How to Add a WooCommerce Cart to Your Menu: A Beginner’s Guide
You’ve got a fantastic WooCommerce store, packed with amazing products. But is it easy for your customers to see what’s in their cart and quickly proceed to checkout? Often, the default WooCommerce experience leaves this key element hidden. This article walks you through several simple ways to display a WooCommerce cart icon in your website’s menu, boosting conversions and making your online store more user-friendly.
Think of it like this: imagine you’re shopping in a physical store. You wouldn’t want to have to hunt down a cashier just to see how much you’ve already added to your basket, right? The same principle applies online. A visible cart in your menu acts as a constant reminder of what shoppers have selected, encouraging them to complete their purchase.
Why Show the Cart in Your Menu?
- Improved User Experience: Shoppers can easily access their cart from any page, making the shopping process smoother.
- Increased Conversions: Reducing the number of clicks required to reach the cart and checkout significantly impacts conversion rates.
- Visual Reminder: A cart icon with a product count subtly encourages customers to finalize their purchase. It’s like a gentle nudge!
- Modern Design: A cart icon contributes to a professional and modern look and feel for your online store.
- WooCommerce Menu Cart: A lightweight and free plugin with plenty of options to customize the cart icon, display type (e.g., only icon, icon with items, icon with price), and cart details.
- Menu Cart Pro: A premium plugin offering advanced customization features, including animations, cart total display, and compatibility with various themes.
- CartFlows: Although CartFlows is primarily for building sales funnels, it also provides options to customize the cart in the menu and other areas of your WooCommerce store.
- Choose which menu to add the cart to.
- Select the cart icon (a variety of options are available).
- Decide whether to display the item count and/or total price.
- Adjust the cart icon visibility (e.g., only show when items are in the cart).
Method 1: Using the WooCommerce Menu Item
This is the simplest method, perfect for beginners. WooCommerce, thankfully, includes this feature in the basic plugin!
1. Navigate to Appearance > Menus in your WordPress dashboard.
2. Find the “WooCommerce Endpoints” section in the left-hand panel. You might need to click the “Screen Options” tab at the top right of the screen and enable “WooCommerce Endpoints” if you don’t see it.
3. Select “Cart” and click “Add to Menu”.
4. Drag and drop the “Cart” menu item to your desired position in the menu structure. Typically, it goes at the end, next to “My Account.”
5. Click “Save Menu”.
That’s it! Now, your menu should display a “Cart” link.
Method 2: Using a WordPress Plugin
If you want a more visually appealing cart icon and more customization options, a plugin is your best bet. Several excellent plugins offer this functionality. Here are a few popular choices:
Example: Using WooCommerce Menu Cart (Free)
1. Install and activate the “WooCommerce Menu Cart” plugin. Search for it in the WordPress plugin repository (Plugins > Add New) and install it. Then, activate it.
2. Navigate to Appearance > Customize > WooCommerce Menu Cart.
3. Here, you’ll find a range of customization options:
4. Click “Publish” to save your changes.
This plugin is straightforward to use and gives you Read more about How To Set Free Local Pickup On Woocommerce a much more visually appealing cart icon than the standard text link.
Method 3: Adding the Cart Icon Manually via Code (For Advanced Users)
This method requires some basic knowledge of PHP and WordPress theme files. Always back up your website before making any code changes! Consider this the *chef’s special*. It’s more complex but allows for fine-grained control.
Note: This code needs to be added to your theme’s `functions.php` file or, even better, a child theme’s `functions.php` file to prevent losing the changes when your theme updates.
<?php /**
$items .= ‘
‘;
}
return $items;
}
/
* Add CSS for the cart icon. This is a basic example, adjust to your needs.
*/
add_action( ‘wp_head’, ‘woo_menu_cart_style’ );
function woo_menu_cart_style() {
?>
.cart-contents {
display: inline-block;
position: relative;
}
.cart-count {
position: absolute;
top: -8px;
right: -8px;
background-color: #f00;
color: #fff;
border-radius: 50%;
padding: 2px 5px;
font-size: 10px;
}
<?php
}
?>
Explanation:
- `add_filter( ‘wp_nav_menu_items’, ‘woo_menu_cart’, 10, 2 );`: This line hooks into the WordPress menu items filter, allowing us to add our cart icon.
- `’primary’ == $args->theme_location`: Crucially, replace `’primary’` with the actual theme location name of the menu you want to add the cart to. You can find this in Appearance > Menus under “Menu Settings”. If you leave this incorrect, nothing will happen!
- ``: This uses Font Awesome to display a shopping cart icon. You’ll need to ensure Font Awesome is loaded on your site. If you’re not using Font Awesome, replace this with a different icon from a library you are using, or a simple image.
- The CSS provides basic styling to position and style the cart count badge. Adjust as needed to match your theme’s aesthetics.
Important Considerations:
- Theme Location: Double-check the theme location name for your menu. Incorrectly setting it will prevent the cart icon from appearing.
- CSS Styling: The provided CSS is a basic example. You’ll likely need to adjust it to match your theme’s design.
- Child Theme: Always add code customizations to a child theme to avoid losing them when your parent theme is updated.
Which Method Should You Choose?
- Beginners: Use Method 1 (WooCommerce Menu Item) or Method 2 (plugin).
- Intermediate Users: Method 2 (plugin) is generally the best balance of customization and ease of use.
- Advanced Users: Method 3 (code) provides the most flexibility but requires more technical expertise.
By adding a WooCommerce cart to your menu, you’ll significantly improve the shopping experience for your customers, potentially leading to increased sales and a more successful online store! Choose the method that best suits your skill level and website needs.
