Users typically use these two terms interchangeably. For a better understanding of what filtering means within WooCommerce, let us explain the differences between facets and filters:
Filtering – a method for instantly getting rid of irrelevant data and displaying a comprehensible list of products for your customers.
Faceting – a method for zeroing in on products and search results in a targeted way, not feasible or possible when using broad-range filters.
Let’s look at examples.
Example of filtering
You visited an online clothing store and entered the “Hoodies” category. You now want to move over to the “T-shirt” category. This is how filtering works, meaning you have discarded all the previous products from the “Hoodies” category and are now browsing a completely different area.
Example of faceting
While browsing the products in the “T-shirt” category, you want to narrow down the results to only “Size M” and the color “Green”. You tick the appropriate boxes from the filter interface, displayed in the sidebar. This is how faceting works.
FiboFilters offers only one filtering UI element and many faceting elements. The “Categories” element serves as a filter because when users click on it, they’re redirected to a new page within that category. The other elements, such as “Checkboxes”, “Radio list”, “Number Range”, and “Toggle” are for faceting, because by clicking on them users only narrow down on previous filters without changing the context of the products.