Hide specific WooCommerce categories on the frontend

With this new snippet, you will be able to modify the breadcrumb trail on WooCommerce product pages and hide certain specific categories in the taxonomy lists on the public site (but not in the administration). This allows you to clean up or filter the navigation visible to users without affecting the admin side management.

Here's how to hide specific categories using a simple code snippet inserted into your WordPress theme. Once enabled, the specified categories are invisible to the public (navigation, menus, category filters, etc.), but remain accessible in the WooCommerce back office for product administration.

Result: a personalized breadcrumb, clean and without unwanted categories, but still functional for SEO and UX navigation.

1|Information

Before using this snippet, make sure you have installed the Code Snippets plugin (free) on your WordPress site. If not, you can download it via the link below. If you have never added a specific feature to your WordPress site, we recommend you start by reading our dedicated guide (link below).

---

2|Prérequis

Here is the list of extensions required for this snippet to work properly. Make sure to install them before activating the snippet.

WooCommerce

Necessary for selling virtual products on your site

---

3|Snippet

Here is the snippet to use. The comments inside the code will guide you on how this snippet works.

Assurez-vous de cocher la case « Run snippet everywhere » avant d’activer le snippet.

/** Here's how to hide specific categories using a simple code snippet that you can insert into your WordPress theme. Once activated, the specified categories will be invisible to the public (navigation, menus, category filters, etc.), but will remain accessible in the WooCommerce back office for product administration. */

<?php

add_filter(
    "woocommerce_get_breadcrumb",
    "disableBreadCrumbCategories",
    20,
    2
);

function disableBreadCrumbCategories($crumbs, $breadcrumb)
{
    if (!is_product()) {
        return $crumbs;
    }

    global $post;
    $product = wc_get_product($post->ID);
    if (!$product) {
        return $crumbs;
    }

    // Categories to Exclude from Breadcrumn
    $excl_slugs = ["cat-1", "cat-2", "cat-3"];

    // Product Categories
    $terms = get_the_terms($post->ID, "product_cat");
    if (!$terms || is_wp_error($terms)) {
        return $crumbs;
    }

    $selected_term = null;

    foreach ($terms as $term) {
        if (!in_array($term->slug, $excl_slugs)) {
            $selected_term = $term;
            break;
        }
    }

    // If all categories are excluded, do nothing
    if (!$selected_term) {
        return $crumbs;
    }

    // Rebuild Terms Hierarchy
    $hierarchy = [];
    $term_id = $selected_term->term_id;

    while ($term_id != 0) {
        $term = get_term($term_id, "product_cat");
        if (!$term || is_wp_error($term)) {
            break;
        }

        if (!in_array($term->slug, $excl_slugs)) {
            $hierarchy[] = [$term->name, get_term_link($term)];
        }

        $term_id = $term->parent;
    }

    // Reverse to get the parent category first
    $hierarchy = array_reverse($hierarchy);

    // Rebuild the Breadcrumb
    $new_crumbs = [];

    // Keep Home and Shop
    foreach ($crumbs as $crumb) {
        if (in_array($crumb[0], ["Home", "Shop"])) {
            $new_crumbs[] = $crumb;
        }
    }

    // Add Categories
    $new_crumbs = array_merge($new_crumbs, $hierarchy);

    // Add Product Name
    $last = end($crumbs);
    $new_crumbs[] = $last;

    return $new_crumbs;
}

function hideWooCommerceCategories($terms, $taxonomies, $args)
{
    if (is_admin()) {
        return $terms;
    }
    
    $excl_slugs = ["cat-1", "cat-2", "cat-3"];

    if (in_array("product_cat", (array) $taxonomies)) {
        foreach ($terms as $key => $term) {
            if ( !is_int($term) ) {
                if (in_array($term->slug, $excl_slugs)) {
                    unset($terms[$key]);
                }
            }
        }
    }

    return $terms;
}
add_filter("get_terms", "hideWooCommerceCategories", 10, 3);

Why is this code useful?

• UX/SEO control: do not display technical, internal or redundant categories.
• Cleaned up the breadcrumbs for better readability.
• Noise reduction in user-side filters, menus or archive pages.

Take it a step further

This type of customization demonstrates how WooCommerce can be extended through WordPress filters and actions. If you'd like to further customize your loyalty program, consider consulting the WooRewards documentation or hiring an experienced WordPress developer (see our Custom Development page).