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How to Set Up WooCommerce Direct Checkout in Your Store: 3 Easy Methods

Editorial Team
August 29, 2024
How to Set Up WooCommerce Direct Checkout in Your Store: 3 Easy Methods

Enabling direct checkout in WooCommerce helps you increase your store's conversion rate.

70% of customers agree that a quick checkout process in an online store encourages them to complete their purchase.

And the more steps you put your shoppers through during checkout, the less likely they are to complete the process.

Solution?

Enable direct checkout by skipping the default WooCommerce cart page.

WooCommerce direct checkout redirects users directly to the checkout page, skipping the cart page, making the process faster and easier.

No, you don't need to know any coding to make this a reality.

In this blog, we will show you three processes for adding a WooCommerce direct checkout:

Unlock explosive conversion-boosting features by clicking on the button below:

Here's a quick video tutorial to help you skip the cart page using a WooCommerce side cart:

How to Set Up WooCommerce Direct Checkout in Your Store: 3 Easy Methods

Let's start.

What is WooCommerce Direct Checkout?

WooCommerce direct checkout is a feature or technique that helps simplify the buying process by reducing the number of steps between adding a product to the cart and completing the purchase.

Instead of taking shoppers through multiple pages, direct checkout allows them to skip the default cart page and go straight to the checkout page.

This way, shoppers can quickly complete their purchases, leading to higher conversion rates.
A streamlined checkout process reduces friction and the chances of shoppers abandoning their carts before completing a purchase.

Why Leverage WooCommerce Direct Checkout?

Do you know that 70% of users abandon their cart in the middle without completing the purchase? 

While there are many reasons behind it, one of them is users get distracted during the checkout process. Especially on mobile devices, it's so easy to get distracted by notifications from different apps and other things.

If you don’t want to lose out on potential customers, you should leverage direct checkout in your WooCommerce store. 

This way, users are less likely to get distracted because it will simplify the process.

Here are some benefits of using WooCommerce direct checkout:

  • Simplify the buying process - This reduces the number of steps a customer needs to take to complete a purchase, making the process quicker and more straightforward. By satisfying customers’ needs and ensuring an effortless buying experience, you can build customer loyalty and a positive reputation.
  • Reduce cart abandonment - Streamlining the checkout process can help reduce the likelihood of customers abandoning their carts due to a complicated or time-consuming checkout.
  • Increase conversion rates - A simpler checkout process leads to higher conversions, as customers are less likely to change their minds or get distracted during a shorter process.
  • Improve user experience - Customers appreciate a fast, efficient buying process, especially for single-item or repeat orders. This encourages repeat purchases and leaves customers with a positive impression of your brand.
  • Mobile optimization - A direct checkout can significantly improve the user experience on mobile devices where navigation can be difficult.

You don't necessarily have to enable direct checkout in your online store only; you can also use the WooCommerce direct checkout link on your different marketing platforms, such as social media ads, email marketing, etc. 

We hope you understand the importance of leveraging direct checkout on your WooCommerce store.

Method 1: How to Create a WooCommerce Direct Checkout Link Manually Without a Plugin

Adding WooCommerce direct checkout links to different types of products is super easy. All you need to do is collect the product ID. 

After that, you need to append the following to your WooCommerce store’s URL: 

checkout/?add-to-cart=ID

And of course, before you do that, you need to replace the “ID” with the actual ID of your product.

https://www.yourdomain.com/checkout/?add-to-cart=ID

Here is an example. You can find the product ID from Product ⇒ All Products. Just hover on any of the products and copy the ID.

copy product id

Then paste the ID in the URL like the one shown below:

http://funnelkit.local//checkout/?add-to-cart=3271

Now if you hit this URL, you will be redirected to the checkout page directly skipping the Cart page. 

manual WooCommerce direct checkout  link

This was easy, wasn't it? 

To learn more about how you can create link for other types of product check our blog "How to Create a Custom Add-to-Cart Link in WooCommerce"

But this way you can add a direct checkout link to only one product at a time. Plus, there is no way to enhance the average order value of your store.

Let's move to the next section to find out how you can take users directly to the WooCommerce checkout page using a sales funnel and also improve your AOV. 

You can recover lot of your lost customers by sending cart abandonment emails. For more details, read our blog "How To Send WooCommerce Abandoned Cart Emails: The Complete Guide".


Method 2: How to Offer Dedicated WooCommerce Direct Checkout Using a Sales Funnel for FREE

We are going to use a sales funnel builder named FunnelKit Funnel Builder to create a dedicated direct WooCommerce checkout here.

This WooCommerce checkout manager plugin empowers you to streamline the direct checkout process with a custom checkout page. You can create a custom checkout page for each product separately or for a group of products. 

Moreover, you can keep track of how your sales funnels are performing in real-time with metrics such as order placed, total revenue generated, average order value, number of views and conversions, etc. 

In addition, with the pro version of FunnelKit, you can also add order bumps and one-click upsells, which helps you boost your AOV. Furthermore, you can provide lucrative discounts on your offers with just a few clicks to motivate the users to buy more products. 

Furthermore, you can run A/B tests while you're building your funnels. A/B testing helps you to test different variations of your checkout page to determine which one works best for your audience.

Let’s get to the main process now.

Step 1: Install and activate FunnelKit 

You need to install FunnelKit Funnel Builder for free. You can find the free version at WordPress.org. Make sure you have installed and activated the free version of FunnelKit Funnel Builder.

install and activate funnelkit free

Step 2: Create a checkout funnel with a free prebuilt template

To create a sales funnel, go to FunnelKit ⇒ Funnels and click on ‘Create New Funnel’.

Ad a new funnel

Now, choose the “Checkout” option to see all the prebuilt checkout funnels. To view any of the funnels and select, just hover on it and click on Preview.

Here we are using a template named Optic. You can use this template for free but for premium features like order bump and one-click upsell, you need to upgrade to FunnelKit Pro.

To view this free checkout template, hover on it and click on Preview.

click on preview optic

After that click on “Import This Funnel”, provide a name, and click on Add. 

import optic to create wooCommerce direct checkout funnel

This will import the funnel with three steps: checkout, one-click upsell, and thank you. However, with the free version of FunnelKit Funnel Builder, you can only use the checkout and thank you templates. The checkout and thank you steps are good enough to create a sales funnel with a direct checkout.

Step 3: Customize the checkout page 

To customize the WooCommerce checkout page, click on the checkout step. 

click on checkout step direct checkout funnel

Next, click on the ‘Edit ElementorTemplate’ option to edit the template with the Elementor page builder.

edit checkout template with Elementor direct checkout funnel in WooCommerce

Here you can customize the checkout page according to your preference. For example, you can turn on the collapsible order summary which is of great help for mobile users.

You can customize all the sections and change the content. For that just click on the section and you will find all the options to customize the content on the left side. 

customize checkout form checkout tempalte optic

After you are done making the changes, click on the update button below to save. 

Step 4: Add products to the checkout page 

Move to the products tab. After that, click on “Add Product”, search for a product, then select a product, and finally click on “Add” to add the product to the checkout page.

add product to checkout WooCommerce direct checkout funnel

You can add multiple products if you want. You can offer discounts on the products as well. This will increase your chances of getting more sales.

You can select the products that will be added to the cart from the settings. You can set it to:

  • Restrict buyers to select only one of the above products 
  • Allow the buyer to select any of the above product
  • Force sell all of the above product

After making the changes,  click on "Save" to update.

add discount to multiple products WooCommerce direct checkout funnel

We are choosing the third option, all the products will be added to the cart.

You can further optimize your WooCommerce checkout page to enable quick purchases.

As mentioned earlier, FunnelKit Pro offers Order bump and one-click upsell features. These two features are highly effective in boosting the average order value of your WooCommerce store.

utilize order bump and upsell with funnelkti pro to boost aov

⭐ To learn more, read our blogs on WooCommerce Order Bump and one click upsell.

Step 5: Customize the thank you page to complete 

Thank you pages show up the order details of the order the user just places along with a thank you message.

Like the checkout page, you can customize the thank you page with Elementor as well.

Edit optic thank you template with Elementor

⭐ To customize the thank you page,  you can refer to our blog “How to customize thank you page ”.

After editing the thank you page, your checkout funnel will be ready.

So far, we have shown you how to offer WooCommerce direct checkout links, which you can promote on various marketing platforms using.

But how about skipping the cart page when users add products to the cart from the product page or archive page?

We will cover these in the next section.

🔔 You can also add a link to the checkout page on a WooCommerce mini cart.

Learn how you can do that in our blog  👉  How To Create A WooCommerce Mini Cart 

Method 3: How to Offer WooCommerce Direct Checkout by Skipping the Cart Page Using a Plugin

Just follow the steps shown below to allow users to skip the cart page while shopping on your WooCommerce store. To follow along with this section, you will need to upgrade to FunnelKit Pro.

Step 1: Install and activate the CartHopper add-on

The first step is to install and activate the CartHopper plugin by FunnelKit. This WordPress plugin is an addon of FunnelKit which is available with the FunnelKit pro version.

You can download this plugin from your FunnelKit Account, under the Downloads tab.

download carthopper

Step 2: Enable Skip cart for product pages

Now navigate to FunnelKit ⇒ CartHopper. Here you first need to set up the following options:

  • SkipCart: check the “Enable SkipCart For All Products” option so users can go to the checkout page directly after clicking on the “Add to Cart” button.
  • Exclude Product Category (Optional): You can use any category here on which you don’t want to implement the direct checkout option.
  • Exclude Products (Optional): Similarly, you can exclude any products from this direct checkout process.
  • Add To Cart Button Text (Optional): Since this feature will take the users directly to the checkout page, you can change the text of the “Add to Cart” button to “Buy Now” or anything you prefer.

After everything is set up, click on Save Changes to update.

enable skip Woocommerce cart

After setting up these features, the Skip Cart Page option will be implemented on your WooCommerce product page shown below:

Note: The text of the Add to Cart button will be one you set. In our case, it’s “Buy Now”.

Skip cart on WooCommerce product page

Step 3: Enable the skip cart option for archive pages

While the skip page option should be working fine on the product page, to activate this option on the WooCommerce archive pages, you need to do a little more. 

Note: The archive pages of WooCommerce use Ajax to load products to the cart, that's why the direct option of Cart Hopper won’t work on these pages. For this to work, you need to turn off the Ajax option from WooCommerce settings.

To disable the Ajax settings, navigate to WooCommerce ⇒ Settings and move to the Product tab. Now under Add to Cart Behavior disable the both “Redirect to the cart page after successful addition” and “Enable AJAX add to cart buttons on archives” options. 

disable ajax too skip cart page on WooCommerce

After that save the changes. Now if you go to the Archive page and click on Add to Cart for any product, it will take you directly to the WooCommerce checkout page skipping the cart page. 

Skip cart page on Archive page

That is how you can use FunnelKit’s Cart Hopper plugin to skip the cart page and take users directly to the checkout page. 

FunnelKit comes with a one click checkout option. You can also read our blog on "How to Set Up WooCommerce One-Click Checkout in Your Store?"

6 Best Practices for Implementing WooCommerce Direct Checkout

Implementing WooCommerce direct checkout can significantly enhance the shopping experience and boost conversion rates.

Here are some best practices to ensure it’s done effectively:

1. Clear and informative product pages

Ensure each product page contains all the essential information a customer needs to make a purchase decision.

Include high-quality product images, detailed descriptions, variation specifications, clear pricing, etc.

Prominently display the “Buy Now” or “Skip to checkout” buttons to indicate that they will lead shoppers directly to the checkout page, bypassing the default cart page.

2. Maintaining cart functionality

Allow customers to review their cart items before proceeding to checkout, especially when purchasing multiple products.

That’s where the FunnelKit Cart comes in. This modern sliding cart lets shoppers view their cart items, modify the quantities, or even add more products to their cart.

Shoppers have the flexibility to buy using express checkout payments inside the cart or directly go to the checkout page from there.

3. Streamlined checkout form

Reflect the essence of speed and convenience in your checkout form by minimizing the required fields to essential information.

Utilize auto-filling address capabilities to reduce the amount of manual input required from the user.

Use FunnelKit to implement inline form validation and provide real-time feedback on errors. This allows users to correct mistakes immediately without waiting for page reloads.

4. Clear progress indicators

Use clear progress indicators to guide users through the multi-step checkout page.

FunnelKit has multi-checkout templates with progress indicators showing the current and remaining steps on the checkout page.

Providing these visual cues helps set expectations and reduces the likelihood of users abandoning the checkout process due to uncertainty about its length or complexity.

5. Mobile-first approach

With an increasing number of purchases made on mobile devices, optimizing the direct checkout process for mobile users is crucial.

Ensure the entire process is fully responsive, with large buttons and input fields.

FunnelKit’s templates are mobile-optimized, and you can customize the sliding cart for mobile devices.

6. Automated emails/SMS

Use WooCommerce CRM tools like FunnelKit Automations to send automated emails to shoppers who have abandoned their carts.

You can send them cart abandonment recovery emails and SMS encouraging them to return and complete their purchases. 

7. Continuous monitoring and optimization

It’s crucial to assess and track your store’s performance regularly. 

Keep a vigilant eye on key metrics and pay close attention to user feedback to ensure bypassing the cart page has enhanced the overall shopping experience.

By staying tuned to these performance indicators, you can continuously refine your WooCommerce direct checkout implementation and ensure it remains aligned with user preferences and your business objectives. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

In this section, we’ve answered some commonly asked questions related to WooCommerce direct checkout.

1. How to do direct checkout for WooCommerce?

You need FunnelKit Funnel Builder to set up direct checkout in your WooCommerce store. You can create a dedicated sales funnel or offer a beautiful, stylish shopping cart for free. Read the detailed process in this article.

2. What is the better checkout for WooCommerce?

There are many direct checkout options, such as one-page and multi-step checkout. Choosing which one will be perfect for you depends on your customers and business. FunnelKit lets you A/B test your checkout variants, and this way, you’ll know which checkout variant has been converted the most.

3. How do I turn off cart direct to checkout in WooCommerce?

You can turn off cart direct to checkout by navigating to WooCommerce settings ⇨ Products. Disable both options, such as redirecting to the cart page, and enable AJAX add-to-cart buttons from the Add-to-Cart behavior.

4. How do I redirect to checkout after adding product in WooCommerce?

You can use the CartHopper add-on, which comes with FunnelKit Funnel Builder. It will help you redirect customers to check out after adding products to your WooCommerce store.

Start using WooCommerce Direct Checkout today!

Congratulations! Now you know three different methods of using WooCommerce direct checkout. 

Let us know which method you liked the most.

We recommend you choose FunnelKit with CartHopper. It allows users to skip the cart page while increasing the average order value with FunneKit’s order bump and upsell feature.

This is the best combination, as skipping the cart page at times can result in low order values. Users are deprived of the opportunity to update their product quantity and add upsell products on the cart page.

FunnelKit allows users to skip the cart, ensuring a smooth, frictionless checkout process and boosting your average order value with order bumps and one-click upsells.

Moreover, this WooCommerce plugin also offers various features such as Google Address Autocomplete, express payment buttons such as Google Pay and Apple Pay, etc., to further optimize your checkout process. 

So, what are you waiting for? Get FunnelKit as your WooCommerce direct checkout plugin today!

Author: Editorial Team
The Editorial Team at FunnelKit (formerly WooFunnels) is a passionate group of writers and copy editors. We create well-researched posts on topics such as WordPress automation, sales funnels, online course creation, and more. We aim to deliver content that is interesting and actionable.
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