Elementor Taxonomy Filter is designed for a specific page-building workflow: filtering items displayed in a Loop Grid by taxonomy terms such as categories or tags. For WooCommerce stores, this makes it possible to connect a product listing with visitor-facing choices based on the product taxonomies used in the catalog. The feature should be treated as Loop Grid taxonomy filtering, not as a universal replacement for every WooCommerce filtering solution.
This guide explains how to prepare the Loop Grid, configure a WooCommerce product query, use product categories and tags, combine multiple filters, and investigate the important Current Query limitation. The documented configuration model is the focus here. Usability, compatibility with other filtering extensions, responsive behavior and interactions with caching must still be checked on the specific website before changes are published.
What Elementor Taxonomy Filter Does
The Taxonomy Filter widget works with a Loop Grid. It must be connected to the Loop Grid selected in its layout settings; it does not function as an independent filter for an arbitrary page listing. Once the connection is established, the editor chooses the taxonomy used by the filter, such as a category or tag.
When a visitor selects a taxonomy term, the connected Loop Grid displays the related items. In a WooCommerce context, those items can be products when the grid is configured with a product query. The same documented model can also be used for other content displayed through a Loop Grid, provided the relevant taxonomy is available to that listing.
An All item can restore the unfiltered list. This gives visitors a direct way to return from a selected term to the complete set of items in the grid. The available behavior depends on the query and taxonomies configured for that Loop Grid, so the filter should be tested with the actual listing rather than assumed to work identically in every page context.
Build the Loop Grid Before Adding Filters
Start by creating or editing the Loop Grid that will display the content or products. The filter needs a concrete target, so establish the listing before configuring the Taxonomy Filter widget. In the widget settings, select the Loop Grid that should respond to the taxonomy choices.
For a WooCommerce product listing, use the product-query workflow. The documented product-query configuration requires WooCommerce, and Products can be used as the layout source. This separates two related decisions: the Loop Grid determines which type of items it displays, while the Taxonomy Filter determines how visitors can narrow those items through taxonomy terms.
Set the Listing Source
Define the query deliberately inside the Loop Grid. A product query can use product taxonomies and can include or exclude terms. Elementor documents product categories, product tags, brands and other taxonomy-related controls for product queries. The important implementation point is that the filter and the product listing must refer to the same Loop Grid.
Do not expect the widget to work independently of the grid or to make an undefined product query. First confirm that the Loop Grid displays the intended products. Then connect the Taxonomy Filter and select the taxonomy that should control the visible choices. Compatibility with a separate, third-party WooCommerce product-filter extension is not established by this configuration model and should be tested separately if such an extension is also active.
Use WooCommerce Categories and Tags Strategically
Elementor documents product categories and product tags as available product-taxonomy options for product queries. A category can provide a broad catalog grouping, while a tag can describe a characteristic that crosses category boundaries. This is practical information-architecture guidance, not a universal Elementor rule: the useful structure depends on the actual catalog and the way customers identify products.
Product Taxonomy controls support product brands, product categories and product tags. The documented query controls also include manual selection, ordering, hiding empty taxonomies and taxonomy depth options for hierarchical terms. Include and exclude controls can help define a narrower set of terms for the product listing instead of exposing every available taxonomy choice.
Plan Category and Tag Choices
Before exposing terms as filters, review whether their names are clear to the intended customer. A filter with many ambiguous or overlapping terms can make the listing harder to understand, even though the underlying query is configured correctly. Select the taxonomy that reflects the distinction visitors actually need when browsing the products.
Use product categories or tags as the basis for the filter, then decide which terms should be visible in the specific listing. Do not assume that every brand, category or tag must become a visitor-facing option. Where the product-query configuration requires a narrower term set, use its include and exclude controls. Treat the visible taxonomy choices as a catalog-planning decision rather than a fixed requirement for every WooCommerce store.
Configure Multiple Taxonomy Filters
More than one Taxonomy Filter widget can target the same Loop Grid. This allows separate controls for different characteristics, such as one filter for product categories and another for product tags. Each widget should be connected to the intended Loop Grid, and each should be assigned a taxonomy that has a clear purpose in the listing.
Multiple filters are useful when one taxonomy cannot describe the full browsing task. A category filter may narrow the broad product group, while a tag filter may refine the result by another catalog characteristic. The correct combination depends on how the products are classified. Avoid adding controls merely because the taxonomy exists; test whether the resulting choices produce a comprehensible listing.
Choose AND or OR Deliberately
The multiple-selection setting controls how selected terms are combined. Choose AND when the displayed items should be associated with all selected terms. For example, the result should satisfy every selected condition within the relevant selection. Choose OR when items associated with at least one selected term should be displayed, broadening the result set instead of requiring every term.
Neither mode is always the correct choice. AND can narrow a catalog substantially, while OR can include a wider group of products. The intended behavior depends on whether visitors should refine results to items matching all selected terms or broaden results to items matching any selected term.
Use clear labels for separate filters and test combinations that produce no matching items. A technically valid combination may still be unhelpful for the catalog if the available terms rarely overlap. Verify the actual result set after each configuration change rather than assuming that the selected logic matches the intended browsing experience.
Control the Filter Interface
The Taxonomy Filter widget includes controls for displayed elements, empty items, taxonomy children, the first item and the number of taxonomy items. It also provides horizontal scrolling as an interface control. These settings affect which taxonomy choices are presented and how a larger group of terms is handled.
Use the controls to keep the visible choices understandable for the particular listing. Showing or hiding taxonomy children can change whether hierarchical terms are presented in the interface. The number of displayed taxonomy items can help keep a long set of choices within a manageable area, while horizontal scrolling provides another way to handle a wider filter interface.
Empty-item behavior deserves a deliberate check. Review what visitors see when a term has no related items in the current listing, and verify that the configured presentation remains clear. These are configuration and usability considerations, not the results of an independent usability or accessibility audit. Check the interface at the responsive layouts used by the site.
Fix the Current Query Limitation
The principal documented limitation is that Taxonomy Filter does not support Elementor’s Current Query option. This matters especially on archive pages. If the Loop Grid inherits the archive query from the page’s display conditions, the Taxonomy Filter will not work with that setup.
When this limitation applies, define the query directly inside the Loop Grid widget instead of allowing the grid to inherit the archive query. For a WooCommerce listing, configure the product query directly in the Loop Grid, connect the Taxonomy Filter to that grid, and retest the category or tag selection.
Archive-Page Troubleshooting Path
Begin by checking whether the Loop Grid is on an archive page and whether it is inheriting a query from the page’s display conditions. Next, confirm whether Current Query is being used. If it is, replace that arrangement with a query defined directly in the Loop Grid widget, as required by the documented limitation.
After changing the query, test the connected filter with a category, a tag and the All item. This workaround addresses the specific Current Query limitation, but it is not a guarantee that every archive-related issue will be resolved. Other site-specific interactions still need to be checked separately.
Testing Checklist Before Publishing
Before publishing changes on a production store, verify the complete path from taxonomy choice to displayed item. Test the filter with the actual Loop Grid and the actual product query rather than relying only on the editor configuration. A short, repeatable check can reveal incorrect term assignments, unsuitable selection logic or layout problems.
- Test product category selections and confirm that the connected Loop Grid changes as intended.
- Test product tag selections and verify that the displayed items correspond to the selected terms.
- Test the All item and the behavior of terms with no matching items.
- Test AND and OR behavior when multiple terms are selected.
- Review the number of visible taxonomy items, children, first item and horizontal scrolling where those controls are configured.
- Check the filter and product listing at the responsive layouts used by the website.
- Check pagination or load-more behavior if the listing uses those interactions.
- Check interactions with caching or other filtering plugins on the actual site.
The official documentation describes the Elementor configuration model, but it does not provide independent usability testing, conversion data, performance benchmarks or accessibility audits for taxonomy filters. It also does not establish compatibility with every third-party WooCommerce product-filter plugin. Treat those outcomes as site-specific checks, and do not assume that a successful editor setup proves that every combination will behave as intended.
In practice, the implementation model is straightforward: connect Taxonomy Filter to a Loop Grid, configure the WooCommerce product query directly, choose product categories or tags that make sense for the catalog, and select AND or OR logic deliberately. On archive pages, check the Current Query limitation first because an inherited query can prevent the filter from working. Finally, test the complete interface across the layouts and integrations used by the website. Explore our WordPress plugins, WooCommerce extensions, themes and membership plans to find the right tools for your website.