How to Show the View Cart Button on the WooCommerce Product Page: A Beginner’s Guide
Are you looking to boost your WooCommerce sales and create a smoother shopping experience? One simple yet effective tweak is to prominently display the “View Cart” button directly on your product pages. Instead of making customers navigate away to the cart page after adding an item, you can provide them with instant access to review their selections and proceed to checkout. Think of it like this: you’re giving them a gentle nudge toward completing their purchase!
In this guide, we’ll walk you through several easy ways to add this helpful feature to your WooCommerce store. No coding wizardry required (well, a little, but we’ll make it painless!), just clear, concise instructions perfect for WooCommerce newbies.
Why Show the “View Cart” Button on the Product Page?
Before we dive into the “how,” let’s quickly address the “why.” Adding a “View Cart” button on the product page offers several key advantages:
- Improved User Experience: Customers can easily review their cart content without leaving the product page, making for a more seamless and less frustrating experience. Imagine a customer adding multiple items – constantly navigating back and forth to the cart gets annoying!
- Increased Conversions: A readily available “View Cart” button can subtly encourage customers to finalize their purchases. Seeing their selected items and the total amount can prompt them to move on to the checkout process. Think of it as a gentle reminder of the awesome stuff they’re about to buy.
- Reduced Cart Abandonment: By providing quick access to the cart, you minimize the chances of customers forgetting about their items or getting distracted before completing the purchase. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Keeping the cart in view helps prevent this.
- Install and Activate a Plugin: Search for plugins like “WooCommerce Cart Button on Product Page” or “WooCommerce View Cart on Product Page.” Read the reviews and choose one with a good rating and recent updates. Install and activate it.
- Configure the Plugin (if necessary): Some plugins might require minimal configuration. Look for settings related to button placement, styling, or text. Often, you can customize the button’s appearance to match your website’s design.
- Example: The “WooCommerce Menu Cart” plugin is a popular choice. While it’s primarily for the menu cart icon, it often includes options to also display a “View Cart” button on product pages.
Methods to Add the “View Cart” Button
Okay, let’s get to the practical part! Here are a few approaches, ranging from the super-simple to a slightly more code-focused solution.
1. Using a WooCommerce Plugin (Easiest)
This is by far the easiest method for those who prefer a no-code approach. Several plugins offer this functionality, and many even come with customization options. Here’s how to use one:
Reasoning: This is the fastest and least technical method. It’s perfect for users who don’t want to touch code.
2. Using Code Snippets (Slightly More Advanced)
If you’re comfortable adding a small code snippet to your website (and don’t worry, it’s not scary!), this method gives you more control over the placement and styling of the button.
Important: Before modifying your theme files, always create a child theme. This ensures your changes won’t be overwritten when you update the parent theme.
Steps:
1. Access Your Child Theme’s `functions.php` File: Connect to your website via FTP or use the file manager in your hosting control panel. Navigate to your child theme’s directory and open the `functions.php` file.
2. Add the Following Code Snippet:
<?php /**
function add_view_cart_button() {
echo ‘View Cart‘;
}
?>
3. Save the `functions.php` File: Save the changes you made to the file.
4. Check Your Product Page: Visit a product page on your WooCommerce store. You should now see a “View Cart” button after the “Add to Cart” button.
Explanation:
- `add_action( ‘woocommerce_after_add_to_cart_button’, ‘add_view_cart_button’ );`: This line tells WordPress to execute the `add_view_cart_button` function after the “Add to Cart” button is displayed.
- `wc_get_cart_url()`: This WooCommerce function retrieves the URL of the cart page.
- `’View Cart‘;`: This line creates the HTML for the “View Cart” button. `class=”button wc-forward”` applies WooCommerce’s standard button styling.
Reasoning: This method provides more control over the button’s appearance and placement compared to using a plugin. You can easily customize the button text, CSS classes, and even its location by changing the `woocommerce_after_add_to_cart_button` hook to another suitable hook. For instance, `woocommerce_before_add_to_cart_button` would place it *before* the Add to Cart button.
3. Using a Code Snippet with Custom Styling (Most Advanced)
This builds upon the previous method, allowing you to further customize the button’s appearance with CSS.
1. Follow Steps 1 and 2 from the Previous Method. (Adding the code snippet to `functions.php`)
2. Add Custom CSS to Your Theme’s Stylesheet: Go to Appearance -> Customize -> Additional CSS (or access your child theme’s `style.css` file). Add CSS rules to style the “View Cart” button.
.wc-forward {
background-color: #4CAF50; /* Green */
border: none;
color: white;
padding: 10px 20px;
text-align: center;
text-decoration: none;
display: inline-block;
font-size: 16px;
margin-top: 10px; /* Add some spacing */
}
.wc-forward:hover {
background-color: #3e8e41; /* Darker Green */
}
3. Save Your Changes: Save the changes you made to the CSS file or Customizer.
Explanation:
The CSS code snippet provides basic styling for the “View Cart” button, changing its background color, text color, padding, and adding a hover effect. You can customize these properties to match your website’s design.
Reasoning: This method gives you complete control over the button’s appearance. You can match it perfectly to your brand’s style.
Troubleshooting
- The button isn’t appearing:
- Double-check that you’ve activated your child theme.
- Ensure you’ve placed the code snippet correctly in the `functions.php` file.
- Clear your website’s cache (and browser cache).
- Temporarily deactivate other plugins to see if there’s a conflict.
- The button looks weird:
- Adjust the CSS to match your website’s styling.
Conclusion
Adding a “View Cart” button to your WooCommerce product pages is a simple yet powerful way to improve the user experience and potentially boost your sales. Whether you choose the ease of a plugin or the flexibility of code snippets, implementing this feature can make a significant difference in how customers interact with your online store. So go ahead, give it a try, and start nudging those customers towards a completed purchase!
