Related Categories Not Showing: Troubleshooting Guide

If the Related categories section is missing in Related Categories for WooCommerce, check at WPFactory > Related Categories that Display on Single Product Page (Single sub-tab) or Display on Archives (Archives sub-tab, off by default) is ticked, that Position is not set to Disable, and that your relate rules actually find categories for the product.

The section does not appear at all #

1. Check the section is enabled. On single product pages, Display on Single Product Page must be ticked on the Single sub-tab (it is on by default). On shop and category pages, Display on Archives must be ticked on the Archives sub-tab (it is off by default).
2. Check the position is not set to “Disable”. If Position is “Disable”, the section only appears where you place a shortcode or widget. Pick a real position, or add the shortcode.
3. Make sure related categories actually exist. The section only renders when the relate rules find categories. If a product sits in a single, top-level category with no siblings, parents or children, there may be nothing to show. Try enabling Current under Relate Options to confirm output, then re-tune the rules.
4. Watch the “Hide empty” rule. With Hide empty on, categories that have no products are dropped. If every related category is empty, the section renders nothing.
5. Confirm the theme fires the WooCommerce hooks. The section attaches to standard WooCommerce hooks such as woocommerce_after_single_product_summary. A heavily customized theme that removes these hooks can suppress the section. Test with a default theme such as Storefront to confirm.

The wrong categories appear #

1. Review the Relate Options. Siblings, Parents and Children are all on by default, so the section can be broader than expected. Turn off the rules you do not want, or narrow the include sub-options (grandparents, grandchildren, top-level).
2. Check “Current”. If the product’s own categories are showing and you did not expect them, disable Current.
3. On Pro sites, check your manual relations. If Per product is enabled with Override on, the hand-picked list on that product replaces the automatic one. Turn Override off to merge instead.

Changes are not taking effect #

1. Clear caches. Clear any page-cache or CDN cache, then reload. If you enabled Transients on the Advanced sub-tab, saving the settings clears them automatically, but a persistent object cache (Redis or Memcached) may need its own flush.
2. Re-save the settings. Saving on any sub-tab clears the plugin’s stored transients.

Still stuck? #

Note the product or category you are testing, which Relate Options are enabled and the position you chose, then contact us on the Related Categories support forum and we will help.