How to bulk edit product categories in WooCommerce

Decide whether you need to add a category, remove one, or replace the current category selection. Write down the products and categories involved before editing, especially if products belong to several categories.

Check the result you want on a few products first. A replacement can remove useful existing category assignments, while adding a category leaves the other assignments in place.

Go to Products > All Products. Use the category, product type, stock status or search controls above the product table to narrow the list, then tick the products to change. WooCommerce applies the bulk edit only to products that are visible and selected.

Do not assume that ticking the header checkbox selects every product in the catalogue. Check how many products are shown and process very large catalogues in smaller batches, because loading or updating too many products at once can strain the server.

With the products selected, choose Edit from the Bulk actions menu and click Apply. In the bulk edit panel, find Product Categories, then tick or untick the categories you want to assign or remove. Click Update to save the changes.

The built-in editor is fine for a small, straightforward batch. It is less convenient when you need to filter complex combinations, set one category while preserving others, or repeat add, remove and replace operations across many batches.

Return to the product list and filter by the category you changed. Open several products and confirm that the intended categories are present and that unrelated categories were not removed.

Pay particular attention to variable products and large selections. WooCommerce notes that the standard bulk editor works best with simple products and does not edit the complexities of variable, grouped or other complicated products in the same way.

For the fast route, install and activate Bulk Category Editor for WooCommerce. Open WooCommerce > Bulk Category Editor, filter products by category, name, SKU or tags, select the products, choose the target categories, and use Set Categories, Add Categories or Remove Categories as appropriate. The documented editor also supports category filters and custom taxonomies.

Use Set Categories when the selected products should have only the categories you choose. Use Add Categories to preserve existing assignments, and Remove Categories when taking one category away. Review the selection before applying the change, because an overly broad filter can alter far more products than intended.