Categories panel (on the right, select a category that matches other related products.

Step 2: Add tags to your products

On the same product editing page, find the Tags section. Add relevant tags that describe the product (e.g., "t-shirt," "men's clothing," etc.). 

Ensure the tags are consistent with other products you want to link as related.

Step 3: Add upsells

Scroll down to the “Linked Products” section, and under Upsells, search and add the products you want to show up as related products under the “You may also like” section on the product page for that specific product.

Step 4: Save settings and check related products on the product page

After configuring the settings. Click Update to save your changes. Open the product page on your site (front end).

Scroll down to the "Related Products" section below the main product details.

Products here will share at least one category or tag with the current product.

Method 2: Show Cross-Sell Products On the Cart Page 

On the Cart page, WooCommerce shows the cross-sell items of the products that users have added to their cart. 

Here are the steps you need to follow to show related products on the cart page in WooCommerce.

Step 1: Set cross-sell products

As mentioned earlier, in WooCommerce, related products on the cart page are referred to as cross-sells. So, first, you need to set the cross-sell products. 

To edit any product, scroll to the Product Data section and ensure you are on the Linked Products tab.

Now, search and add the cross-sell items. 

Step 2: Update the products 

After adding Cross-Sells, ensure that the product changes are updated. Cross-sell products will now be linked to the main product and appear on the cart page.

Step 3: Test the cart page

Add the product to the cart and go to the Cart Page.

The cross-sell product should show up below the cart table as related products under the heading “You may be interested in…”. 

You can fix this issue by replacing the cart page with a slide-in cart that allows users to view and update order details from anywhere with a single click and provides them with the option to go directly to the checkout page, streamlining the checkout process. 

Method 3: Show Related Products Inside a WooCommerce Sliding Mini Cart

Here, we will show you how to show related products inside a mini cart. 

This will shorten the buying process by eliminating the cart page and allowing customers to preview and update their cart items from anywhere on the site before checkout. 

We will use FunnelKit Cart (both free and pro) for this process. You will get the pro version of FunnelKit Cart with FunnelKit Funnel Builder Plus and above.

Once you have both the plugins installed and activated, follow these steps:

Step 1: Turn on the slide-in cart by FunnelKit 

First, go to FunnelKit ⇒ Cart and hit the “Enable Cart” toggle button to turn on the FunnelKit Cart.

Step 2: Manage cart upsell settings 

Go to the Upsells tab and select the “Enable Cart Upsells” option.

You get four different display styles to show related products on the cart page. Choose the one you like and configure  the following:

• Product Recommendation Type: Recommend product upsell,s cross-sells, or both. We recommend choosing both. 
• Heading: This heading will show up above the related product section. The default option is "Frequently Bought Together".
• Show Maximum Upsells: Specify the maximum number of products you want to display as upsells.

Step 3: Add default upsells

The “Default Upsells” option allows you to add items that will appear as recommendations if the existing cart products do not have any assigned upsell products.

Search products by name and add them to the default upsell in WooCommerce. Add as many related products as you want, but the “show maximum upsells” option will limit the number of items on the front end. 

Turn on the “Always Show Default Upsells” option to recommend the default upsell products.

Step 4: Set up individual upsells and cross-sells

FunnelKit Cart has a sleek interface that allows you to add upsells and cross-sells from the cart setup page. 

To add an upsell or cross-sell to any product from the Funnel Cart page, click on the “View All Products” link under the “Upsells and Cross-sells” section.

Now search for the product for which you want to add related products, expand, and add the upsell and cross-sell. 

After adding the related product recommendations,  click the Save button to update the settings you just modified. 

Here is a preview of how the related products  in the Woocommerce sliding mini will look: 

Method 4: Offer Related Products as Order Bump on the Checkout Page. 

Order bumps capitalize on the user's current buying momentum, offering them a low-cost, relevant product that can be added to their order with a single click. 

We will use FunnelKit Funnel Builder to offer related products as the order bumps on the checkout page. 

You need to install and activate both FunnelKit Funnel Builder free and pro.

After activating the plugins, follow these steps: 

Step 1: Create a store checkout 

Firstly, we must create a store checkout that will replace the default WooCommerce page. To do so, navigate to FunnelKit ⇒ Store Checkout and click “Create Store Checkout.”

Now, select your preferred page builder and the template you like from the list of pre-built ones.

Here, we are using Elementor and Minimalist.

Now, choose whether you want a single-page checkout or a multi-page checkout. After that, click “Import This Funnel,” provide a name, and click "Done" to import this funnel as your default checkout.

This will import a store checkout with three steps: checkout, one-click upsell, and a thank you page. 

Step 2: Add the order bump offer 

Now, it’s time to configure the order bump offer. To do that, click “Add Order Bump,” provide a title, and click " Add.”

After that, choose an order for bump skin.

Now, search for the product and click 'Add'.

This will add an order bump step to your store checkout funnel. 

Step 3: Customize the content and style of order bump offers 

Set the call-to-action text and description that will show up on the checkout page.

Move to the Style tab. Here, you can choose the position where the order bump will appear on the checkout page.

Make sure to click on Save to update the changes.

Next, move to the products tab to set the quantity and discount.

Step 4: Add conditions order bump offer (optional)

You can set different conditions using the Rules Engine to make the related product offer more relevant. 

For example, trigger order bumps for customers who purchase from a specific category or have previously purchased a particular item. 

To do so, move to the Rules tab and click “Add Rules.” Next, select the parameter, condition, and value. Add multiple rules based on your strategy. 

Make sure to click on Save. 

Step 5: Activate the store checkout 

Lastly, enable the “Enable Store Checkout” option.

Now, try placing a test order and ensure you meet all the rules you set to see the order bump offer on the checkout page. 

That’s how simply you can offer related products as order bumps on the checkout page.

Move to the next section to learn how to offer related products as a one-click upsell. 

Method 5: Offer WooCommerce Related Products as a One-Click Post-Purchase Upsell

Post-purchase upsells are offers you can make to users immediately after they complete their checkout. The system tokenizes the payment details, allowing customers to add the offer to their existing order with a single click, without re-entering the details.

After replacing the WooCommerce default checkout with a custom one using FunnelKit Funnel Builder, follow these steps: 

Method 1: Add the upsell offer

To offer a one-click upsell, hit the Offer step.

On the design tab, you can customize the content and look of the upsell template.

Now, move to the Products tab. Click on "Add Product," search for the product, and select it from the dropdown. After that, click the "Add" button to add the product as an upsell offer.

Add a discount if you want. We recommend checking the option “Skip this offer if the product(s) exist in the parent order.”  You can also allow users to choose the quantity. 

🔔 Note: You can set flat shipping also if needed. 

Make sure to click on Save to update.

Method 2: Add a condition to the upsell offer to make it relevant (optional)

To make the offer more effective, you can apply rules similar to those used with the order bump. To do so, click on the Upsell step.

Next, navigate to the Rules tab and click Add Rules. Then, set the conditions. To make the offer more relevant, you can add a condition such as a customer having previously purchased from the same category. Additionally, you can only offer to your VIP customers or customers who have items worth over $100, as they are more likely to accept a high-value offer after completing their purchase. 

Make sure to click on the 'Save' button when done. 

Method 3: Test the upsell offer 

Right after checkout, if the customer qualifies for the upsell, they will be offered this related product. To test this, place a test order and verify that you can adjust the quantity of the upsell (depending on your settings) and successfully complete the order. 

After successfully accepting the upsell, you will be redirected to the custom thank you page. 

There should be another method of showing related products in the email..

Frequently Asked Questions About WooCommerce Related Products 

Here are some of the commonly asked questions about related products in WooCommerce: 

• Why Offer Related Products in Your WooCommerce Store?

Displaying related products doesn’t just boost sales it improves the overall shopping experience. Here’s how it helps:

• Increases order value as shoppers who see relevant add-ons are 4.5 times more likely to convert.
• Improves experience by helping customers find what they need faster.
• Reduces cart abandonment by keeping shoppers engaged with more options.
• Boosts discovery by surfacing items customers did not search for.
• Encourages repeat purchases since 56 percent of shoppers return for personalized suggestions.

• What’s the difference between related products, up-sells, and cross-sells?

Here is a breakdown of the difference between related products, up-sells, and cross-sells in WooCommerce 

• Related Products: Automatically generated based on shared tags or categories.
• Upsells: Products are manually added to encourage customers to buy higher-value items. Displayed on the product page.
• Cross-Sells: Complementary products are manually added to appear on the cart page.

• How to disable/hide related products in WooCommerce? 

To disable the default WooCommerce-related product recommendations, you can add the following code snippet to your theme’s functions.php file:

remove_action('woocommerce_after_single_product_summary', 'woocommerce_output_related_products', 20);

You can also remove upsell and cross-sell products from each product. As per FunnelKit Cart, you can turn on the Upsell options. Also, for order bumps and one-click upsells, you can put them on draft or delete them. 

• What are the best practices for WooCommerce related products?

Here are the best practices you need to follow:

• Make sure the related products you show are super relevant 
• Offer milestone-based rewards to boost order value 
• Limit the number of related products. 
• Personalized recommendations based on customer purchase history
• Use high-quality images & descriptions with a clear CTA

• How do I track the performance of related product recommendations?

With FunnelKit Funnel Builder, you can easily track the number of related products users have added to their cart through order bumps and one-click upsells. 

Utilize The Power Of WooCommerce Related Products and Boost the AOV of Your Store! 

WooCommerce related products allow you to boost sales by recommending the right products at the right time. 

Without them, customers might purchase only a few items before leaving your store, forcing you to invest more resources into securing repeat purchases. 

Why not increase revenue by reducing the customer acquisition cost with the help of related product suggestions? 

With FunnelKit’s in-cart recommendations and milestone-based rewards, encouraging users to add more related items to their cart has become effortless. 

Don’t limit yourself to cart recommendations. Utilize order bumps and upsells to offer related items, ensuring users maximize their order value before leaving your site. 

Start leveraging the power of FunnelKit today and watch your average order value soar. Showcasing related products in WooCommerce has never been more effective! 

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