How to read a WooCommerce override warning, and when overriding a template is still the right call.
WooCommerce tells you a template override is out of date. The status page turns amber. Nothing appears broken. The question is whether this is a ticking problem or a permanent piece of furniture.
What the warning actually means
It means your theme contains a copy of a WooCommerce template, and the original has changed since that copy was made. It does not mean the page is broken — it means WooCommerce has stopped being able to guarantee it. The difference matters, because the fix is not “delete the override” but “re-apply your change on top of the current version”.
When overriding is still correct
If you need markup WooCommerce does not expose through a hook, an override is the honest answer. Filters and actions cover most cases, and should be tried first, but contorting a page through six filters to avoid one override is worse code, not better.
The practical rule
Keep a list of every override and why it exists. Diff them against core on each WooCommerce major. Overrides you cannot justify in a sentence get deleted — that is usually half of them, left behind by a theme change years ago.