How to create Auction Product Types in WooCommerce

Overview

Expanding your WooCommerce store’s capabilities by adding custom product types can significantly enhance your customers’ shopping experience. In this guide, we’ll walk through the steps to create a custom product type named “Auction Product” using WordPress hooks and PHP.

Step 1: Adding Auction Product Type to Dropdown Selection

First, we’ll add our custom product type to the product type selector dropdown. This enables users to select “Auction product” when adding new products.

add_filter( 'product_type_selector', 'codebykishor_add_auction_product_type' );

function codebykishor_add_auction_product_type( $types ){
    $types[ 'auction' ] = 'Auction product';
    return $types;
}

Step 2: Creating New Product Type Class

Next, we’ll create a class for our custom product type. This class extends the WC_Product class and defines the type as ‘auction’.

add_action( 'init', 'codebykishor_create_auction_product_type' );

function codebykishor_create_auction_product_type(){
    class WC_Product_Auction extends WC_Product {
        public function get_type() {
            return 'auction';
        }
    }
}

Step 3: Loading New Product Type Class

To ensure our custom product type class loads when needed, we will use the woocommerce_product_class filter.

add_filter( 'woocommerce_product_class', 'codebykishor_woocommerce_product_class', 10, 2 );

function codebykishor_woocommerce_product_class( $classname, $product_type ) {
    if ( $product_type == 'auction' ) {
        $classname = 'WC_Product_Auction';
    }
    return $classname;
}

Step 4: Displaying Product Data in General Tab

Finally, we need to display the relevant product data for our custom product type in the WooCommerce admin panel.

add_action( 'woocommerce_product_options_general_product_data', 'codebykishor_auction_product_type_show_price' );

function codebykishor_auction_product_type_show_price() {
   global $product_object;
   if ( $product_object && 'auction' === $product_object->get_type() ) {
      wc_enqueue_js( "
         $('.product_data_tabs .general_tab').addClass('show_if_auction').show();
         $('.pricing').addClass('show_if_auction').show();
      ");
   }
}

Conclusion

By following these steps, you can create auction product types in WooCommerce. This opens up new possibilities for your online store. Whether it’s auctions, rentals, or subscriptions, custom product types allow you to tailor your offerings to meet your customers’ unique needs. Experiment with different functionalities to unleash the full potential of your WooCommerce store!

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