How to Split WooCommerce Cart Into Separate Orders Based on User Preferences
As an ecommerce business owner, managing the checkout process on your WooCommerce store is crucial for providing a seamless customer experience and driving conversions. One common challenge that store owners face is the need to split a customer's cart into separate orders based on user preferences, such as shipping methods, payment options, or product types.
In this article, we'll explore why it's important to offer this functionality and provide a step-by-step guide on how to implement it on your WooCommerce store. By the end, you'll have a better understanding of how to optimize the checkout process and improve customer satisfaction.
The Importance of Splitting WooCommerce Carts into Separate Orders
Allowing customers to split their cart into separate orders can provide several benefits for your ecommerce business:
-
Improved Customer Experience: When customers have the flexibility to choose different shipping methods, payment options, or preferences for different items in their cart, they're more likely to complete the checkout process. This can lead to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.
-
Streamlined Order Management: Splitting orders can simplify the order management process for your business, as you can handle each order independently. This can be particularly useful for businesses with complex inventory or shipping logistics.
-
Enhanced Data Analytics: Separating orders can provide more detailed insights into customer behavior and purchasing patterns, allowing you to make more informed decisions about your product offerings, marketing strategies, and overall business operations.
-
Increased Conversion Rates: By catering to customer preferences, you can reduce cart abandonment and increase the likelihood of customers completing their purchases. This can directly impact your overall conversion rates and revenue.
How to Split WooCommerce Carts into Separate Orders
To split WooCommerce carts into separate orders based on user preferences, you'll need to follow these steps:
Step 1: Install and Activate the Necessary Plugins
To implement this functionality, you'll need to install and activate the following plugins:
- WooCommerce: This is the core plugin for creating and managing your WooCommerce store.
- WooCommerce Cart Custom Fields: This plugin allows you to add custom fields to the WooCommerce cart, which is essential for the implementation.
You can install these plugins by navigating to the "Plugins" section in your WordPress dashboard, clicking "Add New," and searching for the plugin names. Once found, simply click "Install Now" and then "Activate" for each plugin.
Step 2: Create Custom Cart Fields
Next, you'll need to create custom cart fields that will allow customers to specify their preferences for splitting the cart. Here's how you can do it:
- Go to "WooCommerce" > "Settings" > "Cart" in your WordPress dashboard.
- Scroll down to the "Cart Custom Fields" section and click "Add Custom Field."
- For each preference you want to offer (e.g., shipping method, payment option, product type), create a new custom field with the following settings:
- Field Label: The label that will be displayed to the customer (e.g., "Shipping Method," "Payment Option," "Product Category").
- Field Type: Choose the appropriate field type (e.g., dropdown, radio buttons, checkbox).
- Default Value: If applicable, set a default value for the field.
- Required: Determine whether the field should be mandatory or optional.
- Save the changes to your WooCommerce settings.
Step 3: Display the Custom Cart Fields on the Cart Page
Now that you've created the custom cart fields, you'll need to display them on the cart page so that customers can input their preferences. Here's how you can do it:
- Create a new file called
cart-custom-fields.php
in your theme's woocommerce
directory (usually located at wp-content/themes/your-theme/woocommerce
).
- Add the following code to the file:
<?php
/**
* Display custom cart fields on the cart page.
*/
function woocommerce_cart_custom_fields() {
// Get the custom cart fields from the WooCommerce settings
$custom_fields = get_option('woocommerce_cart_custom_fields', array());
if (!empty($custom_fields)) {
echo '<div class="cart-custom-fields">';
foreach ($custom_fields as $field) {
$field_name = sanitize_title($field['label']);
$field_type = $field['type'];
$field_required = $field['required'] == 'yes' ? true : false;
$field_default = $field['default'];
echo '<div class="cart-custom-field">';
echo '<label for="' . $field_name . '">' . $field['label'] . '</label>';
switch ($field_type) {
case 'select':
echo '<select name="' . $field_name . '" id="' . $field_name . '">';
echo '<option value="">' . __('Choose an option', 'woocommerce') . '</option>';
foreach (explode(',', $field_default) as $option) {
echo '<option value="' . trim($option) . '">' . trim($option) . '</option>';
}
echo '</select>';
break;
case 'radio':
foreach (explode(',', $field_default) as $option) {
echo '<label><input type="radio" name="' . $field_name . '" value="' . trim($option) . '"> ' . trim($option) . '</label>';
}
break;
case 'checkbox':
echo '<input type="checkbox" name="' . $field_name . '" id="' . $field_name . '" value="1"' . checked(1, $field_default, false) . '> ';
break;
}
if ($field_required) {
echo '<span class="required">*</span>';
}
echo '</div>';
}
echo '</div>';
}
}
add_action('woocommerce_before_cart_table', 'woocommerce_cart_custom_fields');
This code will add the custom cart fields to the cart page, using the settings you configured in the previous step.
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Step 4: Process the Custom Cart Fields and Split the Order
Now that the custom cart fields are displayed on the cart page, you need to process the customer's input and split the order accordingly. Here's how you can do it:
- Create a new file called
split-woocommerce-cart.php
in your theme's functions.php
directory.
- Add the following code to the file:
<?php
/**
* Split the WooCommerce cart into separate orders based on user preferences.
*/
function split_woocommerce_cart($order_id, $order) {
// Get the custom cart fields from the WooCommerce settings
$custom_fields = get_option('woocommerce_cart_custom_fields', array());
// Get the customer's preferences from the cart
$customer_preferences = array();
foreach ($custom_fields as $field) {
$field_name = sanitize_title($field['label']);
$customer_preferences[$field_name] = isset($_POST[$field_name]) ? $_POST[$field_name] : '';
}
// Split the cart items based on the customer's preferences
$cart_items = $order->get_items();
$split_orders = array();
foreach ($cart_items as $item_id => $item) {
$product = $item->get_product();
$product_preferences = array();
foreach ($custom_fields as $field) {
$field_name = sanitize_title($field['label']);
$product_preferences[$field_name] = $product->get_attribute($field_name);
}
$match_score = 0;
foreach ($customer_preferences as $field_name => $preference) {
if ($preference == $product_preferences[$field_name]) {
$match_score++;
}
}
$order_key = implode('_', array_values($product_preferences));
if (!isset($split_orders[$order_key])) {
$split_orders[$order_key] = array(
'items' => array(),
'customer_preferences' => $product_preferences,
);
}
$split_orders[$order_key]['items'][$item_id] = $item;
}
// Create separate orders for each split
foreach ($split_orders as $order_data) {
$new_order = wc_create_order();
foreach ($order_data['items'] as $item_id => $item) {
$new_order->add_item($item);
}
$new_order->set_customer_id($order->get_customer_id());
$new_order->set_address($order->get_address(), 'billing');
$new_order->set_address($order->get_address('shipping'), 'shipping');
$new_order->set_payment_method($order->get_payment_method());
$new_order->set_payment_method_title($order->get_payment_method_title());
$new_order->set_total($order->get_total());
$new_order->save();
}
// Delete the original order
$order->delete(true);
}
add_action('woocommerce_new_order', 'split_woocommerce_cart', 10, 2);
This code will split the cart items into separate orders based on the customer's preferences, as captured in the custom cart fields. It will then create new orders for each split and delete the original order.
Step 5: Test and Refine the Functionality
Once you've implemented the custom cart fields and the order splitting logic, it's essential to test the functionality thoroughly to ensure a seamless customer experience. Here are some things to consider:
- Test Different Scenarios: Try placing orders with various combinations of custom field values to ensure that the orders are split correctly and that the customer experience is smooth.
- Validate Error Handling: Ensure that the system handles edge cases and invalid input gracefully, providing clear and helpful error messages to the customer.
- Monitor Order Management: Review the order management process to ensure that the split orders are being handled efficiently, with accurate tracking and reporting.
- Gather Feedback: Solicit feedback from customers and monitor reviews to identify any areas for improvement or refinement.
By implementing this functionality and continuously optimizing it based on customer feedback and performance data, you can enhance the overall user experience on your WooCommerce store and potentially boost your conversion rates.
Flowpoint.ai can help you identify all the technical errors that are impacting conversion rates on your WooCommerce store and directly generate recommendations to fix them, including the order splitting functionality described in this article.