Recently Viewed Products for WooCommerce — Carousel, Widget, Block & Email

FAQ

How do I show recently viewed products in WooCommerce?

Use the [rvpw_products] shortcode on any page or post, enable automatic placement on single product pages (choose before summary, after summary, or after tabs), or add the sidebar widget, Gutenberg block, or Elementor widget. Several can be combined at once.

How do I display recently viewed products on the shop or homepage?

Drop the [rvpw_products] shortcode into any page, post, or block — including the shop page, the homepage, cart, or checkout. Pick a grid, list, or carousel layout and the number of columns, and the section will render WooCommerce recently viewed products wherever you place it.

How do I show recently viewed products in a sidebar or footer?

Add the bundled sidebar widget to any widget area, including classic sidebars, footers, and block-based widget areas. Alternatively, place the [rvpw_products] shortcode in a footer or sidebar block. For narrow columns, add the rvpw-compact CSS class and use a list or carousel layout with one or two columns on mobile.

How do I add a recently viewed products carousel?

Set the layout to carousel — either in the settings for automatic placement, or with the shortcode: [rvpw_products layout="carousel"]. The carousel supports autoplay, configurable autoplay speed, arrows, pagination dots, infinite loop, and responsive items-per-view, with no jQuery dependency.

What is the difference between recently viewed and most viewed products?

Recently viewed products are personal to each visitor — the items that specific shopper browsed, tracked via cookie or saved account history. Most viewed products are store-wide: the items most popular across all customers, drawn from a cached top-N popularity query. Use recently viewed for personalised recommendations and most viewed as a store-wide cross-sell.

Can I show most viewed (most popular) products instead?

Yes. Set the source to most viewed to display your store’s most popular products store-wide: [rvpw_products source="most_viewed"]. You can also sort any list by most viewed.

My recently viewed products are not showing — how do I fix it?

First, make sure WooCommerce is active and that you have viewed at least one product (the current product is excluded, and the cookie is written after the page loads, so a product only appears on later page views). If you placed the shortcode, confirm the layout and column settings, and check whether a smart filter (in-stock only, hide free, exclude categories, exclude purchased) is removing the products. On heavily cached pages, a view may not be recorded until the cache is bypassed.

Where are recently viewed products displayed and tracked?

They can appear on several surfaces at once: automatically on the single product page (in a position you choose), plus the [rvpw_products] shortcode, the sidebar widget, the Gutenberg block, and the Elementor widget. For tracking, the first-party cookie stores only product IDs; you can optionally enable logged-in tracking and cross-device database history for signed-in customers.

Is this recently viewed products plugin free?

Yes. Recently Viewed Products for WooCommerce is a free plugin you can download and use on your store. It includes all display surfaces (shortcode, automatic placement, sidebar widget, Gutenberg block, and Elementor widget), grid, list, and carousel layouts, most viewed products, smart filters, analytics, and follow-up emails.

Will it slow down my site or hurt performance?

No. The plugin is built to be fast and lightweight: the carousel is dependency-free with no jQuery, and CSS and JavaScript load only on pages where the section actually renders (conditional asset loading). It is also cache-friendly, working with WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, LiteSpeed Cache, and CDNs.

Does it work with caching plugins?

Yes. Display works normally with WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, LiteSpeed Cache, and CDNs. Because views are recorded server-side, a product viewed on a fully cached page may not be recorded until the cache is bypassed — this is inherent to cookie-based tracking.

Does it work with any WordPress theme?

Yes. The product cards use a modern, responsive, equal-height design that adapts to any theme, and the CSS uses logical properties so it is RTL-compatible. You can set per-device columns for mobile, tablet, and desktop, and add the rvpw-compact class for a tighter variant in narrow areas. A Custom CSS box and custom CSS class field let you match your theme exactly without editing theme files.

Does it work with page builders like Elementor, Divi, Beaver Builder, Bricks, and Oxygen?

Yes. A native Elementor widget is included and loads only when Elementor is active. For Divi, Beaver Builder, Bricks, Oxygen, and any other builder, drop the [rvpw_products] shortcode into a shortcode/text element, or place the sidebar widget in any widget area the builder exposes. The responsive card design adapts to whatever container the builder renders it in.

Is it compatible with Gutenberg and block themes (FSE)?

Yes. The plugin ships a dedicated Gutenberg block with a live, server-side-rendered preview right in the editor, so you see real products as you build. The sidebar widget also works in block-based widget areas, so it fits classic and modern block themes alike.

Is it compatible with WooCommerce HPOS?

Yes. The plugin is fully compatible with WooCommerce High-Performance Order Storage (HPOS). Custom tables are created via dbDelta with a versioned migration, and no order data is touched.

Does it support all product types, including variable products?

Yes. It displays your standard WooCommerce product cards (image, title, price, star rating, and add-to-cart button, each toggleable) for the products a customer has viewed, regardless of product type, including variable products. Smart filters let you show in-stock products only, hide free products, exclude already-purchased products for signed-in customers, and exclude specific categories.

Is the plugin translation-ready and RTL-compatible?

Yes. The plugin is fully translation-ready with the text domain recently-viewed-products-for-woocommerce and a bundled /languages folder, so you can translate every string. All front-end CSS uses logical properties, making the layouts RTL-compatible out of the box for right-to-left languages.

Does it work on WordPress Multisite?

Yes. Tracking is multisite-aware: the first-party cookie is scoped per site using the site ID (rvpw_recently_viewed_{site_id}), so each site in a network keeps its own separate recently viewed history.

Is it GDPR-friendly and what personal data does it store?

By default it stores only non-personal WooCommerce product IDs in a single first-party cookie, transmits nothing to third parties, and writes nothing to the database for guest tracking, so the core feature is generally outside the scope of GDPR personal-data processing. If you turn on optional database history or follow-up emails, the plugin additionally stores product IDs against existing account IDs only — no new personal data, with daily pruning by a configurable retention period and a one-click unsubscribe link. If you enable those options, review your privacy policy accordingly. See the Privacy & Cookies section below.

Will a product appear in its own recently viewed list?

No. The current product is excluded («Hide current product» is on by default), and the cookie is written after the page is requested, so a product only appears on subsequent page views.

Can recently viewed products follow customers across devices?

Yes. Enable database history in the plugin settings so a signed-in customer’s recently viewed products follow them across devices. The guest cookie history is merged in at login.

How do I send follow-up emails to inactive customers?

Enable follow-up emails in settings. The plugin emails signed-in inactive customers the products they viewed, with an optional auto-generated single-use coupon and a one-click unsubscribe link. It uses Action Scheduler when available, with a WP-Cron fallback, and includes a Send-test-email button.

How do I customize the styling, colors, and columns?

Go to Recently Viewed > Settings to toggle card elements (image, title, price, rating, add-to-cart) and set per-device columns for mobile (1–2), tablet (1–4), and desktop (1–6). Use the built-in Custom CSS box and the custom CSS class field to change colors and spacing without editing theme files, and add the rvpw-compact class for a denser layout in narrow sidebars.

Where do I configure the plugin and how do I get support?

After activating, go to the dedicated top-level Recently Viewed menu and open Settings to configure layout, placement, tracking engine, filters, and emails; the Analytics submenu shows your most viewed products and an orders proxy. For help, use the plugin’s support forum on WordPress.org, where you can ask questions and report issues.