A Quick Tutorial on Setting WooCommerce Maximum Quantity Limits

Do you want to prevent customers from buying more than a specific number of product units per order? In this detailed tutorial, I’ll walk you through the steps to define WooCommerce maximum quantity limits for all products, individual products (both simple and variable), and entire product categories. The best part? The whole setup process takes less than 7 minutes from start to finish.

If you want to apply restrictions on the maximum number of products customers can buy in a single transaction, this tutorial on how to set up purchase limits in WooCommerce is for you.

Here, we’ll cover the following topics in depth:

• An overview of how WooCommerce maximum quantity limit settings work.
• Key benefits of customizing WooCommerce’s built-in options to apply upper limits on the number of products customers can purchase per order.
• How to set maximum order quantity controls with the help of the Min/Max Quantity for WooCommerce plugin.
• A step-by-step guide to customizing notifications and display rules for maximum quantity limits in WooCommerce.

The plugin used in this tutorial

• Min/Max Quantity for WooCommerce: Our very own hand-crafted plugin used by thousands of WooCommerce stores to modify the default quantity, add minimum quantity rules, change the quantity picker style, adjust the step quantity value, and of course, set maximum quantity limits. Check out the plugin demo or define maximum quantity limits in your WooCommerce store with the free or pro version now.

Let’s begin by understanding how WooCommerce’s built-in settings that control the maximum order quantity limits work.

What is the maximum quantity limit in WooCommerce?

By default, WooCommerce doesn’t set a maximum quantity limit on products. Customers are free to add as many units of an item to their shopping carts as they want, so long that there’s enough inventory available.

If you’ve opted to keep track of a product’s stock level (by enabling Stock management in the inventory tab within the product data module of each Edit product page), WooCommerce will only restrict purchases based on your preferred setting.

Here’s a brief overview of how WooCommerce’s built-in product quantity management settings work:

• On a per-product basis. WooCommerce allows customers to buy any available stock of a product. If, for example, you have 500 product units in stock, a single customer can purchase all 500 in one order unless you set restrictions to prevent them.
• On a cart basis. There’s no built-in limit on the total number of products a customer can add to their cart. Customers can freely mix and match as many items as they want unless you set up a storewide restriction preventing this.

Of course, WooCommerce’s built-in product quantity rules aren’t suitable for every ecommerce scenario, so you may need to add maximum quantity rules to your online store with the help of a plugin.

What is a WooCommerce maximum quantity rule?

In WooCommerce, maximum quantity rules are restrictions that limit how many units of a particular product — or all products — a customer can purchase in a single order. Maximum quantity limits are useful for keeping a handle on stock levels, imposing order limits on specific products or categories, and more.

Why set WooCommerce maximum quantity limits?

On the face of it, it may seem counterintuitive to set purchase limits in an online store. After all, wouldn’t that also limit profits? However, there are several reasons why WooCommerce store admins decide to apply maximum order quantity limits.

To prevent stockouts

If you sell products that are in high demand, you wouldn’t want a single customer buying up all your inventory, leaving everyone else empty-handed. Restricting the number of purchases per customer can help lower the risk of running out of stock quickly.

To maintain premium appeal

Stores that capitalize on exclusiveness — think: luxury brands, limited-edition collabs, etc. — often rely on purchase limits to reinforce their premium appeal and product desirability. Allowing bulk orders can diminish the perceived value of their products or brand and lower their profits.

To keep user experience (UX) intact

Stores that sell memberships and subscription-focused services typically limit the number of purchases a single customer can make to maintain a smooth checkout flow and ensure a smooth onboarding experience. Without this restriction, customers might mistakenly add multiple memberships to their cart, which results in confusion, dissatisfaction, and a barrage of support requests.

It also helps prevent customer misuse — for example, a members-only book club might want to make sure members can only buy one book per month.

To implement guardrails on promotional offers

Marketing campaigns like buy one, get one (BOGO) or deep discount sales can be abused if customers are allowed to order bulk quantities. Capping how many items customers can purchase in a single order prevents resellers from exploiting the deal and clearing out your inventory only to resell them at a higher amount.

To simplify order fulfillment processes

Depending on how your order management systems are set up, processing large-sized orders can put immense strain on logistics, increase errors, and slow down fulfillment workflows. For instance, in a store that sells crocheted items and can only produce 10 sweaters per week, limiting purchases to 5 per customer makes it possible to fulfill orders efficiently and sustainably without overextending their production capacity.

Use cases for WooCommerce maximum order quantity rules

Here are some of the most popular examples of the kinds of stores known to rely on custom WooCommerce maximum quantity rules. Stores that sell:

• High-demand products. Think: limited-edition sneakers, luxury handbags, exclusive event tickets, etc.
• Subscription and membership-based products. Think: monthly makeup subscription boxes like the Ipsy Glam Bag subscription, premium digital content subscriptions, online courses, etc.
• To both B2B and B2C buyers from the same storefront (also known as hybrid retail and wholesale stores).
• Any kind of product that is available as part of a promotional campaign. Think: Black Friday, BOGO (Buy one, get one) offers, flash sales, etc.

The best WooCommerce maximum quantity plugin

Min/Max Quantity for WooCommerce gives you complete control over product quantity limits in your online store. It lets you set maximum purchase limits in a variety of ways:

• Storewide, i.e. across all products (you can then set up exclusions for specific products).
• For all products in specific categories.
• For individual simple products and specific product variations.
• On the total cart value.

Min/Max Quantity for WooCommerce is super flexible. For example, it gives you the option to prevent customers from being able to proceed to the checkout page until they comply with your store’s quantity rules. Whether or not you enable this option, it validates the number of items in customers’ carts in real time. Customers who try to add more items than allowed or exceed the upper limit of the cart total are shown suitable error messages (which you can customize).

Top features

Set minimum quantity limits

The opposite of maximum quantity restrictions, minimum quantity rules define the smallest number of items customers can purchase in a single transaction.

Adjust step quantity increments

Stores that sell products in predefined quantities — for example, packs of six, cases of twelve, etc. — can set custom incremental purchase quantity limits to make sure customers buy in the right multiples.

Set custom conditions for WooCommerce maximum order quantity rules

You can apply sophisticated rules based on various criteria — think: stock quantity, shipping destinations, user role, coupon code usage, etc. For instance, in a hybrid wholesale and retail store, you can restrict retail customers to a maximum of 5 units per order while allowing wholesale buyers to buy up to 5 units.

Showcase product quantity rules on your site’s front-end

It enables you to display quantity rules on both the single product page and the cart page to make sure customers are aware of the purchase limits upfront. This can help keep customers satisfied and lower the number of abandoned carts.

Modify the default product quantity

You can change the preset product starting quantity from WooCommerce’s default of “1” to any other amount. This can help bolster your profit margins by increasing your store’s average order value (AOV). It also eases the shopping experience by enabling customers to purchase in bulk without having to adjust the quantity manually.

Change quantity picker style

The appearance of the quantity selector button can impact your site’s user experience (UX). This quantity management plugin enables you to change the quantity picker style from WooCommerce’s default input field to a dropdown select or radio button so you can match it to your store’s design.

Schedule duration of WooCommerce maximum quantity limits

Want to schedule purchase limits ahead of time or apply them for a specific duration only? You can add start and end dates and times to maximum quantity rules for a specific timeframe, e.g., during sales periods, product launches, or seasonal promotions.

How do I set maximum quantity limits in WooCommerce?

In this section, I’ll walk you through brief steps to apply maximum purchase limits storewide, per category, and per simple and variable product. You’ll also learn how to customize error messages and rules that control how quantity rules are displayed on the front end of your WooCommerce website.

Press “Play” below if you’d rather a video tutorial on how to set purchase quantity limits in WooCommerce. Otherwise, read on for full step-by-step instructions.

How to set global WooCommerce maximum quantity limits

Follow these steps to apply purchase limits on all products in your online store.

1. Add and activate the Min/Max Quantity for WooCommerce plugin on your online store.
2. From within your WooCommerce store’s admin panel, head to Dotstore Plugins → Min/Max Quantity → Settings → General → Checkout Settings.
   • To limit the maximum number of products per order, update per order, the “Max Order QTY” field.
     
   • Bonus: to limit the maximum amount customers can spend per order, update the “Max Order Value” field.
3. If you’d like to exclude specific products from maximum quantity limits, enter their names in the “Exclude Product” field.
4. Toggle on the “Hide Checkout Button” to prevent people from progressing to the checkout page if the number of products in their shopping carts exceeds the maximum quantity limit.
5. Press the “Save changes” button towards the end of the page.

How to set WooCommerce maximum quantity limits per product and category

Follow these steps to apply purchase limits to simple and variable products as well as entire product categories in your online store.

1. From within your WooCommerce store’s admin panel, head to Dotstore Plugins → Min/Max Quantity → Settings → Add New.
2. Add a name for the maximum quantity restriction (for internal use).
   
3. Look for the “Advanced Rules” section and click the “Add Group” button.
4. Click on the collapsible panel to expand it. This is where you’ll add criteria to determine how the purchase rule will operate.
   • To set WooCommerce maximum quantity limits for simple products, select “Product” from the dropdown on the left and choose the appropriate products from the right-side dropdown.
     
   • To set WooCommerce maximum quantity limits for specific product variations, select “Variable Product” from the dropdown on the left and pick all appropriate variable products from the right-side dropdown.
   • To set WooCommerce maximum quantity limits for specific product categories, select “Category” from the dropdown on the left and pick the appropriate categories from the right-side dropdown.
5. From here, you can also add extra criteria, such as stock quantity, user roles, delivery location, coupon codes used, etc.
6. Next, head to the “Actions” panel, and enter the details in the “Max Quantity” field. You can also update the minimum quantity limit, adjust the step quantity increment value, modify the default product quantity, and change the style of the quantity picker button.
7. Press the “Save changes” button towards the end of the page.

How to customize error messages for customers who exceed the maximum quantity limit

Follow these steps to tweak the guidance message to notify customers that their order doesn’t comply with the WooCommerce maximum order quantity limit.

1. From within your WooCommerce store’s admin panel, head to Dotstore Plugins → Min/Max Quantity → Settings → Messages.
2. Update the “Max order quantity exceeded message” field as needed. This will be shown to customers whose shopping carts exceed the maximum quantity limit.
   
3. Once done, press the “Save changes” button to apply the settings.

To update product quantity display rules

Follow these steps to configure how the WooCommerce maximum order quantity rules are shown to customers on your store’s front end.

1. From within your WooCommerce store’s admin panel, head to Dotstore Plugins → Min/Max Quantity → Settings → Display Rules.
2. Enable the settings to add a table that showcases product quantity rules to the cart and product detail pages in your store.
   
3. Choose whether the product quantity rules should appear before or after the “Add to Cart” button on the product detail page.
4. Specify where on the product detail page to position the product quantity rules.
5. Optional: You can add custom text to provide additional context about your store’s product quantity rules.
6. Finally, press the “Save changes” button to apply the settings.

Get to grips with WooCommerce maximum quantity rules!

Capping the number of items customers can purchase in a single order can yield multiple benefits for your online store: it can help prevent stockouts, protect your site’s user experience, streamline order fulfillment processes, and more.

WooCommerce’s built-in settings don’t include the option to set maximum quantity limits on the number of products customers can purchase per order. However, you can easily set this up with the help of the Min/Max Quantity for WooCommerce plugin.

With Min/Max Quantity for WooCommerce, you can set maximum and minimum quantity rules, modify the quantity picker style, adjust the default product quantity, change the step quantity increment value, and much more.

To get started with this product quantity management plugin, check out the demo or install the free or pro version on your WooCommerce store now.