WC Discontinued Products is your professional solution to gracefully retire items without confusing shoppers by marking them as discontinued, displaying custom notices, and suggesting alternatives.
Every store eventually phases out items. When that happens, leaving product pages active without explanation frustrates buyers and creates confusion. This plugin helps you handle product retirement professionally by keeping pages live for SEO while guiding customers toward available alternatives.
Ready to manage product lifecycle professionally? Get WC Discontinued Products
Quick Start & Support
Need Help Getting Started?
- Premium Support (Licensed users)
- Pre-Sale Questions (Prospective customers)
Licensing & Pre-Sale Questions
- Do I need a license for each website?
Yes. Each license works on one website only. If you run multiple stores, you’ll need separate licenses for each domain. Your license key won’t activate on different domains. - What happens if my license expires?
Your plugin keeps working, but you lose access to updates and support. All discontinued notices and settings remain active. Renew anytime to get updates and priority support back. - Can I move my license to a new domain?
Yes. Deactivate the license from your old site first, then activate it on the new domain. You can do this from your PluginEver account or contact support for help. - Will this work with my existing WooCommerce setup?
The plugin works with WooCommerce 5.0+ and WordPress 5.7+. It follows WooCommerce hooks and templates for compatibility with most themes and plugins. Works with caching tools and CDNs. - Do discontinued products hurt my SEO?
No. The plugin keeps pages live and accessible via direct URLs, preserving SEO value and inbound links. You control visibility in shop listings while maintaining search engine rankings. - Can I use custom HTML in notices?
Yes. The plugin supports basic HTML tags in discontinued messages. Add links to blog posts explaining discontinuities, bold key phrases, or include line breaks for better readability.
Documentation Navigation
Start here if you’re new. Check out Configure Global Settings to enable discontinued notices, hide options, and alternative product features. This sets the foundation for your entire discontinued product strategy.
Ready to mark products as discontinued? How to Discontinue a Product walks you through the process of marking items as discontinued and controlling their visibility in shop listings and search results.
Want to guide customers to alternatives? Set Alternative Products shows you how to manually assign replacement products that make sense for each discontinued item and keep sales flowing.
Need to customize appearance? Styling Notices and Styling Alternative Product Notice cover padding, borders, colors, and hover effects to match your brand design perfectly.
Looking for advanced control? Product-Level Settings explains how to override global settings for individual products when unique notices or alternative suggestions are needed.
Styling & Best Practices
Master notice design with Best Practices for Styling Notices for professional appearance tips that encourage clicks and maintain brand consistency across discontinued items.
Troubleshooting Guides
Something not working? Styles Not Updating on Frontend? Here’s Why covers common caching and theme override issues that prevent style changes from appearing.
Notice missing completely? Discontinued Notice Not Showing? Here’s What to Check provides step-by-step troubleshooting for visibility problems.
Feature Questions
Learn about HTML capabilities in Can I Use HTML in the Discontinued Notice? and understand automatic alternative display behavior in Will the Alternative Product Appear Automatically?
Use Cases
Limited Edition & Seasonal Products
Fashion brands releasing seasonal collections mark sold-out items as discontinued and hide them from shops. Custom notices guide shoppers to current pieces or upcoming preorders. This keeps catalogs focused on available inventory while maintaining SEO value from past collections.
Tech & Hardware Upgrades
Electronics retailers retiring older models when new versions launch discontinue old listings and display messages explaining upgrades. Alternative product suggestions link directly to the latest models. Customers find new items easily instead of leaving frustrated or hunting across competitor sites.
Specialty Food & Beverage
Food companies discontinuing flavors or product lines explain changes with personalized notices and recommend similar flavors as alternatives. Hiding discontinued items from shops while capturing search traffic with direct URL access helps retain sales from disappointed fans of retired products.
Auto Parts & Accessories
Automotive suppliers dealing with discontinued manufacturer parts show clear notices and suggest compatible replacements. Alternative product features help customers find what works instead of bouncing to competitor sites when exact matches are unavailable.
Fashion & Apparel Retailers
Clothing stores retiring styles from previous seasons hide old inventory from shop pages while keeping URLs live for SEO. Custom notices with HTML links direct customers to current collections, maintaining conversion rates despite inventory changes.
Health & Beauty Supplies
Cosmetics brands reformulating products or changing packaging mark old versions as discontinued with notices explaining improvements. Alternative suggestions point to new formulations, helping loyal customers transition smoothly while maintaining trust.
Electronics Components
Technology distributors managing rapid product lifecycles use discontinued notices to explain newer specifications. Detailed alternative suggestions help engineers and hobbyists find compatible replacements that meet project requirements without starting searches over.
Why Purchase WC Discontinued Products?
Maintain SEO Value During Product Transitions
Keep product pages live and accessible via direct URLs while removing them from shop listings. Preserve years of SEO work, inbound links, and search rankings without confusing customers who browse your current catalog.
Professional Brand Communication
Generic “out of stock” messages make you look disorganized. Custom discontinued notices let you explain product transitions professionally, whether items are upgraded, discontinued permanently, or replaced by better alternatives.
Guide Customers to Available Products
Don’t let customers hit dead ends and leave. Alternative product suggestions keep them engaged by showing relevant replacements you’ve curated. Turn potential lost sales into conversions by directing traffic toward available inventory.
Complete Styling Control
Match discontinued notices to your brand design with padding, borders, colors, and hover effects. Use HTML for links, formatting, and emphasis. Professional appearance builds trust even when delivering news about unavailable products.
Global Settings With Product Overrides
Set default behaviors for all discontinued items, then customize individual products when needed. Balance efficiency with flexibility by managing most items globally while tailoring important products individually.
Clean Shop Catalogs Without Breaking Links
Hide discontinued products from shop pages and search results while keeping direct URLs working. Customers browsing your catalog see only available items, but search engines and saved bookmarks still access product pages.
Prevent Customer Frustration
Nothing frustrates shoppers more than clicking items that are no longer available. Clear notices and curated alternatives show respect for customer time and help maintain positive shopping experiences during inventory transitions.
Ready to handle product lifecycle professionally? Get WC Discontinued Products →