Filters and Blocks: Sort Settings

— title: Filter Editor Filters: Sort Settings description: Manual Reference for sort block options. doc_type: reference section: Filter Editor audience: Store owners, catalog managers, developers, and support manual_reference: true parent_page: reference/filter-editor-filters-blocks.md option_count: 5 updated: 2026-05-24 source_refs: – _docs/Final/options/fe-tab2-filters.md – _docs/Final/html/05_tab2.html ai_summary: Covers available sort choices, defaults, custom sort options, fallback criteria, and random sort. status: needs-verification —

This page covers Sort Settings options for individual filter blocks in the Filter Editor. Use it with the Filters and Blocks index when navigating the full block-level Reference.

Sort Settings

Sort Options List

• Public label: Sort Options List
• Location: Filter Editor > Filters / Blocks > Sort Settings
• Type: Repeater
• Default value: Standard WooCommerce sort choices enabled.
• Shown when: Block type is Sort By.
• Availability: Free
• What it does: Lets the store enable, rename, and reorder sort choices.
• When to use: Use it to show only the sorting choices that make sense for the catalog.
• Side effects / performance notes: Disabled choices cannot be selected by shoppers from this block.
• Related options: Default Sort Option, Custom Sort Options, Random Sort.

Default Sort Option

• Public label: Default Sort Option
• Location: Filter Editor > Filters / Blocks > Sort Settings
• Type: Select
• Default value: WooCommerce default sorting.
• Shown when: Block type is Sort By.
• Availability: Free
• What it does: Sets the sort choice used when the URL does not already specify sorting.
• When to use: Use it to make the first product order match the store's merchandising strategy.
• Side effects / performance notes: URL sorting takes priority over the default.
• Related options: Sort Options List, Apply Params From URL.

Custom Sort Options

• Public label: Custom Sort Options
• Location: Filter Editor > Filters / Blocks > Sort Settings
• Type: Repeater
• Default value: Empty.
• Shown when: Block type is Sort By.
• Availability: Pro
• What it does: Adds custom sort choices based on product metadata.
• When to use: Use it for store-specific sort fields, such as a custom score or inventory-related metric.
• Side effects / performance notes: Sorting variable products by raw metadata can differ from WooCommerce's variation-aware price sorting.
• Related options: Sort Options List, Fallback Sort Criteria.

Fallback Sort Criteria

• Public label: Fallback Sort Criteria
• Location: Filter Editor > Filters / Blocks > Sort Settings
• Type: Repeater
• Default value: Empty.
• Shown when: Block type is Sort By.
• Availability: Pro
• What it does: Adds secondary or tertiary sorting when primary sort values tie.
• When to use: Use it when sort results should remain stable and predictable.
• Side effects / performance notes: More sort criteria can make query logic more complex.
• Related options: Custom Sort Options, Sort By Title After Filtering.

Random Sort

• Public label: Random Sort
• Location: Filter Editor > Filters / Blocks > Sort Settings
• Type: Toggle
• Default value: Off
• Shown when: Block type is Sort By.
• Availability: Pro
• What it does: Adds a random sorting choice.
• When to use: Use it for discovery surfaces where freshness or rotation matters more than deterministic order.
• Side effects / performance notes: Random sorting is expensive on large catalogs and should be paired with caching or avoided at scale.
• Related options: Performance settings, cache settings.