Category Description for WooCommerce
Customize WooCommerce category descriptions with flexible display and formatting options to improve product visibility and boost SEO performance.
Use with caution
Category Description for WooCom… works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 700+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 5 months ago, and scores 51/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (700+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & supportDaily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where Category Description for Wo… stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| category | #19 |
| category description seo woocommerce | #5 |
| product | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 5 from 2 reviews
About Category Description for WooCommerce
From the official readme · v2.0.0Description
Category Description for WooCommerce allows WooCommerce store owners to customize how product category descriptions are displayed.
With advanced options for positioning and formatting, you can better showcase your products and improve SEO optimization.
Key Features:
– Add custom descriptions for each product category.
– Position descriptions above products (full text or excerpt).
– Position descriptions below products.
– Combine above and below positions with full and excerpt views.
– Use a “Load More” button to expand excerpted descriptions.
– Seamless integration with block-based (FSE) and classic themes.
– Avoid duplicate content with customizable display options.
– Edit descriptions easily with the WordPress editor.
– Use the [cdfwsp_split] marker to define an exact split point in the description, overriding the word limit.
– Use the [cdfwsp_category_description] shortcode to display descriptions anywhere: page builders, custom templates, or theme files.
Why Choose This Plugin?
Enhance user experience and SEO by having full control over the display of your WooCommerce product category descriptions.
This plugin is lightweight, easy to use, and works seamlessly with most WordPress themes.
Shortcode Reference
[cdfwsp_category_description]
Display a product category description anywhere on your site — page builders, custom templates, or theme files. Works independently of the admin Display Option setting.
Attributes
part (default: full)
Controls which part of the description to output:
full— complete description ([cdfwsp_split]marker stripped from output).excerpt— excerpt part only (before the split point or word limit).rest— remainder part only (after the split point). Renders with a targetable anchoridfor use withexcerpt_anchor.excerpt_toggle— excerpt with a Load More button that reveals the full description. JavaScript is loaded automatically.excerpt_anchor— excerpt with an anchor link pointing to apart="rest"shortcode placed elsewhere on the page. No JavaScript required.
id (optional) — product category ID. Takes priority over slug.
slug (optional) — product category slug.
taxonomy (optional) — restrict lookup to a specific taxonomy (default: product_cat).
class (optional) — add a custom CSS class to the wrapper div.
limit (optional) — override the excerpt word or character limit for this shortcode instance.
limit_type (optional) — override the limit type: words or characters.
show_read_less (optional) — show or hide the Read Less button: 1 = yes, 0 = no.
load_more_text (optional) — override the Load More button text for this shortcode instance.
If neither id nor slug is provided, the shortcode auto-detects the category from the current archive page.
When using multiple attributes, place them all inside the same shortcode tag separated by spaces — not commas:
[cdfwsp_category_description part="excerpt_toggle" limit="50" class="my-desc"]
Examples
Display the full description on the current archive page:
[cdfwsp_category_description]
Excerpt with a Load More button on the current archive page:
[cdfwsp_category_description part="excerpt_toggle"]
Excerpt with a Load More button for a specific category:
[cdfwsp_category_description part="excerpt_toggle" slug="clothing"]
Split view — excerpt above products, full text below (no JavaScript):
[cdfwsp_category_description part="excerpt_anchor"] (place above products)
[cdfwsp_category_description part="rest"] (place below products)<h3>Support</h3>
If you have any questions, issues, or suggestions, please post them on the WordPress.org support forum.
Installation
- Download and install the plugin directly from the WordPress.org repository, or upload it through the WordPress admin panel.
- Activate the plugin.
- Edit product category descriptions through the WooCommerce products categories admin screen.
- Configure settings for description display as needed.
Frequently asked questions
Does this plugin work with any WooCommerce theme?
Yes, the plugin is designed to work with all WooCommerce-compatible themes, including block-based (FSE) and classic themes.
Can I use this plugin to improve my SEO?
By customizing category descriptions, you can add unique and relevant content that improves search engine visibility.
Does this plugin affect website performance?
No, the plugin is lightweight and optimized to ensure minimal impact on performance.
Is the plugin translation-ready?
Yes, the plugin is fully translation-ready.
Changelog
Requires PHP 7.4+. Do not update if running PHP 7.0-7.3. After updating, refresh open category edit pages. CSS selector changed: .cdfwsp_category_desription_excerpt .cdfwsp_load-more-button to .custom-category-description .cdfwsp_load-more-button
2.0.0
- NEW: Shortcode supports additional attributes —
class,limit,limit_type,show_read_less,load_more_text— for per-instance control without changing category settings - NEW: Shortcode now falls back to global settings for categories with no per-category configuration
- NEW: Global default settings page under WooCommerce > Category Descriptions
- NEW: Global CSS customization (colors, font size, line height, padding, margin) via CSS custom properties
- NEW: Limit type — choose between word count and character count for excerpts
- NEW: “Read Less” button collapses expanded descriptions (disabled by default)
- NEW: Per-category option to hide Load More button and Scroll-to-Top button (above+below layout)
- NEW: Automatic support for custom hierarchical product taxonomies
- BREAKING: Minimum PHP version raised to 7.4
- BREAKING: Load More button moved outside the excerpt container — update CSS selector from
.cdfwsp_category_desription_excerpt .cdfwsp_load-more-buttonto.custom-category-description .cdfwsp_load-more-button - REFACTOR: Shared utility class CDFWSP_Utils eliminates code duplication
- FIX: Nonce action name typo corrected; backward compatibility maintained for admin pages open during upgrade
- FIX: Multiple Load More buttons on same page now work independently
1.1.0
- Fix: load_plugin_textdomain() called with incorrect first argument — translations were not loading.
- Fix: sanitize_callback in register_meta() referenced non-existent method name.
- Fix: Trailing space in nonce hidden field value.
- Fix: Unclosed div#bottom_text in above_excerpt_below_full display mode.
- Fix: Asset version now uses plugin version constant instead of hardcoded string.
- Fix: Missing current_user_can() authorization check in save_category_fields().
- Fix: display_option field now validated against allowed values (whitelist).
- Fix: REST API schema now lists correct display_option enum values.
- Fix: above_products_full display mode now respects FSE vs. classic theme hook position, consistent with other display options.
- Fix: Word Limit fallback now correctly compares against word count.
- Fix: Load More text splitting now uses substr() to prevent text corruption when excerpt text appears multiple times in the description.
- Fix: Multiple [cdfwsp_category_description part=”excerpt_toggle”] shortcodes on the same page now all work independently.
- Feature: Added
[cdfwsp_split]marker — place it anywhere in the category description to define the exact split point for Load More and “Above + Below” display options. The marker takes priority over the Word Limit setting and is never visible to visitors. - Feature: Added
[cdfwsp_category_description]shortcode — display the category description anywhere: page builders, custom templates, or theme files. Supports full, excerpt, rest, excerpt_toggle, and excerpt_anchor output parts.
1.0.0
- Initial release.
For developers
Is this your plugin? Show off the numbers.
Add a live badge to your site, docs or GitHub README. It updates on its own — no account needed.
Best Category Description for WooC… alternatives
All category plugins →FAQ
Category Description for WooCommerce: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 12, 2026
Is Category Description for WooCom… free?
Yes. Category Description for WooCom… is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Category Description for WooCom… safe to use in 2026?
Category Description for WooCom… works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 700+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 5 months ago, and scores 51/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Category Description for WooCom…?
Category Description for WooCom… is active on 700+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 3,746 times since it launched in January 2025. It was downloaded 245 times in the last 30 days.
Does Category Description for WooCom… work with WordPress 7.1?
Category Description for WooCom… is officially tested up to WordPress 7.0.7, while the latest release is 7.1.3. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
What PHP version does Category Description for WooCom… need?
Category Description for WooCom… requires PHP 7.4 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.
When was Category Description for WooCom… last updated?
The latest version, 2.0.0, was released on May 25, 2026 (5 months ago).
Who makes Category Description for WooCom…?
Category Description for WooCom… is developed and maintained by Tihi.
What are the best alternatives to Category Description for WooCom…?
The most popular alternatives to Category Description for WooCom… are Pages with category and tag (50K+ installs), Search & Filter (50K+ installs) and PublishPress Taxonomies (40K+ installs).
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