Every store has sold-out products. What you do with them affects your SEO, your sales and your customers’ experience. Should you hide them, delete them or keep them visible? Here are the options and when to use each.
The WooCommerce setting
In WooCommerce › Settings › Products › Inventory, the option “Hide out of stock items from the catalog” removes sold-out products from the shop and category pages. The product page itself still exists and remains accessible by its URL.
Temporarily out of stock: keep it visible
If the product will come back, keep the page visible and indexable. Deleting or hiding it means losing its search rankings, its incoming links and the visitors who look for it. Instead:
- Show clearly that it is out of stock, with an expected date if you know it.
- Offer a back in stock alert so visitors leave their email.
- Suggest similar products in stock.
Out of stock in some variations
When only a size or colour is sold out, the product stays available, but the sold-out variation needs its own alert form. Waitlists per variation also tell you exactly what to reorder.
Discontinued for good
If the product will never return:
- If a close replacement exists, redirect the old URL (301) to the new product.
- If not, redirect to the most relevant category.
- For popular pages with valuable content, you can keep the page with a “discontinued” notice and links to alternatives.
Out-of-stock pages and SEO
A visible, useful out-of-stock page keeps its rankings. A page that returns a 404 loses them. Avoid hiding many products at once during peaks such as Black Friday, which removes pages that may have been ranking for months.
Turn stock-outs into data
Back in stock subscriptions show real demand. A “most wanted products” list helps you decide what to reorder first and in what quantity, see how to choose a back in stock plugin.
Checklist
- Temporary stock-outs stay visible with a clear notice.
- Back in stock form on products and variations.
- Alternatives shown on the page.
- Discontinued products redirected.
- Waitlists reviewed before each reorder.
Try the alert form on the Restockly demo.
Frequently asked questions
Does hiding out-of-stock products hurt SEO?
Hiding them from the catalog removes internal links to them; deleting them loses their rankings. Keep temporary stock-outs visible.
Should I show the expected restock date?
Yes, if you know it. It reassures customers and reduces questions.
What about pre-orders?
Pre-orders are an alternative when you are sure of the restock date and want to take payment in advance.