How to Change the “Add to Cart” Button Text in WooCommerce: A Beginner’s Guide
The “Add to Cart” button is the gateway to sales on your WooCommerce store. It’s the call-to-action (CTA) that prompts customers to take the next step and purchase your products. While the default text works fine, customizing it can significantly improve your conversion rates and better align with your brand’s voice.
Imagine you’re selling handmade soaps. Instead of the generic “Add to Cart,” you might use “Lather Up Now!” or “Grab Your Soap!” These variations are more engaging and resonate with your target audience.
This guide will walk you through several methods to change the “Add to Cart” button text in WooCommerce, catering to different skill levels and needs. We’ll start with the easiest options and then move to more advanced techniques.
Why Customize the “Add to Cart” Button Text?
Before diving into Read more about How To Hide Additional Information Tab In Woocommerce the how-to, let’s quickly recap the *why*:
- Increased Conversions: A more compelling CTA can nudge hesitant customers to click.
- Brand Consistency: Align the button text with your brand’s personality and messaging.
- Clarity and Specificity: If you’re selling subscriptions or pre-orders, change the text to reflect the specific action. For example, “Subscribe Now” or “Pre-Order Today.”
- A/B Testing: Experiment with different text variations to see which performs best. Is “Buy Now” more effective than “Add to Basket”? This is something you can test.
- Localization: Translate the button text into different languages for a multilingual store.
Method 1: Using the WooCommerce Customizer (Easiest)
This is the simplest method and doesn’t require any coding. However, its options are limited. This method is mostly useful if you want to hide “Add to Cart” button and show it just on product page
1. Go to Appearance > Customize in your WordPress dashboard.
2. Look for Explore this article on How To Add Custom Fields In Custom Tab On Woocommerce a WooCommerce section (it might be named differently depending on your theme, such as “Product Catalog”).
3. Within the WooCommerce section, look for settings related to “Products”, “Product Catalog”, or similar.
4. Unfortunately, Discover insights on How To Install Woocommerce Theme In WordPress the WooCommerce Customizer rarely includes direct options to change “Add to Cart” button text.
5. If you don’t find any way to customize “Add to Cart” button proceed with one of the methods below.
The biggest downside is that this customization option isn’t common.
Method 2: Using a Plugin (Recommended for Beginners)
Several plugins allow you to easily customize various WooCommerce elements, including the “Add to Cart” button text. This method is ideal for beginners who don’t want to deal with code.
Here’s how to use the “Code Snippets” plugin (though others work similarly):
1. Install and Activate the “Code Snippets” Plugin: Go to Plugins > Add New and search for “Code Snippets.” Install and activate it.
2. Add a New Snippet: Go to Snippets > Add New.
3. Enter the Code: Paste the following code into the snippet editor:
add_filter( 'woocommerce_product_single_add_to_cart_text', 'custom_add_to_cart_text' ); add_filter( 'woocommerce_product_add_to_cart_text', 'custom_add_to_cart_text' );
function custom_add_to_cart_text() {
return __( ‘Buy It Now!’, ‘woocommerce’ ); // Replace with your desired text
}
4. Explanation of the Code:
- `add_filter( ‘woocommerce_product_single_add_to_cart_text’, ‘custom_add_to_cart_text’ );`: This line filters the “Add to Cart” text on the single product page.
- `add_filter( ‘woocommerce_product_add_to_cart_text’, ‘custom_add_to_cart_text’ );`: This line filters the “Add to Cart” text on archive pages (like shop pages).
- `function custom_add_to_cart_text() { … }`: This defines a function called `custom_add_to_cart_text` that returns the new text.
- `return __( ‘Buy It Now!’, ‘woocommerce’ );`: This line *returns* (sets) the new text. Replace ‘Buy It Now!’ with your desired text. The `__( ‘…’, ‘woocommerce’ )` function ensures the text is translatable for multilingual sites.
5. Save and Activate the Snippet: Give your snippet a title (e.g., “Change Add to Cart Text”), select “Only run on the front-end,” and click “Save Changes and Activate.”
Now, refresh your website, and you should see the “Add to Cart” button text changed to “Buy It Now!” (or whatever you chose).
Reasoning: Using a plugin like Code Snippets keeps your customizations separate from your theme files. This is crucial because theme updates can overwrite your changes. Plus, the plugin is easy to disable if you ever want to revert to the default text.
Method 3: Editing Your Theme’s `functions.php` File (Advanced)
Warning: This method is more advanced and requires caution. Always back up your theme’s `functions.php` file before making any changes. A small error can break your site.
1. Access Your `functions.php` File: You can access this file through your WordPress dashboard by going to Appearance > Theme File Editor (if available) or using an FTP client to connect to your server. The file is typically located in `wp-content/themes/your-theme-name/functions.php`.
2. Add the Code: Paste the same code snippet from Method 2 into your `functions.php` file. Important: Place it *before* the closing `?>` tag (if it exists). If there is no closing tag, paste at the end of the file.
add_filter( 'woocommerce_product_single_add_to_cart_text', 'custom_add_to_cart_text' ); add_filter( 'woocommerce_product_add_to_cart_text', 'custom_add_to_cart_text' );
function custom_add_to_cart_text() {
return __( ‘Add to Basket!’, ‘woocommerce’ ); // Replace with your desired text
}
3. Save the File: Click “Update File” (in the Theme File Editor) or save the file using your FTP client.
4. Test Your Site: Refresh your website to see the changes.
Reasoning: This method directly modifies your theme’s code. While it works, it’s not recommended for beginners due to the risk of breaking your site. A better alternative is creating a child theme to keep your modifications safe during theme updates. If you don’t know how to create a child theme, it is better to use Method 2 with the plugin.
Method 4: Using CSS (Limited Application)
CSS *cannot* change the text content of the button. It can only *style* it. However, this is useful for changing the appearance of the text:
1. Access the Customizer or Theme Options: Go to Appearance > Customize or your theme’s specific options panel.
2. Find the CSS Editor: Look for a section for adding custom CSS.
3. Add the CSS: Use CSS to style the button:
.woocommerce #content input.button,
.woocommerce #respond input#submit,
.woocommerce-page #content input.button,
.woocommerce-page #respond input#submit {
color: white !important; /* Change text color */
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background-color: #007bff !important; /* Change background color */
font-size: 16px !important; /* Change font size */
font-weight: bold !important; /* Make text bold */
text-transform: uppercase !important; /* Uppercase the text */
}
Explanation:
- This CSS code targets the “Add to Cart” button using its CSS classes.
- The `!important` declaration ensures that your styles override the default styles defined by your theme.
- Remember to adjust the colors, font sizes, and other properties to match your brand’s aesthetic.
Reasoning: CSS is for visual styling, not content changes. While it cannot directly modify the “Add to Cart” text, it’s essential for making the button visually appealing and consistent with your overall design.
Important Considerations
- Cache: After making any changes, clear your website’s cache and your browser’s cache to ensure you see the updated text.
- Theme Updates: If you’ve modified your theme’s `functions.php` file directly, be aware that theme updates may overwrite your changes. Use a child theme or the Code Snippets plugin to prevent this.
- WooCommerce Updates: While these methods are generally compatible with most WooCommerce versions, always test your changes after updating WooCommerce to ensure everything still works correctly.
- Translation: If your site is multilingual, make sure to translate the new button text using a plugin like WPML or Polylang.
Conclusion
Customizing the “Add to Cart” button text is a simple yet powerful way to improve your WooCommerce store’s user experience and boost sales. By choosing the method that best suits your technical skills and carefully considering the wording you use, you can create a more engaging and effective online shopping experience for your customers.
