Where to Add View Cart Options for WooCommerce

Where Should You Add View Cart Options for WooCommerce?

One of the questions we get when building online stores is where to add View Cart options for WooCommerce. There are a few great places for this button. And there are some places I wouldn’t recommend putting it.

When a user adds a product to their shopping cart, they need a way to find the cart and review the items. Reviewing the cart is one of the very last steps before completing a sale. And completing a sale is the whole point of having an online store!

Where you put the View Cart button can impact how easy it is for customers to buy from you. I like having more than one place for customers to find their cart. There’s no reason to make them search for it.

Adding View Cart to a Top Banner

One of my favorite places for a View Cart button is in a banner at the very top of the website. We use this on many of the online stores we build.

The banner can even be set to appear only when someone adds a product to their cart. It gives them a message saying the product was added and a clear button to view their cart.

I like this option because it’s easy to find. Customers know their product was added and what to do next.

You can also make this banner stay at the top of the screen as someone scrolls. This can work great on mobile phones.

The banner does need to look good with the rest of the site. It should stand out, but not get in the way of the content. And it must work just as well on a phone as it does on a desktop.

Adding View Cart to Your Website Navigation

Another great spot is in the main navigation at the top of your website. People are used to looking there for links to other pages. Why not have a link to the shopping cart there too?

For a website focused on selling products, I think having a cart in the navigation is a great idea. It can show an empty shopping cart when nothing has been added. When products are added, it can change to a full cart or show the number of items.

If selling products is only part of what your business does, the cart might not need as much attention in the navigation. A simple cart icon can work great.

Make sure it’s a clear shopping cart icon. I’m not a fan of using some strange symbol that people have to hover over to figure out what it does.

I’m also warming up to sticky headers. I wasn’t a fan of them for a long time. But if your site has one, keeping the shopping cart visible in it makes a lot of sense.

In my opinion, your View Cart button is more important than your Facebook button!

Showing View Cart in the Product Information Area

Another good option is placing the View Cart button right near the product information. Customers are already looking at the product and the Add to Cart button. Having View Cart right there makes it easy to get to the cart.

Some online stores will show a View Cart button right after a product is added. Others will change the Add to Cart button into a View Cart button.

I like that second option for stores where customers usually buy just one product. If they’re ready to buy, why make it harder?

For stores where customers often buy several products, I’m not as big of a fan. We want them to keep looking around and adding more items.

The View Cart button also needs to stand out. A different color or larger text can help.

Some WooCommerce sites show a small message above the page content after a product is added. That can work, but it can also be missed. A full width bar below the header is a better option in my opinion.

Other View Cart Options Worth Considering

There are a few other ways to make the shopping cart easy to find. These aren’t always my first choices, but they can work well for some stores.

Slide-Out Shopping Cart

This is when a cart opens from the side of the screen after a product is added. It can show the products, prices, and a View Cart button.

Some of these look great. Others can be a little goofy, especially on phones. Different screen sizes can cause problems with how they look and work. They can also need more JavaScript, which can slow a site down if it isn’t built well.

I’m not a huge fan of these today. But when done right, they can work.

Sticky Header Shopping Cart

As the user scrolls on the page, a sticky header keeps the header at the top of the screen. Having a cart icon there makes it easy to find from anywhere on the page.

If the site doesn’t have a sticky header, a sticky bar can be added that could be used for this. A small button with a simple cart button along the side of the screen can be used as well.

Shopping Cart Item Count

This is a simple feature I like. Setting the store to add a number next to the cart icon to show how many items are in it.

If the cart is empty it can show “0” instead of nothing. When items get added, the number goes up.

Different styles and wording catch the attention of different shoppers. One might be a cart icon. Having one button with “View Cart” and another with “Review Your Cart” can help make one stand out more

Whatever is used, make sure it’s clear where the link goes.

Make Your Shopping Cart Easy to Find on Mobile

More than half of online consumer goods purchases worldwide are now made on mobile devices. That means your online store needs to work great on phones.

There isn’t as much room on a phone screen. But that doesn’t make the View Cart button any less important. If anything, it makes it more important.

If your navigation is collapsed on mobile (using the hamburger menu icon), don’t have that be the only option for customers to find their cart. Provide another always visible option as well.

Make sure the button is large enough to tap too. Some of us have larger fingers (me, I’m speaking about myself) and don’t want to need a stylus just to press a button!

The cart also needs to load quickly. If the rest of your website loads great but the cart is slow, that can be enough to lose a sale.

Getting to the cart is one of the last steps before a customer buys from you. Make it easy, no matter what device they’re using.

Choosing the Right View Cart Location for Your Online Store

There’s no one location that works best for every online store. I think having more than one View Cart option is a great idea.

For a store focused on selling products, I’d recommend a top banner, a cart in the navigation, and an option near the product information. If selling products is only part of your business, you may want something a little less prominent.

At Full Scope Creative, we build online stores using WordPress and WooCommerce. One of the things we like about WooCommerce is the flexibility it gives us. We can put the View Cart button where it makes the most sense for the business and its customers.

The goal is simple. Make it easy for customers to find their cart and buy from you. Don’t make them work harder than they need to.

If you have questions about where to put your View Cart buttons or want to make your online store easier to use, take a look at our website design services or get in touch with us. We’d be happy to chat about what might work best for your store.