Product Categories Order in Header Search Dropdown

To clarify:
I only want the order of all categories in the header search dropdown to match the order already defined in WooCommerce → Products → Categories (custom order / menu order), instead of alphabetical order.

So I am not asking for a custom manual sorting solution just for the header.
I only want the dropdown to inherit the existing WooCommerce category order.

If there is a filter, hook, or child-theme-safe way to make the header search category dropdown respect that existing category order, please let me know.

Thank you.

Hello,

I think there may be a misunderstanding, so I would like to clarify.

I am not referring to AJAX search suggestions or category suggestions while typing in the search field.

I am referring only to the static category selector dropdown in the header search form – the dropdown attached to the “All categories” (SVE KATEGORIJE) field.

So the issue is only this part:

* the static dropdown that lists all product categories in the header search form
* not the live search suggestions

I would like this static header search category dropdown to follow the existing WooCommerce category order from:

WooCommerce → Products → Categories

instead of alphabetical order.

Could you please confirm whether the file/method responsible for this static dropdown is really inc/modules/search/class-ajax-search.php, or if it is located elsewhere?

I attached a screenshot and marked the exact dropdown I mean.

Thank you.

Best regards,
Dejan

Hello,

Thank you for your suggestion.

I tried using the Simple Custom Post Order plugin as recommended, but unfortunately it caused serious issues:

* After reordering product categories, products disappeared from main shop page (https://granule.rs/prodavnica/)
* The plugin does not properly handle hierarchical structures (subcategories are not preserved when reordering parent categories)
* Overall, it breaks the existing WooCommerce category structure and display logic

Because of this, it is not a viable solution in my case.

Also, I would like to clarify something important:

WooCommerce already provides a native drag & drop (menu order) functionality for product categories under:
Products → Categories

My expectation is simply that the header search category dropdown respects this existing WooCommerce category order.

At the moment, it seems that WoodMart ignores the default WooCommerce category ordering and forces alphabetical sorting instead.

So my question is:

👉 Why is the theme not using the native WooCommerce category order (menu_order) for this dropdown?
👉 Is there any way to make the header search category selector follow the default WooCommerce ordering without using third-party plugins or modifying core theme files?

I am only trying to use the built-in WooCommerce functionality, not introduce a new ordering system.

Thank you in advance for your clarification.

Best regards,
Dejan

Perfect, this works 🙂
Thank you very much!