What Is the Disable marketplace suggestions feature?
WooCommerce’s admin interface includes marketplace suggestions and promotional content (e.g., extension recommendations, theme suggestions, service promotions). For stores that don’t need these recommendations, this feature removes them from the admin, providing a cleaner interface.
Why You Need It
WooCommerce’s marketplace suggestions are designed to help new store owners discover extensions and services. For established stores with their own stack, the suggestions are noise. Disabling them simplifies the admin interface and removes distracting promotional content.
How to Disable Marketplace Suggestions 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 Optimization subtab.
Step 3: Enable the Feature
Toggle on Disable marketplace suggestions.
Step 4: Save Changes
Click Save Changes.
Step 5: Test
Go to the WooCommerce admin. The marketplace suggestions should not be visible.
Configuration Options
| Option | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Disable marketplace suggestions | Master toggle. | Off |
No nested options.
What Gets Affected
- Marketplace suggestions and promotional content are removed
- The WooCommerce admin interface is cleaner
- Admin pages load slightly faster
What Does NOT Get Affected
- WooCommerce’s core functionality (orders, products, etc.)
- The ability to install extensions manually (via Plugins > Add New)
- The WooCommerce data and settings
Advanced Options (Developers)
This feature registers 1 WordPress hook in woocommerce-functions.php:
Filters:
woocommerce_allow_marketplace_suggestionscalls__return_false()(Disables WooCommerce marketplace suggestions (priority 999))
// Hooked in woocommerce-functions.php
add_filter( 'woocommerce_allow_marketplace_suggestions', '__return_false' );The feature modifies WooCommerce behavior by registering or removing hooks. Disabling it reverses those changes.
Common Use Cases
Multi-Author Content Sites
For sites that have a large content team (multi-author blogs with a shop section), the marketplace suggestions appear for every author. Removing them keeps the author experience focused on content creation. The shop managers can re-enable the suggestions on their own admin views via a small custom plugin if needed.
Multi-store Networks
If you run a WordPress network (multisite) with multiple WooCommerce stores, the marketplace suggestions appear on every store’s admin. Disabling the suggestions on the network level (via a small custom plugin) provides a cleaner admin experience for the network administrators. The suggestions can be re-enabled per-store if needed for new stores that want to discover extensions.
Multi-language stores
For stores that serve customers in multiple languages via WPML or Polylang, the marketplace suggestions add noise to the localized admin experience. Disabling them keeps the admin focused on the localized workflow.
Independent brands
Brands that want to control which extensions their customers see (rather than the WC marketplace recommendations) disable the suggestions for a cleaner admin.
White-label stores
If you build sites for clients and the WC marketplace suggestions would distract from your client’s own recommended tools, disable them.
Established stores
Stores with a stable extension stack don’t need marketplace recommendations. Disabling them reduces admin clutter.
Custom-built stores
Stores with custom themes and custom plugins don’t need suggestions for third-party extensions. Disabling them improves focus.
High-volume admin users
For staff processing many orders per day, every admin interaction counts. Removing marketplace suggestions speeds up the admin workflow.
Troubleshooting
The feature is not taking effect
Cause: The toggle is off, or a caching plugin is serving the old page.
Fix: Verify the toggle is on. Clear all caching layers (page cache, object cache, CDN).
I want the feature to apply only to specific pages
Cause: The toggle is global.
Fix: Use a small custom plugin that checks the current page and conditionally enables the feature (e.g., via the filter above).
A third-party plugin is breaking after enabling
Cause: Some plugins depend on the disabled feature.
Fix: Disable the toggle and find an alternative (e.g., conditional loading via a performance plugin).
The change is not visible to customers
Cause: The feature is admin-only or affects specific page types that the customer doesn’t visit.
Fix: Verify the feature is working in the appropriate context (e.g., admin pages, non-WooCommerce pages, etc.).