Ajax-Enabled Enhanced Layered Navigation

When customers land on your WooCommerce store, especially one with dozens or hundreds of products, they expect to find what they’re looking for quickly. If your filtering system is clunky, slow, or non-intuitive, they’ll bounce before you can say “cart abandonment.” That’s where the Ajax-Enabled Enhanced Layered Navigation plugin comes in.

This powerful plugin transforms your WooCommerce layered navigation into a fast, user-friendly experience. It enables shoppers to filter products by categories, attributes, price, ratings, tags, and custom taxonomies—without reloading the entire page. Thanks to Ajax technology, every filter change updates product results in real time.

In this in-depth 2000-word review, we’ll explore everything you need to know about Ajax-Enabled Enhanced Layered Navigation plugin, including its features, performance benefits, use cases, setup instructions, and why it’s one of the most valuable upgrades for serious WooCommerce stores.

What Is Ajax-Enabled Enhanced Layered Navigation?

Ajax-Enabled Enhanced Layered Navigation plugin is a premium plugin designed to enhance WooCommerce’s default product filters. It adds Ajax functionality (asynchronous JavaScript and XML) so that when customers apply filters—like size, color, price, or brand—the product grid updates instantly without refreshing the page.

Beyond that, it improves the user interface (UI) and adds useful features like:

Multi-select attribute filtering
Filter counts and badges
Custom URL rewrites
Collapsible filter panels
Range sliders for prices and other numeric values

This plugin replaces WooCommerce’s basic filter widget system with something modern, responsive, and conversion-focused.

Why Use Ajax-Based Layered Navigation?

The typical WooCommerce layered navigation requires a full page reload every time a filter is applied. That means:

Slower user experience
Increased frustration on mobile
Higher bounce rates
More server load
Lower conversions

With Ajax-based filtering:

The page doesn’t reload
Filters work instantly
Customers stay focused
Results feel dynamic and fast
The experience feels like Amazon or ASOS-level eCommerce

It’s an essential UX upgrade, especially for stores with large catalogs or category pages.

Key Features of Ajax-Enabled Enhanced Layered Navigation

Let’s break down the features that make this plugin a game-changer for WooCommerce filtering and user experience.

1. Real-Time Ajax Filtering (No Reloads)

When a user clicks a filter (e.g. Color → Red), the product list updates instantly via Ajax, without reloading the entire page.

This applies to:

Product grids
Pagination
Sorting options
Price ranges

Use Case: A fashion shopper selects “Women > Dresses > Size M > Red.” The grid updates smoothly in seconds—no reload, no interruption.

2. Multi-Select Attribute Filters

The plugin supports checkbox-based filtering, allowing customers to select multiple options in the same filter group. For example:

Sizes: S, M, L
Colors: Red, Blue, Green
Brands: Nike, Adidas, Puma

This is more intuitive than the default single-select dropdowns WooCommerce provides.

Use Case: A sneakerhead wants to view only Adidas and Puma shoes in black or white. Multi-select makes this possible in one click.

3. Collapsible and Expandable Filter Panels

You can organize filters in accordion-style dropdowns. This improves the design of your sidebar or horizontal filter bar and prevents visual clutter.

Group by attribute
Collapse/expand filters
Icons for plus/minus
Optional tooltips or descriptions

Use Case: A hardware store displays filters like Brand, Voltage, Power Range, and Features—cleanly tucked into collapsible groups.

4. Dynamic Product Count Badges

Each filter option shows the number of products available for that combination in real time. These update automatically as users refine their filters.

Useful for managing customer expectations
Helps users make quicker decisions
Optional toggle on/off for store owners

Use Case: A shopper sees that only 2 “Black XL Hoodies” are in stock and acts fast before they’re gone.

5. Range Sliders for Price and Attributes

Instead of fixed price ranges (e.g. “$0–$50”), you can add interactive sliders for:

Price
Weight
Length
Custom numeric attributes

These are mobile-friendly and reduce friction during product discovery.

Use Case: A camera store allows users to filter by price ($200–$1000), ISO range, or megapixels using sliders.

6. SEO-Friendly URLs

The plugin rewrites URLs dynamically to reflect the active filters, making it:

SEO-friendly (each filter combination has a crawlable URL)
Shareable (users can copy/paste URLs to share filtered views)
Trackable in analytics

Use Case: A marketing team builds landing pages for “Running Shoes under $100 by Nike” with clean URLs and specific filters.

7. Pagination and Sorting via Ajax

In addition to filters, the plugin Ajax-enables:

Product sorting (e.g. Price Low to High)
Pagination (Next Page, Page 2, etc.)

This creates a fully dynamic product browsing experience.

Use Case: A user applies 3 filters, switches to Page 2, and sorts by popularity—all without a single page reload.

8. Widget and Shortcode Support

You can add layered navigation via:

Sidebar widgets
Elementor blocks
Shortcodes for custom layouts
Gutenberg compatibility

Use Case: A furniture brand places a horizontal filter bar above their product grid using Elementor.

9. Mobile-Optimized Design

The filters are responsive and work well on smartphones:

Filter panels slide from the side
Easy-to-tap checkboxes and sliders
Sticky filter buttons on scroll
Accordion filters collapse for better UX

Use Case: Mobile shoppers can filter by “Size, Color, and Availability” in a clean, touch-friendly interface.

10. Developer-Friendly Hooks and API

Advanced users can:

Create custom filter types
Add third-party attribute logic
Extend Ajax queries
Modify templates and UI behavior

Use Case: A theme developer integrates layered navigation into a custom tab-based layout with minimal code tweaks.

Real-World Use Cases

Here’s how stores are leveraging Ajax-Enabled Enhanced Layered Navigation plugin to improve conversions and user satisfaction.

Fashion Retailer

Problem: Too many category pages and a clunky filtering system caused frustration and high bounce rates.

Solution: Replaced default filters with Ajax-enabled multi-select filters and collapsible panels.

Result: 30% reduction in bounce rate and 18% increase in product views per session.

Tool & Equipment Supplier

Problem: Customers needed to filter tools by voltage, brand, and features—WooCommerce defaults were insufficient.

Solution: Added sliders for power range and Ajax filtering for brands and categories.

Result: Faster navigation and improved mobile user satisfaction.

Beauty Store

Problem: Shoppers couldn’t combine filters like “Cruelty-Free + Oily Skin + Under $40.”

Solution: Added custom filter groups with real-time Ajax refresh.

Result: Better targeting and improved product discovery for specific skin types.

Tech Accessories Brand

Problem: Long page reloads frustrated mobile users browsing phone accessories.

Solution: Enabled Ajax pagination, sorting, and sidebar filters.

Result: 22% increase in mobile conversions and fewer abandoned sessions.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

Lightning-fast product filtering
Cleaner UI/UX and improved usability
Reduces page reloads and friction
Encourages longer session duration
SEO and sharing-friendly URLs
Works with any WooCommerce theme
Supports complex catalogs and filters
Easy to use for both admins and customers

Cons:

Some features may require styling tweaks for full theme compatibility
Initial configuration needed for custom taxonomies
May require caching exclusions for Ajax content
Heavier stores should test performance with high traffic

Despite a few technical considerations, it delivers tremendous UX and conversion value out of the box.

Pricing

Ajax-Enabled Enhanced Layered Navigation plugin is available as a premium WooCommerce plugin:

Price: ~$79–99/year for 1 site license
Includes:
- 1 year of support
- 1 year of updates
- Unlimited filter combinations
- Full Ajax functionality

It’s also included in some WooCommerce theme bundles and optimization packages.

How to Set It Up

Install and activate the plugin
Go to WooCommerce → Layered Navigation
Choose attributes to include (e.g. Size, Color, Brand)
Set widget or shortcode placement
Enable Ajax loading and customize filter behavior
Optional: Add filter icons, tooltips, or sliders
Test filters on desktop and mobile
Configure URL rewrite structure and SEO settings

You can set up basic filters in 15–30 minutes and gradually add advanced logic as needed.

Final Verdict

Ajax-Enabled Enhanced Layered Navigation Plugin is a must-have WooCommerce plugin for stores that want to deliver a fast, intuitive, and professional shopping experience.

Whether you’re managing:

A fashion catalog with dozens of variants
A tech store with detailed attributes
A niche shop with SEO-driven landing pages

This plugin empowers you to:

Improve site navigation
Reduce bounce rates
Boost conversions
Provide Amazon-like product filtering

If product discovery is important to your business (and it should be), this plugin is your competitive edge.

Click here to get Ajax-Enabled Enhanced Layered Navigation Plugin now!

Ajax-Enabled Enhanced Layered Navigation – WordPress Plugin