How to Show Cart in WooCommerce: A Comprehensive Guide
Introduction
WooCommerce is a powerful and flexible e-commerce platform, but sometimes the basics can be surprisingly tricky. One common hurdle new users face is figuring out how to prominently display the cart icon and contents on their website. This article provides a comprehensive guide to displaying your WooCommerce cart, covering everything from simple menu integration to advanced customization options. We’ll walk you through different methods, ensuring your customers can easily access their shopping cart and proceed to checkout, ultimately boosting your conversion rates. Let’s dive in!
Methods to Display the WooCommerce Cart
There are several ways to show the cart in WooCommerce, each offering varying levels of complexity and customization. We’ll explore the most common and effective techniques:
#### 1. Adding the Cart to Your Menu
This is the easiest and most common method. It places a cart link directly in your navigation menu, making it visible on every page.
- How to do it:
- Benefits:
- Simple and quick setup.
- Highly visible and accessible from all pages.
- How to do it:
- Benefits:
- Displays the full cart page functionality (items, quantity, shipping options, etc.).
- Useful for dedicated cart pages or integrating the cart into custom layouts.
- How to do it:
1. Go to Appearance > Menus in your WordPress dashboard.
2. In the “Screen Options” at the top right, make sure the “WooCommerce Endpoints” box is checked.
3. Expand the “WooCommerce Endpoints” section on the left.
4. You should see “Cart”. Select it and click “Add to Menu”.
5. Drag and drop the “Cart” menu item to your desired position in the menu structure.
6. Click “Save Menu”.
#### 2. Using the WooCommerce Cart Shortcode
WooCommerce provides a handy shortcode that allows you to embed the cart page content within any page or post.
1. Edit the page or post where you want to display the cart.
2. Add the shortcode `[woocommerce_cart]` to the content area.
3. Update the page or post.
#### 3. Implementing a Cart Icon with Read more about How To Remove Woocommerce Pages From Menu a Number of Items
This method enhances the user experience by displaying the cart icon with a visual indicator of the number of items in the cart. This requires a little bit of code, but is well worth the effort.
1. Add the following code snippet to your theme’s `functions.php` file (or a custom plugin):
<?php /**
function woo_add_cart_link_to_menu( $items, $args ) {
// Replace ‘primary’ with the name of your menu location.
if ( $args->theme_location == ‘primary’ ) {
$cart_count = WC()->cart->get_cart_contents_count();
$cart_url = wc_get_cart_url();
$cart_link = ‘
$cart_link .= ‘‘;
$cart_link .= ‘‘; // Replace with your cart icon
if ( $cart_count > 0 ) {
$cart_link .= ‘‘ . esc_html( $cart_count ) . ‘‘;
}
$cart_link .= ‘
‘;
$items .= $cart_link;
}
return $items;
}
?>
2. Adjust the code:
- Replace `’primary’` with the actual theme location ID for your primary menu. You can find this in `Appearance > Menus` when editing your menu.
- Replace `` with your preferred cart icon. Font Awesome is a common choice, requiring a stylesheet enqueue in your `functions.php` file.
- You may need to adjust the CSS for the `cart-contents-count` class to style the count badge to your liking. Add this CSS to your `style.css` or using the theme’s customizer. For example:
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.cart-contents-count {
background-color: red;
color: white;
border-radius: 50%;
padding: 2px 5px;
font-size: 10px;
position: absolute;
top: 5px;
right: -5px;
}
- Benefits:
- Visually appealing and informative.
- Provides immediate feedback to the user about their cart contents.
- Enhances the overall shopping experience.
#### 4. Utilizing WooCommerce Widgets
WooCommerce offers built-in widgets, including a “WooCommerce Cart” widget.
- How to do it:
1. Go to Appearance > Widgets in your WordPress dashboard.
2. Find the “WooCommerce Cart” widget in the list of available widgets.
3. Drag and drop the widget into your desired sidebar or widget area.
4. Configure the widget title and save.
- Benefits:
- Easy to implement.
- Allows displaying the cart in sidebars or other widget areas.
#### 5. Using Plugins for Advanced Cart Functionality
Several plugins extend WooCommerce’s cart functionality, offering advanced features such as AJAX cart updates, floating cart icons, mini-carts in the header, and more. Some popular options include:
- WooCommerce Menu Cart: Specifically designed for adding a dynamic cart to your menu.
- YITH WooCommerce Ajax Product Filter: Can be used to enhance cart updating with AJAX.
- CartFlows: Excellent if you want customize your checkout flow and checkout landing pages.
- Benefits:
- Provides advanced customization options without requiring extensive coding.
- Offers features such as AJAX updates for a smoother user experience.
- Can significantly improve conversion rates.
Conclusion
Displaying the cart effectively is crucial for a successful WooCommerce store. By using the methods outlined in this article, you can ensure that your customers can easily access their cart and proceed to checkout. From simple menu integration to more advanced techniques using code snippets and plugins, you have a range of options to choose from based on your technical skills and design preferences. Experiment with different approaches to find the one that best suits your needs and provides the optimal user experience for your customers. Remember to test thoroughly after implementing any changes to ensure the cart functions correctly across all devices and browsers. A well-placed and functional cart can make all the difference in driving sales and improving customer satisfaction.
