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How to Fix the WooCommerce Lightbox Not Working

Last updated: September 01, 2024
Written and researched by experts at AvadaLearn more about our methodology

By Sam Nguyen

CEO Avada Commerce

Lightbox and galleries are the essential components of an effective product page. Many types of research inform that Lightbox helps to avoid abandoned carts and gain potential customers. However, in the latest version of WooCommerce, many store owners report that they have lost this critical feature.

So, in today’s tutorial, we will show you How to fix the WooCommerce Lightbox not working after updating WooCommerce 3.0. There will be a detailed guide with some useful plugins come along to boost your total profits!

Why does the Lightbox error occur in the latest WooCommerce version?

Before finding out how to fix the problem of the Lightbox, we will need to know the source of this error. Many third-party plugins have become relatively popular in recent years to support the former deficiencies in core WooCommerce. As a result, the WooCommerce team decided that the new gallery features should not be enabled by default.

Before the launching of WooCommerce 3.0, we can still see the lightbox option

We used to have a Lightbox option in the Display dashboard with a tick box to activate it on the product page. However, WooCommerce’s development team just changed the default setting in the latest update. Your theme provider now has to acquire a few conditions to bring back this feature. It is just some simple steps to solve it, so do not be worried!

How to fix WooCommerce Lightbox not working

Step 1: Check your WooCommerce version

As we said before, the LightboxLightbox is no longer available in the WooCommerce 3.0 default setting. However, it does not mean that you can continue to use this option in the lower version. It may be working in some terms, but your online store working flow is not smooth anymore.

Checking WooCommerce version

Moreover, the latest version of WooCommerce also comes with many great features. They will be a great addition to your website system to enhance your business. So, remember to update your WooCommerce to the newest version right now to ensure the endurance of your online store.

Step 2: Check the update of hosting and theme provider

After updating your WooCommerce to the latest version, it is time to check your website hosting, database, and theme provider. Never only update a live website to utilize a new version of WooCommerce! Updating a development/staging copy of your website is always a priority, and adequately test everything to ensure there are no unintended consequences. For WooCommerce hosting, we already have an article about it; you can check here for more information!

Update your hosting and theme provider along with WooCommerce

In addition, to fix the WooCommerce Lightbox not working, you must be using a WooCommerce unified theme that has been chosen to support the new gallery capabilities specifically. This also allows theme developers to pick and choose which new features they want to offer while still keeping compatibility with their theme features or third-party WooCommerce gallery and Lightbox extensions in mind. If your WooCommerce theme provider has added some changes to support the new version, you are good to go!

Step 3: Add the fixing code

If you want to manage your own WooCommerce theme, this is how you fix this Lightbox error. First, open the functions.php file on your web system. Then, step by step adding or copying the codes below to your after_setup_theme action:

Fixing code lines

Once you add those code lines, come back to your product page and check if the LightboxLightbox is enabled or not. If it is still not working, that would be the error from the former CSS of the theme provider. You can ask or report your theme provider to add some additional CSS to get back the LightboxLightbox on the WooCommerce product page and make it look nicer. Usually, the developers will support their themes to be compatible with the newest version of WooCommerce. Therefore, you do not need to be worried about this problem.

4 Best Lightbox plugins for WooCommerce in 2021

WooCommerce Gallery Images is the ideal plugin for adding Lightboxes to WooCommerce. It offers a friendly user interface, comes with a decent range of customization tools, and is available for a reasonable cost. With this plugin, the LightboxLightbox is activated by clicking on a little button that appears over the main product image. Overall, it is a simple extension with a high-rate recommendation from many customers.

WooCommerce Gallery Images

Outstanding features:

  • Provide a function to show unlimited variation images.
  • Easy to enable or disable LightboxLightbox, zoom, full screen mode, or navigation arrows.
  • Automatically updated and compatible with every WooCommerce version.
  • Offer a second variation image in Product Categories and backend.

Price: WooCommerce Gallery Images offer a regular license at the expense of $24 with six months of support from the developer. You can extend the mount up to 12 months with $7.13 and promote it to the extended version at the cost of $99 for more specific features.

WooCommerce Quick View Pro

WooCommerce Quick View Pro results from many years of research and development on what store owners want from a WooCommerce Lightbox. It is not only simple to use, but it also offers a lot of functionality, including choices that you will not find in other quick view plugins. You have complete control over the WooCommerce Lightbox content, including the ability to display additional information such as the full product description and customer reviews. In addition, the LightboxLightbox has a sleek and modern appearance that complements any theme.

WooCommerce Quick View Pro

Outstanding features:

  • Provide a system with fewer clicks to speed up the buying and conversion process.
  • Preview items and add to cart easily through a Lightbox.
  • Support variations, external links, affiliate and integrate with many WooCommerce plugins
  • Offer the ability to return to product listings and continue shopping after viewing a product.
  • Customize and optimize the quality of quick view and Lightbox mode with many great tools.

Price: WooCommerce Quick View Pro offers many different licenses for beginners, businesses, and agencies. It will cost about $79 per year for one site with annual renewal and email support from the developer. You can also select the lifetime license with the fee of $249 with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Simple Lightbox

The following Lightbox popup plugin on our list is Simple Lightbox. If you want a clean and minimalist design, this is the one for you. Simple Lightbox allows you to build Lightbox popups in minutes, configure them to your needs, and integrate them into your WooCommerce online store. The Lightbox functionality can be enabled on various posts, pages, menus, categories, the homepage, and more. You may also use this extension to make slideshows with transitions, animations, and the ability to regulate the speed of the overlay of the popup.

Simple Lightbox

Outstanding features:

  • Customize your LightboxLightbox with add-ons by embedding videos.
  • Create and add Lightbox animations to make a practical and attractive gallery.
  • Provide the ability to fit the Lightbox images automatically with the size of the browser window.
  • Offer many customizable options and themes to create a unique Lightbox for your WooCommerce store.

Price: Irrespective of great features, Simple Lightbox is 100% free for WooCommerce and WordPress.

Responsive Lightbox & Galleryis very popular among WooCommerce users, mainly because of its simplicity and minimalist design. Its drag-and-drop builder allows you to construct any form of Lightbox popup, and it also interacts with other plugins, allowing you to access more customization options. Moreover, no coding is required in the installation and configuration so that you can create your Lightbox style quickly and easily.

Responsive Lightbox & Gallery

Outstanding features:

  • Easy user interface and SEO friendly.
  • Great integration and compatibility with other WooCommerce extensions.
  • Create unique gallery and Lightbox styles with many customization options.
  • Be able to add multiple Lightboxes, including images, gallery, video, and so much more.

Price: For the starter, Responsive Lightbox & Gallery offers a free license with the option to buy add-ons for more external features and functionality.

Conclusion

Lightboxes are the fundamental key to boost your online sales in WooCommerce. This kind of error sometimes happens after the big update of WooCommerce. Aditionally, using those plugins can help you gain many benefits from their outstanding features. They will be excellent plugins for your online store to sustain and attract more potential customers.

We hope this blog will clear your mind on How to fix the WooCommerce Lightbox not working and any other extensions you may need to reach your sales peak!


Sam Nguyen is the CEO and founder of Avada Commerce, an e-commerce solution provider headquartered in Singapore. He is an expert on the Shopify e-commerce platform for online stores and retail point-of-sale systems. Sam loves talking about e-commerce and he aims to help over a million online businesses grow and thrive.

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