---
title: Related Categories Shortcodes
description: Shortcodes that output the WooCommerce related categories section anywhere, plus a translation shortcode.
url: "https://wpfactory.com/docs/woocommerce-related-categories-shortcodes/"
updated: "2026-09-27"
category: Shortcodes
---

# Related Categories Shortcodes

[Related Categories for WooCommerce](https://wpfactory.com/item/related-categories-for-woocommerce/) provides shortcodes so you can output the "Related categories" section wherever you want, and a translation shortcode for multilingual sites. This article lists each shortcode and its attributes.

### Available shortcodes

| Shortcode | Outputs | Registered when |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `[alg_wc_related_categories_single]` | The single-product related categories section | The Single section is enabled |
| `[alg_wc_related_categories_loop]` | The archives related categories section | The Archives section is enabled |
| `[alg_wc_related_categories_translate]` | Text for the active language (WPML/Polylang) | Always |

If you want a shortcode to be the only place the section appears, set **Position** to **Disable** on the matching sub-tab so the section is not also hooked into the page automatically.

### Attributes for the section shortcodes

Both `[alg_wc_related_categories_single]` and `[alg_wc_related_categories_loop]` accept the same attributes. Each one, when set, overrides the value saved in the plugin settings for that single call:

- `template_type`, `template_header`, `template_footer`, `template_custom`, `template_custom_glue`
- `limit`, `columns`, `hide_empty`
- `orderby`, `order`
- `placeholder_image`, `image_size`, `remove_image`

`[alg_wc_related_categories_single]` also accepts `product_id` to target a specific product, and `[alg_wc_related_categories_loop]` accepts `product_category_id` to target a specific category. If you place content between the opening and closing tags, that content is used as the `template_custom` value.

```
[alg_wc_related_categories_single limit="6" columns="3" orderby="count" order="DESC"]
```

```
[alg_wc_related_categories_loop template_type="custom"]<a href="%category_link%">%category_name%</a>[/alg_wc_related_categories_loop]
```

For the full list of template placeholders such as `%category_name%` and `%category_link%`, see the [custom template placeholders reference](https://wpfactory.com/item/related-categories-for-woocommerce/).

### The translation shortcode

`[alg_wc_related_categories_translate]` shows different text depending on the active WPML or Polylang language. It is handy inside the **Header** or Custom templates. There are two ways to use it.

Attribute form, with the text passed as attributes:

```
[alg_wc_related_categories_translate lang="DE" lang_text="Verwandte Kategorien" not_lang_text="Related categories"]
```

Wrapping form, with the text between tags. Use `lang` to show the content only for those languages, or `not_lang` to show it for every language except those listed:

```
[alg_wc_related_categories_translate lang="DE"]Verwandte Kategorien[/alg_wc_related_categories_translate][alg_wc_related_categories_translate not_lang="DE"]Related categories[/alg_wc_related_categories_translate]
```

The `lang` and `not_lang` attributes accept a comma-separated list of language codes.

### Get more control

These shortcodes are free. [Related Categories for WooCommerce](https://wpfactory.com/item/related-categories-for-woocommerce/) Pro adds hand-picked related categories per product, category, tag and custom taxonomy. [See what Pro unlocks](https://wpfactory.com/item/related-categories-for-woocommerce/).

Related articles

- [Display Related Categories with the Widget](https://wpfactory.com/docs/woocommerce-related-categories-widget/)
- [Relate Options: How Related Categories Are Chosen](https://wpfactory.com/docs/woocommerce-related-categories-relate-options/)
- [Translate Related Categories with WPML and Polylang](https://wpfactory.com/docs/related-categories-multilingual-wpml-polylang/)
- [Related Categories: Developer Hooks and Filters Reference](https://wpfactory.com/docs/related-categories-hooks-filters/)
- [Additional Tips for Testing Related Categories](https://wpfactory.com/docs/additional-tips-cat/)