WooCommerce cart not updating

The code snippet provided below can be used to troubleshoot and fix the issue of the WooCommerce cart not updating. This issue can occur when the cart does not reflect the changes made by the user, such as adding or removing items.

add_filter( 'woocommerce_add_to_cart_fragments', 'wpsnippets_update_cart_fragments' );
function wpsnippets_update_cart_fragments( $fragments ) {
    ob_start();
    ?>
    <span class="cart-count"><?php echo WC()->cart->get_cart_contents_count(); ?></span>
    <?php
    $fragments['span.cart-count'] = ob_get_clean();
    return $fragments;
}

This code snippet utilizes the woocommerce_add_to_cart_fragments filter hook to update the cart fragments, specifically the cart count. It captures the output of the cart count using output buffering (ob_start() and ob_get_clean()) and assigns it to the span.cart-count element in the fragments array.

By adding this code to your theme’s functions.php file or a custom plugin, it ensures that the cart count is updated dynamically without requiring a page refresh. This resolves the issue of the WooCommerce cart not updating properly.

Note: Make sure to clear any caching plugins or mechanisms in place to see the changes immediately.

Remember to replace wpsnippets_ with your own custom prefix to follow WordPress coding standards.

Examples

Example #1: Updating the WooCommerce cart using AJAX

This use case demonstrates how to update the WooCommerce cart dynamically using AJAX. The code example below shows how to add a product to the cart without refreshing the page.

add_action( 'wp_ajax_wpsnippets_add_to_cart', 'wpsnippets_add_to_cart' );
add_action( 'wp_ajax_nopriv_wpsnippets_add_to_cart', 'wpsnippets_add_to_cart' );

function wpsnippets_add_to_cart() {
    $product_id = $_POST['product_id'];
    $quantity = $_POST['quantity'];

    WC()->cart->add_to_cart( $product_id, $quantity );

    wp_send_json_success();
}

This code adds an AJAX action hook to handle the cart update request. The wpsnippets_add_to_cart function retrieves the product ID and quantity from the AJAX request, then adds the product to the WooCommerce cart using the add_to_cart method. Finally, it sends a JSON success response back to the client.

Example #2: Updating the WooCommerce cart quantity

This use case demonstrates how to update the quantity of a product in the WooCommerce cart. The code example below shows how to modify the quantity of a specific cart item.

function wpsnippets_update_cart_item_quantity( $cart_item_key, $quantity ) {
    WC()->cart->set_quantity( $cart_item_key, $quantity );
}

This code uses the set_quantity method of the WooCommerce cart to update the quantity of a specific cart item identified by its $cart_item_key. Simply pass the desired quantity as the second parameter to modify the quantity.

Example #3: Removing a product from the WooCommerce cart

This use case demonstrates how to remove a product from the WooCommerce cart. The code example below shows how to remove a specific cart item by its key.

function wpsnippets_remove_cart_item( $cart_item_key ) {
    WC()->cart->remove_cart_item( $cart_item_key );
}

This code uses the remove_cart_item method of the WooCommerce cart to remove a specific cart item identified by its $cart_item_key. Pass the cart item key as the parameter to remove the item from the cart.