Adding Custom Fields to WooCommerce Orders in the Admin

Enhancing the functionality of your WooCommerce store often involves tailoring the admin interface to meet your specific needs. One useful customization is adding custom fields to WooCommerce orders in the admin area. These additional fields allow you to capture and display extra information about each order—whether it’s special instructions, internal notes, or custom tracking details. In this guide, you’ll learn how to add your own fields to the WooCommerce order edit page using PHP. Tools like WP Code or Code Snippets are recommended to safely integrate this code without altering core files.

Approach – PHP Solution

Using PHP, you can leverage WooCommerce hooks to both display custom fields on the order edit page and save the data when the order is updated. The following example demonstrates how to add a custom text field labeled “Custom Field” to the order details panel and store the field’s value.

Example Code:

<?php
// Display the custom admin field on the WooCommerce order edit page
function add_custom_admin_order_field( $order ) {
    // Retrieve the current value of the custom field
    $custom_field_value = get_post_meta( $order->get_id(), '_custom_field', true );
    ?>
    <div class="order_data_column">
        <h4><?php _e( 'Custom Information', 'text_domain' ); ?></h4>
        <p class="form-field form-field-wide">
            <label for="custom_field"><?php _e( 'Custom Field:', 'text_domain' ); ?></label>
            <input type="text" name="custom_field" id="custom_field" value="<?php echo esc_attr( $custom_field_value ); ?>" />
        </p>
    </div>
    <?php
}
add_action( 'woocommerce_admin_order_data_after_order_details', 'add_custom_admin_order_field' );

// Save the custom field data when the order is updated
function save_custom_admin_order_field( $order_id ) {
    if ( isset( $_POST['custom_field'] ) ) {
        update_post_meta( $order_id, '_custom_field', sanitize_text_field( $_POST['custom_field'] ) );
    }
}
add_action( 'woocommerce_process_shop_order_meta', 'save_custom_admin_order_field' );
?>

How It Works:

The code above is divided into two parts. The first part uses the woocommerce_admin_order_data_after_order_details hook to add a custom field section to the order edit page in the admin dashboard. The input field displays any previously saved value from the order’s metadata.

The second part uses the woocommerce_process_shop_order_meta hook to save the submitted value when the order is updated. By checking if the field is set in the $_POST array and using the update_post_meta() function, any changes you make are securely stored.

Additional Enhancements:

Consider these possibilities to further enhance your custom field implementation:

• Field Validation: Incorporate validation checks to ensure that only acceptable data is saved.
• Multiple Fields: Extend the approach to include multiple fields—for example, dropdowns, checkboxes, or date pickers—to capture a variety of custom data.
• Conditional Display: Use additional logic to display custom fields only for orders meeting specific criteria or for certain user roles.

Conclusion

Adding custom fields to WooCommerce orders in the admin area is a practical way to capture extra information tailored to your business needs. By utilizing WooCommerce hooks and PHP, you can seamlessly integrate additional fields into the order edit page without interfering with the core WooCommerce functionality. Whether you simply need a field for extra notes or more complex data capture, this approach provides a flexible and secure solution.

Experiment with and extend this method to build a more personalized order management system that aligns with your operational requirements and enhances the overall efficiency of your WooCommerce store.