The fastest way to add wishlist functionality to WooCommerce is a dedicated wishlist plugin that lets shoppers save products to a list and return later to purchase — core WooCommerce has no wishlist feature built in. Look for one with a shareable, persistent wishlist rather than a session-only “favorites” widget.
Why a Wishlist Feature Helps Conversion
- Most visitors won’t buy on their first visit; a wishlist gives them a reason to come back
- Shareable wishlists work well for gift-giving occasions and referral-driven traffic
- It’s a low-effort conversion-rate-optimization test with a real, measurable return
Option 1: A Dedicated Wishlist Plugin
Popular free and premium wishlist plugins add a heart or star icon to product cards and single product pages, store the list against a logged-in user (or a cookie for guests), and typically include a shareable wishlist URL and an “add all to cart” button.
Option 2: A Lightweight Custom Wishlist With User Meta
If you only need a simple, no-frills version, you can build a minimal wishlist using post meta on the customer’s account:
/** Save a product ID to the logged-in customer's simple wishlist */
add_action( 'wp_ajax_save_to_simple_wishlist', 'save_product_to_simple_wishlist' );
function save_product_to_simple_wishlist() {
$user_id = get_current_user_id();
$product_id = absint( $_POST['product_id'] );
$wishlist = (array) get_user_meta( $user_id, '_simple_wishlist', true );
if ( ! in_array( $product_id, $wishlist, true ) ) {
$wishlist[] = $product_id;
update_user_meta( $user_id, '_simple_wishlist', $wishlist );
}
wp_send_json_success( $wishlist );
}Displaying the Saved Wishlist
function render_simple_wishlist_items() {
$wishlist = (array) get_user_meta( get_current_user_id(), '_simple_wishlist', true );
foreach ( $wishlist as $product_id ) {
echo wc_get_product( $product_id )->get_name() . '<br>';
}
}Troubleshooting
Wishlist Empties When the Customer Logs Out
A custom user-meta wishlist only works for logged-in customers — for guest support, fall back to a cookie or local storage-based approach, which most dedicated plugins already handle.
Wishlist Icon Doesn’t Match the Theme
Most wishlist plugins ship generic markup that needs a small CSS override in your child theme’s stylesheet to match your brand’s icon style and colors.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do guests need an account to use a wishlist?
Not with most plugins — they typically store guest wishlists in a cookie and merge it into the account automatically once the guest registers or logs in.
Can customers share their wishlist with someone else?
Yes, most wishlist plugins generate a unique shareable URL, which is especially useful for gift registries and referral traffic.
Will a wishlist plugin slow down my store?
A well-coded one adds minimal overhead since it only loads its scripts on relevant pages — check reviews and recent update history before installing any wishlist plugin.
Conclusion
Adding wishlist functionality to WooCommerce is one of the easier conversion-rate experiments you can run — a plugin gets you a fully-featured, shareable wishlist in minutes, while the custom user-meta approach works if you only need something minimal for logged-in customers.
See also How to Display Wishlist Buttons on the WooCommerce Shop Page. Then read How to Add Elementor Widgets to a WooCommerce Store.
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