What is YITH WooCommerce Wishlist plugin?
YITH WooCommerce Wishlist is the most widely deployed wishlist plugin for WooCommerce, with nearly one million active installations. It adds a wishlist feature to WooCommerce stores, letting customers save products they want to buy later and share those lists with family, friends, or the public. It is made by YITH, one of the most prolific WooCommerce extension developers.
The free version covers the core use case well: an Add to Wishlist button on product pages and archives, support for multiple wishlists per customer, privacy settings (public, shared, or private), and basic wishlist page management. The button can be displayed as a link or styled button, and colors and text are customizable without CSS in the settings panel.
The premium version adds features that matter more to store owners than to customers: wishlist-based email campaigns (send discount coupons to customers who have a specific product in their wishlist), wishlist analytics showing which products appear most frequently across customer wishlists, stock change notifications, “Ask a Friend” sharing integrations, and additional display customization. These features can meaningfully increase conversion rates from wishlist users.
The main practical issue with YITH WooCommerce Wishlist is theme compatibility. The plugin uses its own templates that can conflict with custom or heavily modified WooCommerce themes. The troubleshooting guide at WordPress.org points to this as the most common display issue. When display problems arise, testing with a default theme is the recommended first step to isolate whether the issue is the theme or the plugin.
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Get YITH WooCommerce Wishlist Expert HelpKey Features
- Add to Wishlist button for product pages and archive pages
- Multiple wishlists per customer
- Public, shared, or private wishlist privacy
- Wishlist page with add-to-cart from list
- Product variation support in wishlists
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Free version covers core wishlist functionality for most stores
- One of the most installed WooCommerce extensions with long-term maintenance
- Wishlist-based email campaigns in premium are a genuine conversion tool
Cons
- Theme compatibility issues are the most common problem — custom themes frequently break display
- Some AJAX-related display bugs reported after WooCommerce updates
Free vs Premium
The free version handles basic wishlist functionality for customers. YITH WooCommerce Wishlist Premium adds email marketing to wishlist users (send coupons for wishlisted products), wishlist analytics, stock and price change notifications, enhanced sharing options, and additional display and layout customization. Premium pricing starts around $89.99/year.
Common Problems & Fixes
Why is the YITH Wishlist button not appearing on product pages?
Missing wishlist buttons are most commonly caused by a theme that has customized WooCommerce product page templates in a way that removes the standard WooCommerce action hooks YITH uses to inject the button. Try switching to Storefront or another default WooCommerce theme temporarily — if the button appears, your theme’s template overrides are the issue. Contact your theme developer for a compatibility fix, or use the “Use Shortcode” position option in YITH → Wishlist → Add to Wishlist Settings to manually place the button in a template file.
Why is the YITH Wishlist page showing incorrectly or as empty?
An empty or broken wishlist page usually means the wishlist page is not correctly assigned in YITH → Wishlist → Wishlist Page Options, or the page’s permalink has changed. Go to YITH → Wishlist, check that the correct page is selected, and flush permalinks at Settings → Permalinks. Caching can also cause the wishlist to appear empty to a logged-in user — make sure your caching plugin does not cache pages for logged-in users, or excludes the wishlist page.
Why does adding a product to the wishlist cause a page refresh or error instead of an AJAX response?
YITH Wishlist uses AJAX to add products without page reload. If you are seeing a full page refresh or a JavaScript error, a script conflict or AJAX error is likely the cause. Open the browser developer console (F12) and check for JavaScript errors when clicking Add to Wishlist. Common causes are optimization plugins deferring or combining scripts in a way that breaks the AJAX request, or a security plugin blocking the AJAX endpoint.
Customization & Developer Notes
How do I change the position of the Add to Wishlist button on product pages?
Go to YITH → Wishlist → Add to Wishlist Options. The Position setting lets you choose where the button appears: after the add-to-cart button, before it, after the product thumbnail, or in custom positions. If the available positions do not work with your theme, select “Use Shortcode” and manually add the [yith_wcwl_add_to_wishlist] shortcode to your product page template where you want the button to appear.
Can I override the YITH Wishlist page template in my theme?
Yes. YITH WooCommerce Wishlist follows the standard WooCommerce template override system. Copy the template file wishlist.php from the plugin’s templates folder to your theme’s woocommerce folder (create it if it does not exist), then modify the copy. Changes in the theme copy will not be overwritten by plugin updates. Check for template version changes in the YITH changelog after updates to ensure your override remains compatible.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does YITH WooCommerce Wishlist work with variable products?
Yes. When a customer selects a specific variation (color, size) before adding to wishlist, the variation details are saved with the wishlist item. When they return to buy, the variation is pre-selected in the cart.
Can I show customers their wishlist without requiring login?
Yes. YITH Wishlist supports guest wishlists using session-based storage for non-logged-in visitors. Guest wishlists are linked to the browser session and can be saved permanently if the guest creates an account. Note that guest wishlists are not permanent and will be lost if the session expires or cookies are cleared.
How do the wishlist-based email campaigns work in the premium version?
With the premium version, you can create campaigns that target users who have a specific product in their wishlist. For example, you can automatically send a 10% discount coupon to everyone who has Product X on their list. This requires a compatible email plugin integration and is configured in the Wishlist Marketing section of YITH Wishlist settings.
Can customers share their wishlist with others?
Yes. Public and shared wishlists get a shareable URL. Customers can set each wishlist to public (visible to everyone via URL), shared (visible to anyone with the link), or private (visible only to themselves). The share URL can be copied and sent to friends or family.