How To Remove Woocommerce Cart Icon From The Navigation

How to Remove the WooCommerce Cart Icon From Your Navigation Menu

The WooCommerce cart icon in your navigation menu is a helpful visual cue for customers, reminding them of items they’ve added to their shopping cart and providing quick access to checkout. However, in some cases, you might want to remove this icon for aesthetic or functional reasons. Perhaps your design emphasizes a minimalist approach, or you prefer directing users to the cart through specific call-to-action buttons. Whatever your reason, this guide will walk you through various methods to remove the WooCommerce cart icon from your navigation, ensuring your website remains user-friendly and visually appealing.

Why Remove the WooCommerce Cart Icon?

While the cart icon is generally beneficial, several situations might warrant its removal:

Minimalist Design: You might prefer a cleaner, less cluttered navigation bar that focuses on essential links.
Alternative Cart Access: You might have implemented alternative ways for users to access their cart, such as a prominent cart button on product pages or a fixed “cart” button in the footer.
Mobile Responsiveness: On smaller screens, too many navigation items can lead to a cramped and confusing user experience. Removing the cart icon might free up valuable space.
Specific Theme Requirements: Your chosen theme might have its own unique cart implementation, making the standard WooCommerce icon redundant or visually conflicting.

Knowing *why* you want to remove the icon is crucial because it will influence which method is best for you.

Methods to Remove the WooCommerce Cart Icon

Several methods can be used to remove the WooCommerce cart icon. The best choice depends on your technical skill and the level of customization you require. Let’s explore some popular options:

1. Using Theme Customizer Options (If Available)

The easiest method is to check if your WooCommerce theme provides a built-in option in its customizer to disable the cart icon. Many modern themes offer this functionality directly.

Navigate to Appearance > Customize in your WordPress dashboard.
Look for sections like “Header,” “Navigation,” or “WooCommerce.” The exact location will vary depending on your theme.
Within these sections, you might find a checkbox or setting to “Show Cart Icon,” “Enable Cart in Menu,” or similar. Simply uncheck or disable this option and save your changes.

This is the recommended approach for beginners as it doesn’t require any coding.

2. Using CSS (For Hiding the Icon)

CSS can be used to hide the cart icon. This is a quick and simple solution, but it’s important to understand that the icon is still present in the HTML; it’s just visually hidden.

Identify the CSS class or ID of the cart icon element. You can use your browser’s developer tools (right-click on the icon and select “Inspect”) to find this. Common classes might include `.woocommerce-cart`, `.cart-contents`, or a class specific to your theme.
Navigate to Appearance > Customize > Additional CSS in your WordPress dashboard.
Add the following CSS code, replacing `YOUR_CART_ICON_CLASS` with the actual class or ID you found:

.YOUR_CART_ICON_CLASS {

display: none !important;

}

Click “Publish” to save your changes.

Note the `!important` declaration. This ensures that your CSS rule overrides any other conflicting styles. Use it sparingly, but in this case, it’s often necessary.

3. Using a PHP Snippet (For More Control)

For more advanced control and to completely remove the cart icon from the HTML, you can use a PHP snippet. This method requires some understanding of PHP and how WooCommerce hooks work.

Access your theme’s `functions.php` file or use a code snippets plugin (recommended). Caution: Directly editing your theme’s `functions.php` file can cause issues if done incorrectly. A code snippets plugin like “Code Snippets” offers a safer way to add custom code.
Add the following PHP code:

<?php
/**
Remove WooCommerce cart icon from menu.
*/
function remove_woocommerce_cart_icon( $items, $args ) {
// Define the menu location where you want to remove the cart icon.
//  Replace 'primary' with your actual menu location if different.
if ( $args->theme_location == 'primary' ) {
foreach ( $items as $key => $item ) {
// Check if the menu item links to the cart page. Adjust the condition
// to match your menu structure and the link to your cart page.
if ( strpos( $item->url, wc_get_cart_url() ) !== false ) {
unset( $items[$key] );
}
}
}
return $items;
}
add_filter( 'wp_nav_menu_objects', 'remove_woocommerce_cart_icon', 10, 2 );
?>

Explanation of the code:

`remove_woocommerce_cart_icon( $items, $args )`: This function takes the menu items and arguments as input.
`if ( $args->theme_location == ‘primary’ )`: This checks if the current menu location is the one you want to modify. Replace `’primary’` with the actual theme location of your navigation menu (e.g., ‘main-menu’, ‘top-navigation’). You can find this in Appearance -> Menus, by inspecting the menu location name when assigning a menu to a theme location.
`if ( strpos( $item->url, wc_get_cart_url() ) !== false )`: This checks if the menu item’s URL matches the WooCommerce cart URL. If it does, it means the item is the cart icon.
`unset( $items[$key] )`: This removes the cart icon from the menu items.
`add_filter( ‘wp_nav_menu_objects’, ‘remove_woocommerce_cart_icon’, 10, 2 )`: This hook tells WordPress to run your function before the menu is displayed.

4. Editing Theme Files (Not Recommended for Beginners)

While possible, directly editing theme files is the least recommended approach, especially for beginners. It’s complex, prone to errors, and changes will be overwritten during theme updates. If you choose this route, always create a child theme first.

This method involves finding the specific code within your theme’s files responsible for displaying the cart icon and removing or commenting it out. This requires a solid understanding of PHP, HTML, and your theme’s structure.

Conclusion

Removing the WooCommerce cart icon from your navigation menu can be a simple task if you choose the right method. The Theme Customizer option is the easiest and safest, followed by CSS. Using a PHP snippet provides more control, while editing theme files should be a last resort. Always remember to back up your website before making any code changes.

By carefully selecting the most suitable method, you can achieve the desired look and feel for your WooCommerce store while maintaining a user-friendly experience for your customers. Remember to test your website thoroughly after making changes to ensure everything functions as expected. Good luck!