How to Redirect a Single-Product Category to Its Product Page in WooCommerce

You can redirect a single-product category to its product page in WooCommerce with a short snippet checking is_product_category() for a specific category, sending visitors straight to the one product it contains instead of an unnecessary category listing.

Why Redirect a One-Product Category

• A category page showing just one product wastes a click and adds visual white space for no benefit
• Sending visitors directly to the product page shortens the path to purchase
• It’s a common situation for niche categories or new product lines that haven’t expanded yet

Step 1: Redirect a Specific Category to Its Product

/** Redirect the "tables" category directly to its single product */
add_action( 'wp', 'redirect_single_product_category_to_product' );

function redirect_single_product_category_to_product() {
    if ( is_product_category( 'tables' ) ) {
        wp_safe_redirect( get_permalink( 4821 ) ); // Replace with the actual product ID
        exit;
    }
}

Automating It for Any Category With Exactly One Product

Instead of hardcoding each category manually, detect this condition dynamically:

add_action( 'template_redirect', 'auto_redirect_single_item_categories' );

function auto_redirect_single_item_categories() {
    if ( ! is_product_category() ) return;

    $term = get_queried_object();
    if ( ! $term ) return;

    $products = get_posts( array(
        'post_type'      => 'product',
        'posts_per_page' => -1,
        'product_cat'    => $term->slug,
        'fields'         => 'ids',
    ) );

    if ( 1 === count( $products ) ) {
        wp_safe_redirect( get_permalink( $products[0] ) );
        exit;
    }
}

Troubleshooting

Category Redirects Even After Adding More Products

With the manual (hardcoded) version, the redirect stays active regardless of how many products the category later has — switch to the dynamic version if categories regularly grow past a single item.

The Dynamic Version Feels Slow on Large Catalogs

Running a product count query on every category page load adds overhead — for high-traffic sites, cache the per-category product count in a transient rather than querying it fresh on every visit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Redirecting a single-product category to its product page in WooCommerce can be done with a simple hardcoded rule, or automated dynamically for categories that naturally contain just one item. Either approach removes an unnecessary extra click for the customer.

See also How to Redirect WooCommerce Product Category Pages. Then read How to Redirect a Specific Product Search to a Custom URL in WooCommerce.

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