If your website runs on WooCommerce, a new version is on its way. WooCommerce 11.0 is currently in beta, with a final release pencilled in for Tuesday 28 July 2026, according to the WooCommerce Developer Blog. Most plugin updates come and go without anyone noticing. This one has a few changes worth knowing about before they reach your site.
A large part of this release is dedicated to speed, particularly for shops with big catalogues. WooCommerce says product caching will be switched on by default for new stores, and its own testing found this makes variable products (the ones with size or colour options) load 9 to 12% faster. Bundled products process 6 to 12% faster at checkout.
Page speed affects two things that matter to any shop owner: how long visitors stick around, and how Google ranks the site. Existing stores won’t get the change automatically on day one. It’s being rolled out gradually, but it points to where WooCommerce is putting its effort this year.
WooCommerce 11.0 continues developing a feature called Checkout Recovery, still in beta, which lets a shop owner send a follow-up email to a customer who started an order but didn’t finish it. Cart abandonment is one of the most common, and most fixable, sources of lost sales for any online shop. A way to nudge those customers without installing a separate plugin is worth watching, even while it’s being refined.
The block-based email editor is also gaining the ability to embed TikTok, Vimeo and Dailymotion videos directly into order and marketing emails. They show as clickable thumbnails rather than plain text links. For any business already using video, whether that’s a product demo, a customer testimonial or a behind-the-scenes clip, this makes emails a little more engaging without extra work.
This is the one to flag internally. WooCommerce 11.0 finishes removing the “Product Editor beta”, an experimental alternative to the classic way of editing products in WordPress. Shops with this feature switched on will be moved back to the classic product editing screen. Products and product data are unaffected: this only changes which screen is used to edit them. If you’re not sure whether your site has this beta feature turned on, it only takes five minutes to check before the end of July.
None of this needs urgent action from most shop owners. WordPress and WooCommerce updates are usually applied automatically or during routine maintenance. But if you run a larger catalogue, sell bundled products, or have ever opted into a beta or experimental feature in WooCommerce settings, it’s worth a quick conversation with whoever manages your site.
We’d also recommend against updating major plugin versions the moment they land, particularly for busy shops. Give it a week or two after 28 July, watch for feedback from other users, then update with confidence. If you’d like a hand with your WooCommerce store, or want us to manage the update for you, get in touch with the b:web team.
