If your WooCommerce product category description field suddenly switches from a rich text editor to a plain textarea, you are not alone. This issue can appear without warning and is often difficult to diagnose because it is not tied to a single obvious cause.
In this case, a WooCommerce site lost its WYSIWYG editor and “Add Media” button specifically on product category pages, while another nearly identical environment worked correctly. The root cause turned out to be unexpected and highlights the importance of thorough troubleshooting.
Issue Background
The issue appeared in the WordPress admin under:
Products → Categories
- A plain textarea instead of a rich text editor
- No formatting controls
- No “Add Media” button
At the same time, another environment with the same setup displayed the editor correctly, indicating a deeper issue.
Diagnosis
Environment comparison
- WordPress versions matched
- WooCommerce versions matched
- Same theme in use (Flatsome with child theme)
User permissions check
- edit_products
- edit_product_terms
- manage_product_terms
- upload_files
Permissions were correct and not the cause.
Theme and taxonomy review
- No custom functions affecting product_cat taxonomy
- No TinyMCE or wp_editor overrides
Plugin conflict testing
- Deactivated multiple plugins including User Role Editor and Asset CleanUp Pro
- Tested with only WooCommerce active
- Switched themes temporarily
The issue persisted across all tests.
Hidden plugin corruption
Further inspection revealed:
- The wordpress-seo plugin directory existed
- The plugin did not appear in the admin plugin list
- Reinstallation attempts failed
This indicated a corrupted Yoast SEO installation.
Resolution Steps
Remove corrupted plugin
- Access the site via SSH or file manager
- Navigate to /wp-content/plugins/
- Delete the wordpress-seo folder
Reinstall Yoast SEO
- Install from the WordPress plugin repository
- Activate normally
Verify fix
- Return to Products → Categories
- Edit a category
- Confirm WYSIWYG editor and Add Media button are restored
Final Outcome
After reinstalling Yoast SEO, the editor functionality returned immediately. The category description field now supports rich text editing and media uploads as expected.
This issue demonstrates that corrupted plugin files can affect WordPress behavior even when the plugin is not active or visible in the admin.
If you encounter similar issues, checking the file system for incomplete or broken plugin installations can save significant troubleshooting time.
