WooCommerce: How to Find Out What Shopping Cart Plugin is Being Used (Easily!)
So, you’ve stumbled upon a fantastic-looking online store built with WooCommerce, and you’re wondering, “What shopping cart plugin are they *actually* using?” Maybe you’re just curious, or perhaps you’re looking to implement similar features on your own WooCommerce site. Figuring this out can be a little tricky, but don’t worry! This guide will walk you through several easy methods to identify the shopping cart plugin being used, even if you’re a WooCommerce newbie.
We’ll cover everything from simple visual cues to more advanced techniques using your browser’s developer tools. Let’s dive in!
Why Would You Want to Know?
Before we jump into the “how,” let’s briefly explore *why* you’d want to know the specific cart plugin a WooCommerce store is using.
* Inspiration: Seeing a feature you love on another site can inspire you to add similar functionality to your own store. Knowing the plugin they’re using saves you time searching and testing.
* Troubleshooting: If you’re having issues with your own cart, seeing how others have implemented similar features might give you clues.
* Competitive Analysis: Understanding which cart plugins your competitors are using can give you insight into their strategy and help you stay ahead.
* Plugin Compatibility: If you’re developing a new WooCommerce plugin, you might want to ensure it’s compatible with popular cart plugins.
Think of it like seeing a really cool feature on a car. You might wonder if it’s a standard feature or an add-on. Figuring out what the “add-on” is in WooCommerce helps you recreate a similar experience.
Easy Ways to Identify WooCommerce Shopping Cart Plugins
Here are several methods you can use, ranging from the incredibly simple to slightly more technical.
1. Visual Cues: Look for Branding
Sometimes, the easiest solution is staring you right in the face! Many WooCommerce cart plugins will include some form of branding, either subtly or directly.
* Check the Footer: Many developers like to leave a small “Powered by [Plugin Name]” message in the footer. Scroll to the very bottom of the page and see if anything stands out.
* Look for Distinctive UI Elements: Some cart plugins have unique user interface elements. For example, a custom checkout process or a highly styled cart button. If something looks drastically different from the standard WooCommerce interface, it’s a good clue.
* Examine the URL During Checkout: During the checkout process, pay attention to the URL. Some cart plugins might append specific parameters or use a different URL structure that hints at the plugin’s name. For example, a URL containing `/wc-apg/checkout` might suggest the use of the WooCommerce Advanced Product Gallery plugin.
Real-life example: I saw a site with a checkout page that had very specific icons for accepted payment methods. Hovering over them revealed they were using a specific payment gateway plugin for WooCommerce that I had never used before.
2. “Built With” Tools & Website Analyzers
Several online tools are designed to identify the technologies used to build a website. These can be quite effective in identifying WooCommerce plugins.
* Wappalyzer: This is a popular browser extension (available for Chrome, Firefox, and others) that attempts to identify the technologies used on a webpage. It often correctly identifies WooCommerce plugins, including cart plugins. Just install the extension and visit the site.
* BuiltWith.com: This website analyzer performs a similar function to Wappalyzer. Simply enter the website’s URL and it will attempt to identify the technologies used, including WooCommerce and its plugins.
Example: You visit a site and run Wappalyzer. It identifies “WooCommerce” as the eCommerce platform and also lists “YITH Wishlist” and “WooCommerce Product Bundles” as detected technologies. This gives you a good starting point for understanding what plugins are being used.
3. Inspecting the Page Source Code (For the More Adventurous!)
If the previous methods don’t yield results, you can delve into the page source code. Don’t be intimidated! We’re looking for clues, not writing code.
1. Right-Click and Select “View Page Source” (or similar): In most browsers, you can right-click on the page and select “View Page Source” or “Inspect.” This will open a new tab (or a panel) containing the HTML code of the page.
2. Search for Plugin-Specific Keywords: Use the “Find” function (usually Ctrl+F or Cmd+F) to search for keywords related to cart functionality, such as:
* “cart-fragment”
* “woocommerce-cart”
* “checkout”
* “add-to-cart”
* The likely names of cart plugins based on your research from the first two steps.
3. Look for Plugin File Paths: Pay attention to the paths of CSS and JavaScript files. WooCommerce plugins often include their plugin name in the file path. For example:
In this example, the file path clearly indicates the “plugin-name” is being used.
Reasoning: By examining the source code, you’re directly looking at the ingredients that make up the website. The plugins often leave footprints in the code, making it easier to find their names.
4. Using Browser Developer Tools (Advanced But Powerful)
Browser developer tools offer the most in-depth way to investigate. They allow you to inspect network requests, cookies, and other data that can reveal the cart plugin being used.
1. Open Developer Tools: In most browsers, you can open developer tools by pressing F12 or right-clicking and selecting “Inspect.”
2. Go to the “Network” Tab: This tab shows all the network requests made by the page, including requests for images, CSS, JavaScript, and AJAX requests.
3. Filter by “XHR” (XMLHttpRequest): This filters the requests to show only AJAX requests, which are often used by cart plugins for features like updating the cart without reloading the page.
4. Monitor Requests During Cart Actions: Add a product to the cart, update the quantity, or proceed to checkout. Pay attention to the network requests that are triggered.
5. Examine Request URLs and Payloads: Click on a request to see its details, including the URL and the data being sent (the “payload”). The URL or payload might contain clues about the plugin being used.
Example: You add a product to the cart, and a network request is made to a URL like `https://example.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=wc_custom_cart_update`. The `wc_custom_cart_update` action might suggest a custom cart plugin.
Important Considerations:
* Caching: Caching plugins can sometimes make it difficult to identify plugins using these methods, as they might serve cached versions of files. Try clearing your browser cache or using a private browsing window.
* Code Obfuscation: Some developers might obfuscate their code to make it harder to reverse engineer. This can make it difficult to identify the plugin being used.
* Custom Development: Sometimes, the features you see are custom-developed and not based on a specific plugin. In these cases, identification will be more difficult.
Conclusion
Finding out which WooCommerce shopping cart plugin is being used can be a valuable exercise. By combining the techniques outlined in this guide, you can gain valuable insights into how other stores are built and potentially discover new plugins to enhance your own WooCommerce site. Remember to always test new plugins thoroughly in a staging environment before implementing them on your live site. Happy hunting!
