How To Make Woocommerce Menu Cart Dropdown

How to Create a WooCommerce Menu Cart Dropdown: Enhance User Experience and Boost Sales

Introduction:

In the competitive world of e-commerce, providing a seamless and intuitive shopping experience is paramount. A key component of that experience is the shopping cart. Instead of forcing users to navigate to a separate cart page every time they add an item, offering a WooCommerce menu cart dropdown provides immediate visibility and easy access to their selected products. This article will guide you through the process of creating a functional and visually appealing dropdown cart in your WooCommerce navigation menu, enhancing user convenience and potentially boosting your sales. This approach will allow users to see their items quickly, remove items and proceed to checkout without ever leaving the current page.

Main Part: Implementing the WooCommerce Menu Cart Dropdown

There are several methods to implement a WooCommerce menu cart dropdown. We will cover two popular approaches: using a plugin and implementing it with custom code.

Method Read more about How To Install Woocommerce Plugins 1: Using a WooCommerce Menu Cart Plugin

This is the simplest and often the recommended approach for users with less technical expertise. Many free and premium plugins are available, offering various customization options.

1. Choosing a Plugin:

• Search for “WooCommerce Menu Cart” in the WordPress plugin repository.
• Look for plugins with good reviews, a high number of active installations, and recent updates.
• Popular options include:
• WooCommerce Menu Cart
• Menu Cart Pro

2. Installation and Activation:

• Install and activate your chosen plugin through the WordPress admin dashboard (Plugins > Add New).

3. Configuration:

• Navigate to the plugin’s settings page (usually found under Appearance > Customize or a dedicated settings tab).
• Configure the following options:
• Menu to display the cart in: Select the navigation menu where you want the cart icon to appear. This is usually your primary menu.
• Cart Icon: Choose a visually appealing cart icon. Some plugins offer a selection of icons, or allow you Discover insights on How To Add Custom Field In Woocommerce Checkout Form to upload your own.
• Display Cart Content: Enable the dropdown functionality to show the cart contents.
• Subtotal/Total: Decide whether to display the cart subtotal, total, or both in the dropdown.
• Empty Cart Behavior: Configure what happens when the cart is empty (e.g., hide the cart icon or display a message).
• Custom CSS (Optional): Use custom CSS to further style the appearance of the cart dropdown to match your website’s design.

4. Save Changes:

• Save your changes, and the WooCommerce menu cart dropdown should now be visible in your selected menu.

Method 2: Implementing with Custom Code

This method offers more flexibility and control over the appearance and functionality of the cart dropdown, but requires some coding knowledge. Always back up your website before editing theme files.

1. Access Your Theme’s `functions.php` File:

• Navigate to Appearance > Theme Editor in your WordPress admin dashboard.
• Locate the `functions.php` file. Child themes are strongly recommended to prevent losing your changes during theme updates. If you’re not using a child theme, create one.

2. Add the following code snippet to your `functions.php` file:

 <?php 

function woocommerce_menu_cart_dropdown( $items, $args ) {

if ( $args->theme_location == ‘primary’ ) { // Replace ‘primary’ with your menu location

ob_start();

?>

• <a class="cart-contents" href="” title=””>

  Learn more about How To Send Email Woocommerce class=”fa fa-shopping-cart”>

  cart->get_cart_contents_count(); ?>

  cart->is_empty() ) : ?>

  <?php

  foreach ( WC()->cart->get_cart() as $cart_item_key => $cart_item ) {

  $_product = apply_filters( ‘woocommerce_cart_item_product’, $cart_item[‘data’], $cart_item, $cart_item_key );

  $product_id = apply_filters( ‘woocommerce_cart_item_product_id’, $cart_item[‘product_id’], $cart_item, $cart_item_key );

  if ( $_product && $_product->exists() && $cart_item[‘quantity’] > 0 && apply_filters( ‘woocommerce_cart_item_visible’, true, $cart_item, $cart_item_key ) ) {

  $product_permalink = apply_filters( ‘woocommerce_cart_item_permalink’, $_product->is_visible() ? $_product->get_permalink( $cart_item ) : ”, $cart_item, $cart_item_key );

  ?>

  <li class="woocommerce-cart-item “>

  <?php

  echo apply_filters( ‘woocommerce_cart_item_remove_link’, sprintf(

  ‘ב,

  esc_url( wc_get_cart_remove_url( $cart_item_key ) ),

  __( ‘Remove this item’, ‘woocommerce’ ),

  esc_attr( $product_id ),

  esc_attr( $_product->get_sku() )

  ), $cart_item_key );

  ?>

  <?php

  $thumbnail = apply_filters( ‘woocommerce_cart_item_thumbnail’, $_product->get_image(), $cart_item, $cart_item_key );

  if ( Learn more about How To Set Up Woocommerce Store Book ! $product_permalink ) {

  echo $thumbnail;

  } else {

  printf( ‘%s‘, esc_url( $product_permalink ), $thumbnail );

  }

  ?>

  <?php

  if ( ! $product_permalink ) {

  echo apply_filters( ‘woocommerce_cart_item_name’, $_product->get_title(), $cart_item, $cart_item_key ) . ‘ ‘;

  } else {

  echo apply_filters( ‘woocommerce_cart_item_name’, sprintf( ‘%s‘, esc_url( $product_permalink ), $_product->get_title() ), $cart_item, $cart_item_key );

  }

  echo apply_filters( ‘woocommerce_cart_item_quantity’, sprintf( ‘%s × %s’, $cart_item[‘quantity’], $_product->get_price_html() ), $cart_item, $cart_item_key );

  ?>

  <?php

  }

  }

  ?>

  • :

  • <a href="” class=”button wc-forward”>

<?php

$cart_html = ob_get_clean();

$items .= $cart_html;

}

return Read more about How To Charge A Travel Fee In Woocommerce $items;

}

add_filter( ‘wp_nav_menu_items’, ‘woocommerce_menu_cart_dropdown’, 10, 2 );

?>

3. Explanation of the Code:

• `woocommerce_menu_cart_dropdown`: This function filters the menu items.
• `$args->theme_location == ‘primary’`: This checks if the current menu location is set to ‘primary’. Change ‘primary’ to the actual location of your menu as defined in your theme (e.g., ‘main-menu’, ‘top-navigation’). You can find the menu location in your theme’s `functions.php` file or by inspecting the HTML of your menu.
• `ob_start()`, `ob_get_clean()`: These functions capture the HTML output to be added to the menu.
• The HTML structure creates a new menu item with a cart icon (you’ll need to include a Font Awesome or similar library for the icon).
• It then loops through the items in the WooCommerce cart and displays them in a dropdown.
• `wc_get_cart_url()`, `wc_get_checkout_url()`: These WooCommerce functions retrieve the URLs for the cart and checkout pages.
• The code includes a remove button for each item in the cart.

4. Styling the Dropdown (CSS):

• You’ll need to add CSS to style the appearance of the dropdown. Add this CSS to your theme’s `style.css` file or through the WordPress Customizer (Appearance > Customize > Additional CSS). Example styles:

.woocommerce li.woocommerce {

position: relative;

}

.woocommerce li.woocommerce .cart-contents {

display: block;

padding: 10px 15px;

text-decoration: none;

color: #333;

}

.woocommerce li.woocommerce .cart-contents i {

margin-right: 5px;

}

.woocommerce li.woocommerce .dropdown {

position: absolute;

top: 100%;

right: 0;

background-color: #fff;

border: 1px solid #ccc;

padding: 10px;

z-index: 1000;

min-width: 300px;

display: none; /* Hidden by default */

}

.woocommerce li.woocommerce:hover .dropdown {

display: block; /* Show on hover */

}

.woocommerce li.woocommerce .dropdown li {

list-style: none;

margin-bottom: 5px;

padding-bottom: 5px;

border-bottom: 1px solid #eee;

}

.woocommerce li.woocommerce .dropdown li:last-child {

border-bottom: none;

margin-bottom: 0;

padding-bottom: 0;

}

.woocommerce li.woocommerce .dropdown a.remove {

float: right;

text-decoration: none;

color: red;

}

.woocommerce li.woocommerce .dropdown .buttons {

text-align: right;

}

• Adjust the CSS to match your website’s design and desired look and feel. Pay close attention to positioning, colors, and responsiveness. You may need to adjust the `min-width` property to suit the number of items you expect users to have in their cart.

5. Adding Font Awesome (or similar):

• The code uses `` for the cart icon. You need to ensure that Font Awesome (or another icon library) is included on your website. This can be done by:
• Including the Font Awesome CSS file in your theme’s “.
• Using a WordPress plugin that adds Font Awesome.

Conslusion:

By implementing a WooCommerce menu cart dropdown, you can significantly improve the user experience on your e-commerce website. Whether you choose the ease of a plugin or the flexibility of custom code, this feature provides immediate access to the shopping cart, encouraging users to complete their purchases. Remember to thoroughly test your implementation on different devices and browsers to ensure a consistent and seamless experience. A user-friendly shopping cart is a crucial element in driving conversions and fostering customer satisfaction, ultimately contributing to the success of your online store. Don’t forget to use A/B testing to see which cart design converts better.