How to Customize the Out of Stock Button in WordPress

What Is the Customize Out of Stock Button Text feature?

The default WooCommerce behavior for out-of-stock products is to show a grayed-out “Read More” button (or similar, depending on the theme). This feature lets you customize:

• The button text (e.g., “Out of Stock”, “Sold Out”, “Notify When Available”)
• The button behavior (disabled, link to product page, or hidden)
• The CSS class for theme-specific styling
• Whether the customization applies to variable products that are completely out of stock

Why You Need It

The default behavior is generic and inconsistent across themes:

• “Read More” is confusing for products that are clearly out of stock
• Customers don’t know if the product is coming back
• Some themes show different text, some show no button at all
• For digital products, “out of stock” doesn’t apply (the feature still applies if you want consistent messaging)

For most e-commerce sites, custom out-of-stock messaging improves the customer experience.

How to Customize the Out of Stock Button in WordPress

Step 1: Navigate to Settings

Click into the Classic Monks plugin settings in your WordPress dashboard.

Step 2: Go to the WooCommerce Tab

Click on the WooCommerce menu, then click the Single Product subtab.

Step 3: Enable Customize Out of Stock Button Text

Scroll to Customize Out of Stock Button Text and toggle on. Nested options expand.

Step 4: Set the Button Text

Set the button text for each product type:

• Simple Products Button Text: Default “Out of Stock”
• Variable Products Button Text: Default “Out of Stock”
• Grouped Products Button Text: Default “Out of Stock”
• External Products Button Text: Default “Out of Stock”

Step 5: Choose the Button Behavior

Select the Out of Stock Button Style:

• Disabled: Non-clickable, grayed out
• Link to Product Page: Clickable, but links to the product page (lets customers see related products or waitlist)
• Hidden: Button does not appear at all

Step 6: Configure Advanced Options

The 6 sub-options include:

• Apply to Product Loops: Use the custom button on archive pages
• Apply to Single Product Pages: Use the custom button on detail pages
• Include Variable Products: Apply the customization to variable products that are completely out of stock (all variations)
• Gutenberg Blocks Compatibility: Enable compatibility with WooCommerce Gutenberg blocks
• Custom CSS Class for Out of Stock: Add a custom CSS class for theme styling
• Custom Button Text: Override the per-product-type text with a single custom text

Step 7: Save Changes

Click Save Changes.

Step 8: Test

Set a product to out of stock (Inventory > Stock status). Visit the product on the front-end. Verify the button text and behavior match your configuration.

Configuration Options

Option	Description	Default
Customize Out of Stock Button Text	Master toggle.	Off
Simple Products Button Text	Text for simple products.	“Out of Stock”
Variable Products Button Text	Text for variable products.	“Out of Stock”
Grouped Products Button Text	Text for grouped products.	“Out of Stock”
External Products Button Text	Text for external products.	“Out of Stock”
Apply to Product Loops	Use on archive pages.	Off
Apply to Single Product Pages	Use on detail pages.	On
Include Variable Products	Apply when all variations are out of stock.	Off
Gutenberg Blocks Compatibility	Enable for block-based themes.	Off
Custom CSS Class for Out of Stock	Theme-specific class.	“out-of-stock-btn”
Out of Stock Button Style	Disabled, Link, or Hidden.	Disabled

What Gets Affected

• All out-of-stock products on the site (per the configuration)
• The button text and behavior on the front-end
• The CSS class for theme-specific styling
• The button visibility based on the Hidden style

What Does NOT Get Affected

• The “Add to Cart” button on in-stock products (use Customize Add to Cart Button for that)
• The “Notify When Available” email subscription (that’s a separate plugin)
• The admin order details (the button is front-end only)
• Stock display (the “Out of stock” badge or text in the product meta)

Advanced Options (Developers)

This feature registers 3 WordPress hooks in variation-display.php:

Actions:

• wp_head calls cm_add_out_of_stock_button_styles() (Injects out of stock button CSS)

Filters:

• woocommerce_product_add_to_cart_text calls cm_customize_out_of_stock_button_text() (Customizes out of stock button text (priority 5))
• woocommerce_loop_add_to_cart_link calls cm_customize_out_of_stock_button_loop() (Customizes out of stock loop button (priority 10))

// Hooked in variation-display.php
add_filter( 'woocommerce_product_add_to_cart_text', 'cm_customize_out_of_stock_button_text' );

The feature modifies WooCommerce behavior by registering or removing hooks. Disabling it reverses those changes.

Troubleshooting

The custom button text is not showing

Cause: The toggle is off, or caching is serving the old button text.
Fix: Verify the toggle is on. Clear all caching layers. The button is rendered server-side, so caching is the most common cause.

The button is still clickable when the style is set to “Disabled”

Cause: A theme or plugin is overriding the disabled attribute via JavaScript.
Fix: Check the rendered button HTML (View Source) to verify the disabled attribute is present. If a custom JavaScript is removing it, identify and disable that script.

The customization doesn’t apply to variable products

Cause: The “Include Variable Products” sub-option is off.
Fix: Enable the sub-option. Variable products are only customized if all variations are out of stock (per-variation stock is checked).

The CSS class doesn’t apply

Cause: The theme’s CSS specificity is overriding the custom class, or the class name is misspelled.
Fix: Inspect the rendered button in the browser’s DevTools. Verify the class is present. If it is but not styled, your theme’s CSS has higher specificity. Add !important to the theme CSS rule (as a last resort) or use a more specific selector.

The button is hidden when it should be disabled

Cause: The button style is set to “Hidden” but you wanted “Disabled”.
Fix: Check the Out of Stock Button Style setting. “Hidden” completely removes the button; “Disabled” keeps it visible but unclickable.